Indiana Pumpkin Crop Is Good

If you are heading to the patch, you should have no problem picking out the perfect pumpkin.  Hoosiers can expect to find plenty of good crop, despite a split season.

Indiana pumpkin producers say yield and prices should be average even though the first half of the growing season was wet and the second half dry.  This was good for providing moisture for the plants since most are not irrigated.  Some fields lost crops the second half of the season because of dry weather, but it also helped deter disease. 

A Purdue University plant pathologist says don’t be afraid to buy a uniquely shaped squash.  "If you like the way it looks, take it home," says Dan Egel.  A good quality pumpkin should be free of soft spots with a thick green stem.