Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom logo, green A with blue leaf.

PUMPKINS

Green square logo for Illinois Ag Mag, an agricultural magazine for kids, with white textured text.

IN PUMPKINS

Illinois Farmers grow more pumpkins than anywhere else in the world!

ILLINOIS IS

Two orange pumpkins of different sizes, with green stems, are shown on a white background.

Ornamental Pumpkin

Processing Pumpkin

#1

Pumpkin Diagram highlighting Tendrils, Vine and Blossoms.

WHAT ARE PUMPKINS?

Pumpkins are members of the gourd family. This includes cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelons, and zucchini. These plants grow on a VINE and often climb using TENDRILS. They also have bright yellow or white BLOSSOMS. Pumpkins are originally from Central America and Mexico, but they are now grown on all continents except Antarctica.

Most pumpkins in Illinois are grown for processing. A small percentage are grown for ornamental sales. That means people use them to decorate or carve into Jack O-Lanterns. These can be purchased through U-Pick farms, farmers markets, and retail stores. Processed pumpkins are turned into canned pumpkin and canned pie mix. Processing pumpkins have a similar size and shape to a watermelon. They have a lighter shell than ornamental pumpkins. Pumpkins can range in size from less than one pound to more than 1,000 pounds.

Tendrils

Vine

Blossom

WORDS TO Know...

Vine: long flexible stems that trail along the ground or climb by clinging to a support with tendrils.

Tendrils: slender, coiling plant parts which help support the stem of some climbing plants by clinging to an object.

Blossom: the flower of the plant, which will turn into the pumpkin.

Map of the US highlighting 5 states: California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
A long, thin horizontal line composed of many small, vertical green bars.
A long, thin horizontal line composed of many small, vertical green bars.
A Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin can featuring a pumpkin pie slice graphic and nutritional facts.
A thick, hand-drawn orange curved arrow pointing from the top-left to the middle-right.

Over 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin is processed in Morton, Illinois at Libby’s Plant. This is why Morton is considered the Pumpkin Capital of the World!

FUN FACT

70% of pumpkin-related sales occur in September, October, and November.

Assortment of pumpkins and gourds in various sizes and colors, including orange, green, and striped.

WHAT KIND OF PUMPKINS ARE IN THE PATCH?

Pumpkins come in all different types called VARIETIES. Different varieties have different shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. Sometimes pollen from one variety of pumpkin pollinates another variety and creates a brand-new type of pumpkin. This is called CROSS-POLLINATION. Pumpkin farmers and seed breeders have done this on purpose to create the variety of pumpkins used for processing pumpkin-flavored foods like pumpkin pie. These processing pumpkin varieties look very different and taste a lot better than the pumpkins we carve into jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween.

Black Futsu

Jack o' Lantern

Italian Stripe

Sugar Pie

Baby Bear

WORDS TO Know...

Variety: a kind or type of pumpkin.

Cross-Pollination: the transfer of pollen from the flower of one plant to the flower of a plant with a different genetic makeup.

A carved Halloween pumpkin (jack-o'-lantern) next to a slice of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream.

Pumpkins have a rich tradition in America. The pumpkin helped keep new European settlers alive after they failed to grow wheat and corn. Native Americans used pumpkins to get through long winters. Over time, they found many ways to enjoy the sweet inner meat of the pumpkin. They added pumpkin blossoms to soups, turned dried pumpkin into flour, and munched on seeds as a snack.


Pumpkins were so useful, Irish immigrants even turned their tradition of carving faces in turnips into carving jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween. Today, Illinois is the number one pumpkin producer in the U.S. For that reason, pumpkin pie became the Illinois State Pie in 2015. Pumpkin pie is a favorite at Thanksgiving. Orders surge dramatically during the holiday season.

WHY ARE PUMPKINS SO POPULAR?

Native Americans developed a way to grow pumpkins called the “Three Sisters.” They planted corn, beans, and pumpkins together in one place. These “Three Sisters” worked together to help each other grow. The corn stalk grew sturdy and supported the bean plant. The bean plant added nitrogen to the soil, which helped the corn plant grow. The pumpkins provided a ground cover of shade, which helped the soil stay moist and kept weeds from growing. Today, pumpkin farmers use different practices to make sure their crop is successful. Pumpkins are grown in all 50 states, but Illinois grows the most by far. Counties like Tazwell, Peoria, and Mason in the central part of the state provide the perfect soil and climate conditions for growing pumpkins.

A long, thin horizontal line composed of many small, vertical green bars.

WHAT ARE THE "THREE SISTERS"

A long, thin horizontal line composed of many small, vertical green bars.
Three corn stalks, intertwined with vine leaves, grow from the soil alongside three orange pumpkins.
Rows of tall green corn plants and broad-leafed companion plants in a field under a sunny sky.

HOW DO PUMPKINS GROW

  • Fall decorations
  • Jack-o’-Lantern carving
  • Fall decorations
  • Jack-o’-Lantern carving

Find out by watching our Awesome Agriculture: Pumpkin video.

HOW ARE PUMPKINS HARVESTED?

FUN FACT

The heaviest pumpkin on record weighed more than 2,819 pounds. It was grown by twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton in the United Kingdom in 2025.

Group of three people posing in a circle with text written around it Beekeepers Larry, Colin & Angie of Angie's Farm. A woman standing up next to that with Photo by Devin Leigh Photography.

ILLINOIS PUMPKIN PRODUCTION

A small pumpkin with bar charts for production measured in pounds, acres harvested, value of harvested pumpkins, and yield measured in pounds/acre.

FUN FACT

The heaviest pumpkin ever grown in North America was 2,749 pounds. It was grown by Travis Gienger in Anoka, Minnesota, and presented in 2023.

Red Blood Icon

Pumpkins are high in beta carotene which is converted to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A helps your bones and cells develop.

Blue Bone Icon

How Can

The word "YOU" in large, bold, blue outline letters on a white background.

Help THE POLLINATORS?

WHY ARE PUMPKINS "GOURD" FOR YOU?

The vitamin C, vitamin E, and antioxidants found in pumpkins helps promote healthy eyes.

Green Eye Icon
Yellow smiley face icon

Pumpkins are extremely low in calories. They have only about 50 calories per cup since they are more than 90% water.

Pumpkins are high in fiber, which helps you maintain a healthy digestive system.

Red and Pink Digestive System Icon

Pumpkins can help increase your body’s white blood cell production and strengthen your immune system due to the vitamin C they contain.

FUN FACT

The largest pumpkin pie ever was baked on September 25, 2010 and weighed in at 3,699 pounds!

HOW DO PUMPKINS SIZE UP?

Let’s hear from two different pumpkin farmers in Illinois to compare processing pumpkin farming to ornamental pumpkin farming.

Three blue rounded rectangles of varying sizes connected by thin lines, arranged horizontally.
Three rounded green rectangles of varying sizes connected horizontally by a thin line on a white background.
Chat bubble with photo of a family next to it

PROCESSING PUMPKINS

ORNAMENTAL PUMPKINS

Luke Clark, 7th generation owner of Clark Farms located in Chandlerville, Illinois.

"Pumpkins are our best cash crop 8/10 years. Diversifying crops, more than just corn and soybeans, helps us be successful and makes every day different."

Chat bubble with a photo of a family next to it

Cody and Maria Blunier, owners since 2023 of The Pumpkin Place located in Princeville, Illinois.

“Pumpkin farming is not all big orange carving pumpkins. There is a whole different group of colorful decorative pumpkins.”

A simple graphic showing three horizontally arranged, connected green rounded rectangles.
White logo featuring two stylized dice, one showing two dots and the other three, with the word "Market" below them.
A white illustration of a pie slice with whipped cream on a black background, with the word 'Uses' below it.
  • Contract with Seneca Foods in Princeville, IL (canned pumpkin then sold wholesale to stores)

  • Mainly retail to individuals
  • Some wholesales to greenhouses or porch decoration businesses to stores)

    • 100% gets processed and canned for pies and other pumpkin foods
    • Fall decorations
    • Jack-o’-Lantern carving
    Three rounded green rectangular shapes connected by thin lines, suggesting a process or sequence.
    Illustration of a hand planting seeds in soil with sprouts.
    • Work ground with harrow (removes ridges and trash for better yields)
    • Seneca Foods plants with machinery
    • Plant in IL mid to late May for warm temperatures. Completed before June
    • Every other row planted (60 in. rows)
    • A couple varieties planted
    • Plant all by hand as a family
    • Seeds placed on soil hill and kids push just below surface
    • Start middle of May and plant every 5 days through June
    • Varieties mature at different rates; all are ready by Labor Day Weekend
    • Over 200 varieties planted
    Three connected orange rounded rectangles arranged horizontally.
    White outline drawing of a pumpkin with the word "Harvesting" below it on a black background.
    • Machines windrow and cut pumpkins off vines
    • Harvesters roll pumpkins up conveyer and dump in carts
    • Some are smashed but still used
    • From Oct. 1st to mid Nov. (weather dependent)
    • Each pumpkin is picked by hand
    • Leave bug eaten or soft ones in field
    • Cleaned at the farm
    • Pick for about an hour a day after work
    • Restock all varieties each Saturday
    • From start of Sep. to end of Oct.

    Common Core State Standards:

    ELA - RI.4.1; RI.4.2; RI.4.3; RI.4.4; RI.4.5; RI.4.7; SL.4.1 ; SL.4.4; L.4.4 ; L.4.6 | Math - MD.3.3; NBT.4.2; NBT 4.4

    Information in this Ag Mag complements the following learning standards:

    Next Generation Science Standards:

    3-LS1-1; 3-LS1.B; 3-LS3-2; 3-LS3.B; 3-LS4-3; 4-LS1-1; 4-LS1. Social Studies - SS.4.EC.1-2; SS.4.H.2

    This issue of AG MAG has been provided by:

    Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom logo, green A with blue leaf.
    The IAA Foundation Logo