Scorching summer temperatures means plentiful pumpkins to pick this fall

Hot summer temperatures mean plenty of pumpkins this fall

This summer’s dry and warm weather may have been uncomfortable to sit through, but it is exactly what pumpkin patches across the region needed for a plentiful fall for picking.

NEW YORK - Happy about the warm summer we had? So are the pumpkins on the east end of Long Island.

Dry and warm weather is the perfect recipe for a plentiful pumpkin patch. This year Ed Harbes, owner of Harbes Family Farm says the harvest has been one of the healthiest.

“Pumpkins aren't a hearty crop,” Harbes said. “If the roots are saturated for a couple of days, different plant disease set in and impacts the quality of the plant.”

The North Fork farm grows pumpkins on 60-acres of land. Seeds were planted in June and the patch opened for picking the second to last week in September. This year at $0.69 a pound, there are tens of thousands of pumpkins to choose from.

When it comes to picking pumpkins there are many varieties. There is the Aladdin or face pumpkin - the most popular for carving, there are the Cinderella pumpkins low to the ground and great for pie. There's also the prize winner - a variety that can grow to be over 100-pounds when it's ready to be picked!

According to the New York State Agricultural Society, New York ranks among the top ten pumpkin producers in the nation.