”With the pumpkin washer, we can easily wash 300 large Halloween pumpkins in an hour. That used to take us almost a whole day with four or five people. The service is also well organized at MCR Machinery.”

Lia Leemans – Co-owner Leemans Pumpkins

What starts as a hobby at Leemans Pumpkins grows into a serious pumpkin farm in nine years. Co-owner Lia Leemans explains: “We live on a farm and our son was given pumpkin seeds by his grandfather nine years ago. He planted them and had a big harvest a few months later. He sold them on a table by the road. The next year he planted some more seeds and three tables were set up by the road. When our neighbor across the street came up with an idea, we took it bigger. He is a plant grower and supplies several garden centers. He was willing to supply the pumpkins to the garden centers.’

From hobby to pumpkin farm

Lia and her husband will grow all kinds of pumpkins on a few thousand feet of land. ‘By now we grow over 35 varieties of ornamental pumpkins and the same number in edible pumpkins. In the fall, our yard is full of stands of pumpkins. Each variety is labeled with the variety so customers can look for tasty recipes to go with it. On our pumpkin farm, we also host tastings, because not every pumpkin has the same taste. Autumn is a fun time with us with lots of traffic and great conversations with customers.

Machine washing

To clean the pumpkins, they have to be washed. Lia says, “The first year we did it manually in a mortar tub, later in a large tub that my husband had welded. With about four to five men we stood for hours washing. We had already wondered if washing could also be done by machine, but because of the many sizes and shapes, we didn’t see a possibility for this. In the summer of 2024, MCR Machinery called. The company indicated that it builds pumpkin washers and invited us to come and take a look in Marknesse. When we came to take a look, the pumpkin washer was in operation. We were immediately excited.

From rent to buy

MCR Machinery offered the couple to rent the machine first. Should they decide to buy, the rental price would be deducted from the purchase price. “After just one week of renting, we said to each other, ‘There’s no going back on that one.’ The pumpkin washer easily washes 300 Halloween pumpkins in an hour. We regularly get orders for large quantities of pumpkins to be picked up at the end of the afternoon. Earlier that was not feasible for us. Now we have such an order ready in half an hour. I can even do it by myself. Because the brushes are adjustable, we can wash all sizes of pumpkins. We are also very pleased with the service. When the nozzles were clogged once, they immediately sent us new ones free of charge. We are very happy with MCR Machinery.