Central Illinois is in the fall, which means that farms all over the area have lots of pumpkins ready to be picked.
Also, October 26 is National Pumpkin Day. It is not just that pumpkin flavor is always present in fall foods. Illinois grows more gourds than any other state in the country.
The United States Department of Agriculture says that Illinois grows more pumpkins than any other state, almost twice as many as the next closest state.
The best canned pumpkin in the country comes from Libby’s in Morton, which is now part of the NESTLE brand. The village calls itself the “Pumpkin Capital of the World” because of this.
But there is more to the story of pumpkins in central Illinois than just Morton. Mason, Tazewell, and Peoria Counties grow more pumpkins than any other counties in the state. In fact, they grow most of the crops in the state.
More than 4,600 acres of pumpkins have been picked in Mason County, making it the state’s biggest pumpkin producer.
Second place goes to Tazewell, which harvested more than 3,500 acres, and third place goes to Peoria County, which grew more than 1,300 acres of pumpkins in 2022. Stark, which grew pumpkins on 285 acres, is the next best county in Illinois for pumpkin production.
Kurt The people at Christ of Christ Orchard in Elmwood say that pumpkins grow for most of the year and are ready to eat in the fall. Christ said that is why people think of pumpkins when they think of Halloween.
“You have to sell it when it is ready, and now is the time to use it.” “That is why people want to come get their pumpkins in the fall, whether they want to use them for decoration, to eat, or to can,” he said.
He said it was a good time of year to have a pumpkin holiday because of this.
When you have something earlier, it can get everyone excited, and they are not ready yet. So it is better now than earlier. “But now they are all set to go,” he said.
He also said that pumpkins grow best when it is dry and that they can be used for many things, like food and decorations. Really, you can use them for anything.