Great pumpkins? Well, good enough after summer's cool, wet weather

Don't worry. There will be pumpkins.

This summer's weather wasn't conducive to growing them, but there are still plenty of pumpkins to decorate and eat.

The cool, wet weather has definitely inconvenienced some Illinois pumpkin farmers, who make a good part of their living around Halloween. This summer was the 11th coolest and eighth wettest since statewide records began in 1895, and may have been the cloudiest on record, according to the Illinois state climatologist's office.

What's resulted is a pumpkin crop that's not particularly strong, but no worse than average, said Mohammad Babadoost, University of Illinois associate professor of plant pathology. He said insects have a harder time pollinating the pumpkins when it is too wet, which can lead to a weak crop.

John Didier, co-owner of Didier Farms outside Buffalo Grove, said they weren't hit too hard by the bad weather and expects a decent crop. The relatively warm September has helped salvage the crop.

"You have to keep the vines healthy," Didier said. "When they get damp they get a lot of mildew on them. It damages the vine, and that's the umbilical chord."

Justin Talley, grower relations representative for Frey Farms Produce in Keenes, Ill., about 100 miles east of St. Louis, said they're also looking at an average crop this year. The farm provides pumpkins for Walmart stores nationwide and to Nestle for pies and other prepared foods.

This odd summer followed the fifth wettest spring on record in Illinois, resulting in Frey Farms having to delay planting some of their Halloween pumpkins. But the plantings are staggered, so the delay only affected pumpkins that shipped in early September. October is the biggest shipping month.

And in some ways, the cool weather actually helped Frey Farms since, being farther south, its pumpkins are more likely to be exposed to days of extreme heat, which can actually hurt the crop.

Illinois is the nation's leading producer of both canned and Halloween pumpkins, producing three times as many pumpkins as the next leading state, Babadoost said. Illinois produces 90 percent of the nation's canned pumpkins and has 12,000 acres dedicated to Halloween pumpkins alone, he said.

With most farmers able to salvage their crop, buyers shouldn't see a big difference in prices this year. Some sellers are simply hesitant to raise prices too much in a down economy.

Tom Feltes, co-owner of Sonny Acres Farms in West Chicago, said this year's pumpkins are as plentiful as usual but weigh about five to 10 pounds lighter than normal. But Sonny Acres' owners were reluctant to raise the price this year and decided against it, meaning their pumpkins are again selling for 39 cents a pound.

Wheaton Landscape and Garden Center gets its pumpkins from Lake Geneva, Wis. Owner Steve Lederman said he paid about a penny more than usual per pound, so the center's customers will pay 40 cents per pound accordingly.

Joe Kovalick of Ben's Giant Pumpkins in Sugar Grove said the wet spring also resulted in a later planting and put them about three weeks behind. He said the vines at Ben's have produced fewer, smaller pumpkins than usual.

"This was not a good year to be in the giant pumpkin growing business," Kovalick said via e-mail.

George Janowiak of Roselle, who specializes in growing really big pumpkins and trying to break state records, said he has several in his patch this year that are more than 1,000 pounds. The state record is 1,468 pounds - for now.

Janowiak, president of the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association, said he knows that this hasn't been the best year for growth, which is why it's strange that he has heard of so many local growers having great years.

"I know pumpkins need sunshine and a lot of warmth," he said, "so it's sort of an anomaly."