by Whitney Flach
Yesterday, was National Pumpkin Day! Plentiful pumpkins, are especially worth celebrating here in Iowa, due to this years timely rain, and warm September.
According to the state agriculture department, pumpkin production in Iowa has nearly tripled in the last three decades to over 900 acres.
Iowa pumpkin farmers say their crops look excellent just a couple days before Halloween.
Pumpkins need lots of water, but too much rain and a hard frost can cause a crop to rot. Pumpkins thrive in warm conditions, but a drought will also harm a crop, causing the yield to be smaller and lighter. The weather for pumpkins was perfect this year.
An owner of a pumpkin patch in northwest, Iowa said, “I am very pleased with this 2016 crop of pumpkins, which is in the thousands.”
There are lists of pumpkin patches around the state that you can still make time to visit before the season comes to a close.
