Hello.

My name is Lorissa and I write the posts for the blog and update facebook. Besides working for Penner Pumpkins I work as a nurse. My main jobs with Penner Pumpkins is planning, seeding, working the gardens, selling at the Farmers' markets and off the home yard. I help out a little bit with the Scarecrow Forest, but I love the garden so that's why I mainly work with Penner Pumpkins.

I've had three days off from work so I've been seeding the pumpkins, gourds, and squash. We start all the squash in 2 inch pots, do half the gourds in pots, and a fourth to a half of the pumpkins in pots. The rest we are going to seed in the garden. It's easier to seed in the garden, but the garden soil has to be dry and warm. Last year we tried to seed in the garden, but it didn't work. We are going to give it another try this year. We hope to start planting our big garden May 30 and be done by June 11. I have also been working on my herbs. The first few markets we sell herbs in pots and herb gardens in containers.

I am happy that the weather has warmed up. Right now we could use temperatures in the high teens-low twenties and a strong south wind. This would help dry out our gardens. The big garden we don't plan to seed til the end of May, but our small garden we would love to get into it and finish planting, but it's too wet. I hope we have a dry summer and fall. Last year the fall weather was perfect and I hope it will be again this year.

Hope to see you at Pineridge Hollow Market or on the home yard.

Lorissa

Vegetable Packets

Feeds 1 to 2 people

1 medium potato cubed

1/4 cup of any four vegetables (ie. 1/4 cup peas, 1/4 cup sweet corn, 1/4 cup red pepper, and 1/4 cup cabbage).
-Sweet Corn
-Pepper
-Cabbage
-Zucchini
-Peas
-Cabbage
-Squash
-Onion

Optional: Cheese

Two tablespoons margarine/butter or oil.

Directions: Pre heat BBQ on low to medium heat. Take one piece of tin foil. Cut up potato and other vegetables and place on tin foil. In summer use vegetables that are in season or use vegetables that you enjoy. Put margarine/butter or oil on top of vegetables. Wrap foil around vegetables, keep packet as flat as possible.
Wrap a second piece of foil around the original packet. Place on BBQ. It takes about 45 minutes. Test to see if it is done by piercing a potato, when fork slides in easily, packets are done. Put cheese on top of vegetables and let melt for 5 minutes. Enjoy.

Daycare Groups

The Scarecrow Forest is your groups’ solution for a fun affordable outing just outside Steinbach! Several school groups and day cares enjoyed their day with us last year, and we in turn enjoyed hosting this age group of children.

What started 23 years ago as a family hobby of selling pumpkins is now a family friendly destination with something for everyone. The ½ mile gravel path through the bush is a great place for kids to stretch their legs… and their imaginations! The path is lined with fun scarecrow scenes of families, sports players, campers and more. Just off the main path is the farm animal maze, where every turn leads to educational facts about the ten different animals you’re looking for.

Children really thrive with the opportunity to get out of the city into the open space and fresh air. They’re sure to be captivated by something, be it the sandboxes, play structures, petting farm, train rides, corn trail, rope maze or ziplines! The supervisors will enjoy themselves too, relaxing by the Snack Shack in the picnic area under a canopy of trees. There is a lot of fun to be had, and also a lot to learn from spending the day on the farm!

There are two options to accommodate your groups’ interests and budgets.
A: $7.50 per person. General Admission + one extra activity
B: $10.50 per person. General Admission + three extra activities

Book now! Days are already filling up!

General Admission:
Scarecrow path
Petting farm
Simulated milking cow
Farm animal maze
Corn box
Sand box
Play structures
Rope maze
Bales of fun
Corn trail


Extra Activities:
Ziplines
Pumpkin slingshot (8+)
Train rides
Pumpkin painting
Trike track (<6)
Face painting
Water pump duck races

Herbs that we Grow.

Listed below are the various herbs that we sell. Last year I made a very good ice tea using fresh mint leaves and stevia. Personally I don't cook that much so my knowledge with herbs is what I have read in magazines, on the Internet, in seed catalogs, and in books. This year I hope to do more cooking so I can give people ideas on how to use the herbs and vegetables that I grow.

Basil:

Purple ruffles- has a slight clove scent and flavor.

Sweet Basil- Traditional basil that is used to make pesto or other dishes.

Thai Basil- has a licorice scent and flavor.

Cinnamon Basil- has a sweet cinnamon flavor. Can be used in food dishes and also be used in flower bouquets.

Lemon Basil- sweet and tangy flavor.

Catnip- Cats love this herb. It can also be used in teas.

Cilantro- Has a citrus and nutty flavour and it is used in salsas. The edible seeds are called Coriander.

Dill -We do not sell dill plants as they do not transplant well. We do sell fresh dill off of the home yard and at farmers' markets.

Lavender- The lavender we grow flowers in the first year. Lavender is used in a variety of crafts (potpourris, sachets, soaps, and wreaths).

Mint- Good for making jelly, teas, and in other recipes.

Oregano- Can be used in food dishes or in teas.

Parsley- Has a celery like taste and can be used in soups, as garnishes, and other dishes. Rosemary Can be used in crafts.

Sage- Has a slight lemon flavor and can be used in dressings, sauces, and teas. Can also be used in dried floral arrangements.

Summer Savory- Has a peppery taste. A lot of people use this herb to make a fresh bean soup.

Stevia- A sugar substitute. The leaves can be used dried or fresh.

Thyme- Can be used in teas and food dishes.

Listed below are some of the herb gardens we grow. They are perfect for the patio, deck, or balcony.

Italian herb garden: Sweet basil, oregano, chives, thyme, parsley.

Basil herb garden: all of the basil's that we grow in one pot.

Tea herb garden: Stevia, mint, lemon basil, cinnamon basil.

Lorissa

Getting ready for August 4 2011

The Scarecrow Forest is getting ready for our August 4th opening. Shirley has been busy every Friday at the local thriftshop finding clothes and interesting props for the scarecrows. It is amazing how much clothing it takes for the entire forest and for people to stuff their own scarecrow. Last year our theme was Farmer Hank and the scenes showed him doing various things around the forest. This year our theme is Families. Every scene is going to depict a scarecrow family doing something different in the forest. One scene is going to depict a family painting Penner Pumpkin's first greenhouse. Another scene is a family going for a leisurely bike ride through the forest. We are going to add a couple of new paths this year so that people who don't want to walk the entire trail can do a small loop and still see some scarecrows. We start stuffing the scarecrows and setting up the scenes in July. It takes us about a week to stuff and set everything up and takes up to 6 people to get all the work down.

Lorissa

How to Bake a Pumpkin

Baking a pumpkin is very similar to baking squash. If you don't know how to bake squash I will tell you exactly how to bake a pumpkin.

First: Select a pumpkin. Pie pumpkins are bred specially for pies and have less water content than Jack O Lantern pumpkins, hence making a thicker pie. They also are sweeter than a regular pumpkin.

Second: Turn oven on to 325 degrees F. Wash the pumpkin and than cut it in half.

Third: Scoop out the insides. Make sure to get all the seeds out and any stringy material. Save the seeds to bake later on.

Third: Place both halves pulp side down on a baking pan. Cover halves with tin foil and put water in pan so that the bottom is covered.

Fourth: Put in oven and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. Baking time will depend on the size of the pumpkin and the kind of oven you own. At the 45 minute mark poke the pumpkin with a fork, if it slides in easily the pumpkin is done, if not keep baking the pumpkin til the fork can slide in easily.

Fifth: Once the pumpkin is done and cool enough to touch, peel the skin off the pumpkin and discard, cut the pumpkin into small pieces and place in a blender. Don't put too much pumpkin into the blender at once as the pumpkin won't have a smooth texture. Once the pumpkin is all pureed than you are ready to use it. If you have too much pumpkin puree, it freezes really well (either use bags or containers).

Enjoy your pumpkin muffins, pies, cookies, soup etc.

Lorissa

Snack Shack Menu

Farmer Sausage burger

Hot dog

Pork on a bun

Chocolate bars

Candy bags

Chips

Coffee

Apple Cider (Original, Hot apple pie, Red Delicious, McIntosh, Caramel)

Pop (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, 7-up, Dr. Pepper, Orange Crush, Brisk Ice Tea, Diet 7-up, Root Beer)

Water

Apple Juice

Hot Chocolate

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin pie

Monster Cookies

Cinnamon Buns