By Terry Keshner
CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Illinois is the leading state for pumpkin farmers, but growing one at home for Halloween has its challenges.
WBBM Newsradio recently visited Grace Winston who, along with her 5-year-old son Ryan and her husband Chris, has been growing small pumpkins in their backyard in west suburban Oak Park.
"We've given up on the large pumpkins. We just go with the nice, little, small ones that are just about the size of your fist or a little larger. And we usually get a nice bumper crop here, because we have some extra fertilizer that comes from the dog!" Winston said.
Growing pumpkins would seem to be a natural thing for Illinois residents. The U.S. Department of Agricuture said that in 2018, five states produced more than one-billion pounds of pumpkins—about 40 percent of total U.S. production. The number one pumpkin-producing state—Illinois—produced twice as many pumpkins as the other four top-producing states, more than 500 million pounds.
It's also reported that Illinois farmers grow more ornamental and canning-type pumpkins than any other state. In fact, Illinois produced more than twice as many pumpkins in 2017 as second-ranked California.
Several weeks ago, WBBM Newsrdio spoke to John Ackerman, who owns and operates Ackerman Pumpkin Farm in Morton, Illinois, near Peoria.
He said that the weather stayed so cold and wet for so long earlier this year that he couldn't plant until late, which hurt the corn and soybeans crop, but "incredibly we're blessed with some really good pumpkins this year."
Ackerman expected to handpick about 30,000 pumpkins on his farm this Halloween season.
As for young Ryan Winston, he enjoys trying to grow pumpkins in his yard with his mom and dad, but he had plans to go to an actual pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin large enough to carve into a Jack-o-Lantern for Halloween.
