How can someone not love the month of October? There are so many fun fall activities to partake in, like apple picking, corn mazes, and fall photo shoots. We all know that with autumn comes pumpkins, but many of you may not realize just how many different kind of pumpkins there are. Luckily, I work on a farm (even though my particular job is to mainly scoop ice-cream) where we sell pumpkins, so I am a master knowing the different kind of pumpkins, and what they’re good for.
Let’s start with the sugar baby. Sugar babies are usually around 10” in diameter and orange. These baby pumpkins are best for eating. They are sweet and sugary, and great for baking a pumpkin pie!
Gourds are usually intriguing to people, especially little kids. Gourds come in interesting shapes and some different colors, but they can always usually fit in the palm of one’s hand. They are bitter, so you do not eat them, but they’re definitely great for a centerpiece on the dining room table!
Wee bee’s are miniature pumpkins, about the size of a baseball or softball. Some are smooth, and are great for painting tiny faces on, others are more squished down with ridges. Again, these are the kind of pumpkins that little kids go wild for because they’re “little” like them!
Baby boo pumpkins are the same as wee bee’s except they’re white rather than orange. My cousin got married in September, and at the wedding they had our name tags attached to cute little baby boo’s that told us which table we’d be sitting at. I thought this was an adorable, and crafty idea for a fall wedding!
Fairytale pumpkins are funky. They come in more interesting shapes than just the normal circle. Their colors can also vary. They may be a duller orange, or even white, or a greenish color! Some may even call these “Cinderella” pumpkins, as they have larger stems coming from them, giving off a fairytale feel.
When you say the word “Pumpkin”, there are many different kinds, but the word most often brings you to think of an average, larger pumpkin that is orange and semi-smooth. These pumpkins are best for painting, as they offer a large surface. They are also best for carving a face or design, then sticking a candle inside to make it light up. Some people rip out the seeds from inside while gutting them and roast them in the oven.
So, as people are trying to cram in all of their Fall activities, such as a quick visit to the pumpkin patch, I hope this guide helped. All around the country people use different names for the different pumpkins, but in the North East these are common names for each of the types of pumpkins. Some are better for eating, some are great for décor, and others are best for painting and carving. Now everyone head to your local pumpkin patch and put some pumpkins to use while getting in the Fall spirit!