Searching for the perfect pumpkin in the north

Halloween is just a few weeks away and  families are preparing for festivities and searching for the perfect pumpkin.

From carving, to having them as a decoration, or eating either pumpkin pies or seeds, they are used in so many ways and several varieties are grown in the north.Small decorative pumpkins on sale at Leisure Farms, Sturgeon Falls. (Jaime McKee/CTV News Northern Ontario)Leisure Farms, in Sturgeon Falls, is know for its pumpkins and they said they are the only farm in the north to sell a huge volume of different variations.

"It's unique, I'm the only one to this scale. We have different coloured ones. We have European ones that are more reddish, as have the blues ones. They're all edible, the white ones can be used for baking," said Mitch Deschatelets, owner and operator of Leisure Farms.A small sampling of the huge volume of pumpkins available at Leisure Farms. (Jaime McKee/CTV News Northern Ontario)They also sell thousands of pumpkins to various garden centres in the north.

"We buy locally, from Leisure Farms, by the crate, by the carton,” the owner of Burrow’s Country Store, in North Bay, Debbie Hudson told CTV News.

“We've got lots of green, which are becoming more and more popular every year. The days of just having the regular orange pumpkins, not so much anymore, there still there. But the white and green are really, really popular."

Deschatelets said like all types of farming in the north, growing pumpkins has its challenges. Even when it's not pumpkin season, there's plenty of work to be done behind the scenes, he added.

"We start in the spring between May 8 and May 15, that way when the plants are still small they survive the June frost,” explained Deschatelets.

“Throughout the season it's just maintaining proper moisture. Then we cut the stems off around Sept. 20, harvest the end of September right up until Halloween."

Both Deschatelets and Hudson said while it is a short season; it is always a busy time of year.

"Been nice sunny days, cool nights, decorating pumpkins, mums, corn stalks, straw bails, pumpkins, everyone wants it all," Hudson added.

With Halloween approaching, local farms and stores expect things to get very busy as the month goes on.