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Sonoma County, CA

For transporting I’ve seen people use thick squishy foam under the pumpkin. Im not talking about the more dense insulation foam that is common to grow on.
I have seen Pallet + dense insulation foam + thick squishy foam. The squishy foam looks like upholstery foam. 3”-4” thick? Basically I want something that has some shock absorption when transporting. Any suggestions and where can you buy it? Thanks!

9/26/2023 1:01:19 AM

Richmond, BC, Canada

Home Depot is where I get mine. White foam is the cheapest and softest. For short distances I put it on a pallet that has been covered with plywood. For my trip to California(1000 miles) I'm placing the foam directly on the trailer bed.

9/26/2023 9:17:56 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

You can also try a specialty store like “The Foam Shop” since they do custom sizing, quite often they will have parts and pieces they will sell off cheaply.

https://foamshop.com/

9/26/2023 9:44:11 AM

Western NY

We've switched to the 2 or 3 inch closed cell polyethylene foam. It's stiff enough to mostly hold it's form while having some flexibility with the bottom of a fruit.

For true shock absorption, I have put a layer of the squishy foam between the pallet and PE foam. If you put the squishy foam between the pumpkin and PE foam, it's not going to do much good, and it will be harder to get the bottom rope under the girth.

For the smaller pumpkins, I've just put them on squishy foam because they bounce less on the trailer that way.

9/26/2023 10:07:04 AM

Mead, WA

When I helped we used my comforter folded in 4 so squishy for big pumpkin not over 100#s though. A lot of people get rid of old mattresses maybe before taking it to the dump a mattress full size fits it a little truck my friend helped me bring one home and teased he could go camping now since it fit flat in bed of little truck. If thin mattresses try stacking a couple for heavier pumpkins. Maybe post at furniture mattress selling store for them or if stores take away old ones when delivered new.

9/26/2023 10:54:24 AM

Sonoma County, CA

Super helpful, thanks!
Andy where do you buy a large sheet of polyethylene foam? I’m only finding small pieces.

9/26/2023 1:58:54 PM