Pumpkin planting is right around the corner. The recent Vegetable Beet Podcast produced by Great Lakes Vegetable Producers Network featured Brad Bergefurd from The Ohio State University and Nathan Johanning from University of Illinois talking about Pre-season Pumpkin Tips. They shared many of their insights in planting spacing, fertility management, weed control, no-till etc. A lot of great information helping folks getting ready for the pumpkin season. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pre-season-pumpkin-tips/id1511218540?i=1000521546162
It is always a lot of fun to look at the different pumpkin cultivars. Illinois Extension Local Foods and Small Farms produced a series of nice videos on Nathan Johanning discussing a variety of pumpkin cultivars, including
Specialty pumpkins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YLmUx20fws&t=713s
Mdium Jack-O’-Lanterns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V79jdY07CPI
Large Jack-O’-Lanterns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVBXDz9s8g
If you are interested in learning about detailed comparison among cultivars, a recent trial report Pie/Decorative Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation conducted in University of Kentucky and published in Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports is a good source for variety information https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=mwvtr You can also find results of more pumpkin variety trials conducted in previous years in the Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/fruitveg/Pages/MVVTRB.aspx
Last but not least, Dan Egel updated the pumpkin fungicide schedule. The most recent version can be found at https://ag.purdue.edu/arge/swpap/Documents/Pumpkin%20Fungicide%20Schedules_egel.%20March%2024%202021.pdf
More information on pumpkin production can be found in the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers 2021. https://mwveguide.org/