Poor pumpkin crops mean a jack o'lantern rush

We've already had a few articles about Halloween pumpkins this year, and we'll continue to showcase some enlightening ideas for the coolest Jack O'Lanterns on the block. However, if you plan to carve up a pumpkin or three this October, there's something you need to know.

I live in Ohio, the US's primary producer of the autumnal pumpkin crop. Over the last week or so, the local news has been buzzing: due to a hot, dry summer, this year's pumpkin yield is smaller than it should be, and among those pumpkins making it to the shelves, there are fewer prime specimens than usual. The same news has been common across all the Midwestern US's pumpkin-producing areas. The last year this bad for pumpkins was almost twenty years ago.

What does this mean to you? A relative scarcity! Pumpkin prices are a little bit higher this year, it will be more difficult to find a large pumpkin that isn't obviously misshapen, and sellers expect those to go relatively quickly. The bottom line is that anyone with plans to dress their Halloween manor to impress should try to get their hands on their little orange victims in the very near future.

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