Oh my gourd我的南瓜

The economics of pumpkin patches
南瓜地的经济效益

They are pointless, lucrative and generally a force for good它们没有意义、有利可图，通常是一种有益的力量


‍QUEENS COUNTY FARM MUSEUM is one of the few pastoral corners in New York City. It has an apiary, an orchard, livestock and, in autumn, a pumpkin patch. Parents take photos oftheir tykes, some dressed as pumpkins, sitting on a mound ofpumpkins. Twenty-somethings, hoping not to look like pumpkins,strike poses next to hay balesand post them on Instagram. This meeting of big tech and smallholding might seem as natural as a Clarendon filter. In fact the two go together.
皇后区农场博物馆是纽约市为数不多的田园角落之一。这里有养蜂场、果园、牲畜，秋天还有南瓜地。家长们为他们的孩子拍照，有些孩子打扮成南瓜的样子，坐在南瓜堆上。二十多岁的年轻人则希望自己不要像南瓜一样，在干草堆旁边摆出各种姿势，然后把照片发到Instagram 上。这种大科技与小农户的结合看起来就像克拉伦登滤镜一样自然。事实上，两者是相辅相成的。
In the 19th century, as people moved away from farms to cities, many felt they had lost their connections to nature. Pumpkins became a symbol for that rural ideal. Americans will still happily drive hoursto purchase a fruit (yes it is) that they will not eat. Small towns with no economic tiesto the squash host pumpkin festivals and contests. Andy Wolf grows gourds in excess of 2,000lbs (907kg). “Wekeep track of the genetics like you would a champion racehorse,” he says.
19 世纪，随着人们从农场搬到城市，许多人感到失去了与大自然的联系。南瓜成了乡村理想的象征。美国人仍然乐于驱车数小时去购买一种他们不会吃的水果（没错）。与南瓜没有经济联系的小镇会举办南瓜节和比赛。安迪·沃尔夫种植的南瓜超过2000 磅（907 千克）。"他说："我们就像追踪一匹冠军赛马一样追踪基因。
Pumpkin patches are a way for people to maintain connections to rural life, says Cindy Ott, author of “Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon”. The effects arereal enough. “The crazy thing is, that the popularity of pumpkin pie and thejack-o-lanternsis helping, has helped to rejuvenate small family farms,” she adds.
南瓜地是人们保持与乡村生活联系的一种方式，《南瓜》一书的作者辛迪·奥特说其影响是真实的。"她补充说："疯狂的是，南瓜派和南瓜灯的流行有助于小型家庭农场的复兴。
Libby’s, which produces most of the canned filling for pumpkin pies, relies on a few dozen small-scalefarmers. According to NIQ, a market-research firm, nearly $820m of pumpkin-related products, which includes everything from pumpkin candles to pumpkin cinnamon bagels, were sold over the past year, a 9% annual increase. Sales of fresh pumpkin amounted tomore than $190m in the year ending October 14th.
生产大部分南瓜派罐头馅料的Libby's 依靠几十个小规模农场主。根据市场研究公司 NIQ 的数据，去年南瓜相关产品的销售额接近 8.2 亿美元，其中包括从南瓜蜡烛到南瓜肉桂面包圈等各种产品，年增长率为 9%。在截至 10 月 14 日的一年中，新鲜南瓜的销售额超过了 1.9 亿美元。
Pumpkin patches are not hard to create. Farmers do not have to devote too much acreage to make a worthwhile patch. Money can be made from selling apple ciderand donuts to the pumpkin punters as well as jams and vegetables. The Queens County Farm charges $16 ($12 for kids) to enter the “amazingmaize maze”, a living labyrinth. Another queue waits for the $6 hayrides. Steve Reiners, a horticultural professor at Cornell University, says pumpkins “can make all the differencewhether they have a profitable year.”■
弄南瓜地并不难。农民不需要投入太多的土地就能建成一个有价值的南瓜地。向南瓜购买者出售苹果酒和甜甜圈以及果酱和蔬菜也能赚钱。皇后郡农场对进入"神奇的玉米迷宫 "收费 16 美元（儿童 12 美元），这是一个活生生的迷宫。还有一群人在排队等候收费6 美元的干草车游玩项目。康奈尔大学园艺学教授史蒂夫·莱纳斯（Steve Reiners）说，南瓜 "可以决定一年是否盈利"。
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