Pumpkin Season
September - OctoberPlanning a fall photo session, a Halloween bash, a community event, or a fundraiser? Or just need a bunch of pumpkins? Send us a bulk pumpkin request!
Culinary Pumpkins
Did you know that pumpkins are a fantastic source of fiber, antioxidants, such as beta carotene, vitamins, and minerals? Not only that, but they can be prepared in many ways, making for some delicious snacks, meals & desserts. You can even eat pumpkin blossoms!
All pumpkins are edible, but some varieties have superior flavour and texture, which is why they're considered culinary pumpkins
Some of our favourite kinds include: Sugar Pie (pies), Jarrahdale (pies, soups, chilis, roasted), Troll (soups, roasted, stuffed & baked), Grey Ghost (soups, chilis, pies, deep fried and baked).
Of course, you can't talk about culinary pumpkins without also at least mentioning winter squash - which, in our heart of hearts, we consider honorary pumpkins. We're talking Acorn Squash, Delicata, Hubbards, Kabocha, Trombonchini, and Spaghetti Squash.
Specialty Pumpkins
Specialty pumpkins can be culinary or ornamental - it just depends on the variety! There's a few ways to talk about specialty:
- Colour - Did you know there are white, pink, yellow, black, blue, red, peach, chocolate and multi-coloured pumpkins? White pumpkins are often not particularly flavourful, but they're beautiful to decorate with. They also make an excellent pumpkin jam. Pink, black, blue, peach, and red pumpkins are often also culinary varieties and make for some delicious baking!
- Warts - There's a whole world of ugly, bumpy, gnarly, warty pumpkins and we love them for their ghastly appearance! Green Goblin, Knucklehead, Miniwarts, Bad Jelly, and more. Warty pumpkins can be carved, but they often have super tough skin, so you'll need a sharp knife.
- Size - From super small minis to the giants of pumpkin weighing competitions, size can make a big difference! We grow several thousand minis every year since they're perfect for field trips.
- Shape - While most pumpkins are relatively round or oval, there are a few standouts. From super tall and skinny carvers to picture-picture flat-stackers (which, as the name suggests, are the perfect shape to stack on top of one another). There are also a few like Troll and Aladdin's Turban that appear to look a little like a mushroom cap or like there's a face on one side.
Carver Pumpkins
Also known as Jack O'Lanterns, carver pumpkins typically weigh between 10-50lbs although most of our varieties average between 15-30lbs. Carver pumpkins also typically have thinner skin and thin walls, which makes them easier to carve designs into than culinary pumpkins, which normally have walls 2-4 times thicker than a carver.
Carvers are technically edible, but because they have thinner walls, there's much less flesh to work with, and the texture tends to be stringy and the flavour mild or even somewhat bland. Definitely not recommended for pumpkin pie!
However, carvers do usually have lots of large seeds, which make for some scrumptious roasted pumpkin seeds!
