CARVING

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Now when it comes to selecting which to carve rather than eat, the varieties that make marvelous Jack O’Lanterns and grow to jumbo size 30-40 inches across are:

Big Tom or Connecticut Field Pumpkin, 115 days and grows to 20 pounds or more, and is generally round with flattened ends

Jack O’Lantern, 100 days to mature

Big Max, grows to 100 pounds or more, is light orange, and round to oblong shape

Funny Face and Spirit, uniform in size, smaller than above, average 9-10 inches, also good for eating

Big Moon, a new variety named for our coastside town (of Half Moon Bay), nicely shaped, it grows to 100 lbs. with TLC

EATING

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Those that make the best eating are about 10-12 inches in diameter and bright colored:

Sweet Sugar or New England, round and weighing about 8 pounds

Trick or Treat, “naked” or hull-less edible seeded type made its debut in 1981

Half Moon, also named for our coastside town, similar to Connecticut Field but has a heavier stem and thicker walls

Midget Pumpkins that are uniform in size and are ideal for small gardens include:

Cinderella, smooth, 10 inches wide, bright orange Pumpkins weighting about 7 pounds. Needs only 6 square feet per plant.

Cheyenne, only 6 inches wide, bright orange and fine-textured flesh

Tricky Jack, larger than Cheyenne, a good pie Pumpkin. Seeds have no hulls so can be dried in oven and eaten whole.

Midget Pumpkins need 14 weeks of warm weather, can be started inside in peat pots.