This story was originally published in October 2020.

As Halloween approaches, carvers of all sorts are drawn to pumpkin patches and grocery store bins to pick a perfect pumpkin to carve. Even if you didn’t get around to it this year, you may have a latent dream of growing your own pumpkins to carve.

The short growing season makes it a little challenging and certain varieties will grow better than others, but growing your own pumpkins to carve is possible for home gardeners to do in Maine.

The first thing you will want to do is pick a pumpkin with a short growing season. Judy Florenz, volunteer with the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest, chair of the program committee and one of the directors of the festival, recommended varieties like Howden , Cargo or Racer from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

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