5 Things About Pumpkins Before Visiting Patches In Washington

SEATTLE — It may only be September now, but fall is fast incoming and that means one thing — it's gourd time in Western Washington.

With trips to local pumpkin patches and fields already in the works, it might be a good idea to brush up on everything pumpkin-related before heading out to the biggest pumpkin farms near you.

Here are five things you may have been wondering about pumpkins:

1. How They Grow

It’s not only large pumpkin fields that produce the orange, fall-time tradition. Pumpkins can be grown in regular back yards, too, but only if there’s enough space.

Pumpkins are often referred to as a “garden gorilla,” gardening experts at HGTV said in a guide on how to grow pumpkins. The vines of the large plants sprawl and expand throughout the growing season, much like watermelons. They grow quickly, and can take out other plants if not contained.

Backyard gardeners have been known to tuck the pumpkin plants along the edges of a vegetable garden, although some let their pumpkin vines ramble across the yard.

2. Where They Grow

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says six states — Illinois, California, Indiana, Michigan. Virginia and Texas — are responsible for 40 percent of pumpkin acres harvested. Together, they average between 4,700 and 5,600 acres of pumpkins a year, according to the USDA. Illinois tops the list of pumpkin-producing states, harvesting about 10,900 acres in 2019. The other states among the top six have all averaged between 4,700 and 5,600 acres per year.

Don't worry though, Washington still has a sizable pumpkin crop all its own for you to enjoy.

3. Best Pumpkin Patches In Washington

A Reader’s Digest article posted earlier this summer has listed their picks for the best pumpkin patches in every state. In Washington, Reader’s Digest has listed Craven Farm in Snohomish.

Planning a longer fall trip? A “Drive The Nation” blog posted a few years back shows five of the biggest pumpkin farms in the United States: The Great Pumpkin Farm, Clarence, New York; Cool Patch Pumpkins, Dixon, California; Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express, Bryson City, North Carolina; Frey Farms, Keenes, Illinois; and Craven Farm, Snohomish, Washington.

4. Don't Put Pumpkin Stuff In The Sink

If you're the pumpkin carving sort, don't wash the goop down the drain. Every year, local wastewater treatment plants have to deal with a mess of pumpkin pulp and seeds that have gooped up home plumbing across the region.

"Even if you use a garbage disposal, the innards can clog your pipes leading to an expensive unscheduled plumber's visit and potentially clog sewer pipes," writes King County Wastewater Treatment's Norm Mah.

Instead, they suggest using the leftovers to make pumpkin pie, or to compost the remains.

5. The Halloween Connection

As pumpkins are often turned into jack-o’-lanterns after they are picked from the patches and fields, some may wonder why they have been so closely associated with Halloween.

Pumpkins are often carved into jack-o’-lanterns after they are picked from the patches and fields, but how did they come to be so closely associated with Halloween?

The practice of decorating jack-o’-lanterns actually began in Ireland, according to History.com. The name jack-o’-lantern cones from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, where it became interwoven with other Halloween festivities.

Patch staffer Tim Moran contributed to this report.