Ventura County Farmer Strikes Gold With Creation Of Ghoulish Pumpkins
FILLMORE (CBSLA.com) — A local farmer has struck gold with his harvest of pumpkins resembling spooky Halloween characters.
CBS2's Laurie Perez spoke with farmer Tony Dighera on Saturday, who shared how he grew the pumpkins in a field located on a 40-acre farm.
"When I saw how detailed I could get it I knew I had something," Dighera said.
The pumpkins are 100-percent naturally and organically grown here in Southern California. They are designed to resemble spooky Halloween figures such as Frankenstein.
Dighera coined his ghoulish harvest as "Pumpkinstein," which has been growing since March in fruit molds, attracting buyers from around the world.
The process has taken him almost four years of trial and error to discover the best way to grow the pumpkins with a mold that provided enough air and light.
"If it's too large, you're condensing it," said Dighera. "You're forcing it to be too small and it wont ripen correctly. Obviously if its too small, it won't fit in the mold."
This year's harvest marks his first full production.
Dighera is selling each "Pumpkinstein" for $75 each wholesale.
With Halloween right around the corner, these spirited pumpkins area available right now at Erewhon Markets for just over $100 in Los Angeles.
They are also expected to be for sale at Whole Foods Market and Gelson's starting next week.