text: Annual Pumpkin Field Day in Jackson Annual Pumpkin Field Day in Jackson
  **This event has been cancelled for 2015**
  Even if you've never heard the term "cucurbit" before, chances are you've eaten one, carved one and watched a Charlie Brown television special about a great one.
  That's right, cucurbits are pumpkins – and any other plants of the gourd family, including zucchini, cucumbers and melons. But it's the fall varieties – winter squash, gourds and, naturally, pumpkins – that draw hundreds of visitors to the University of Tennessee's West Tennessee AgResearch & Education Center's annual Pumpkin Field Day.
  During the afternoon event, pumpkin growers can learn how to keep bugs, weeds and mildew off their crops, as well as marketing opportunities for small farms and about varieties far beyond your average jack-o'-lantern.
  In fact, visitors can view more than 70 varieties of these fall favorites in Jackson while touring the annual Pumpkin Harvest Display, the highlight of the field day.
  We're not talking your average autumn decorative porch display. A whopping 5,000 pumpkins, squash and gourds dot the complex in elaborate scenes, thanks to UT horticulturalist Jason Reeves, who is so widely lauded for both his research and displays that he might as well be known as the pumpkin king.
  Reeves and his team grow 80 to 90 cultivars on two acres at the center, with names like Tennessee Dancing Gourd, Caveman's Club, Knucklehead, Bumpkin, Fairytale and Red Warty Thing. Reeves then creates intricate designs of greens, yellows, oranges and whites: a river of miniature pumpkins; a pumpkin house with cornhusk décor; long, skinny, snakelike green gourds; giant pumpkins that could serve as Cinderella's carriage. It's something you have to see to believe.
  If you want tips from the experts for growing your own, be sure to come to the Pumpkin Field Day on Sept. 25 from 11-4 p.m. However, Reeves' hard work remains visible to the public through Nov. 30, 2014 at the West Tennessee AgResearch Center grounds in Jackson, which are open to the public seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. On Oct. 2 at 2 p.m., the West Tennessee Research & Education Center will host Autumn Fest, with garden lectures and tips on creating your own fall display. If the pumpkin harvest is sufficient, they will also be selling pumpkins, gourds and ornamental plants. For more information, visit west.tennessee.edu/events.
  TagsfallJackson TNpumpkinsUniversity of TennesseeWest TN
  lee ann reeves
  Do u have to make reservtion to come.
  You don't have to make a reservation for the field day, however, it was recently released that this year's event has been cancelled. Hopefully it will be back next year! Thanks for your comment!