Bountiful Minnesota Pumpkin Season Arrives

The freshest Minnesota pumpkins, large and small, bumpy or smooth, in multiple colors, are now available from local growers around the state to last throughout your harvest season.

This year’s crop is a great one, said Valri Wittner, owner of Lendt’s Orchard in Wyoming, Minn.

“Maybe it was the moisture or the cool weather,” she said. “The pumpkin handles are nice and firm. A fabulous crop!”

Buying a local pumpkin from one of the 128 pumpkin growers listed in the Minnesota Grown Directory ensures that you will get the freshest pumpkin to last all month long.

Locally grown pumpkins are also available pre-picked at select locations including farmers markets.

Wittner’s 40-acre pumpkin patch allows customers to pick from 20 different varieties, including green, blue, white, pink and lumpy-bumpy for $4 each, any size.

When picking a pumpkin, Wittner advises carrying it in your arms, instead of by the stem, which can break off.

The Minnesota Grown Directory is available in print and online, and is a great resource for finding local apple orchards or farmers markets. The 2019 Directory includes 118 apple orchards.

Free, printed copies of the Directory may be ordered online or by calling 1-888-TOURISM (1-888-868-7476).