Justin and Heidi Frank, Atkinson, know a few things about producing pumpkins. Together with their three children, Abby, Emma and Jackson, and Heidi’s twin sister, Hope DeRycke, and her family, they’ve produced ornamental pumpkins and gourds for Henry County and beyond for 11 years.

Just like with row-crop production, Heidi explains, every season is different. Mother Nature serves up weather, disease and insect issues that impact the crop. Downy mildew hit their pumpkin crop hard last year, she says. Production was down from previous years, and their carving jack-o’-lantern pumpkins sold out in early October.

This year, despite rain and disease, production looks good.

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL: Heidi Frank, Frank Pumpkin Farm, says the jack-o’-lantern pumpkins are particularly bright this season.

The intense weekly rains this summer impacted their overall volume of pumpkins. Heidi says the hard rains knocked blossoms off their vines and affected yield, but not as much as last season. And the great orange orbs for carving look a little brighter this year. Timely fungicide applications helped the crop overcome downy mildew pressure.

The only variety with significant yield loss was the red Cinderella pumpkin. Two-thirds of the popular flat pumpkin was lost to rot. Pumpkin patch enthusiasts may also notice duller, yet still beautiful, color on certain varieties from overly saturated soils.

How does Frank Pumpkin Farm plant all those different pumpkin varieties?

Justin, an engineer for John Deere, designed a custom pumpkin planter. Three planter riders drop seeds one at a time, based on lines spray-painted on the planter’s press wheels. It's a slick process, but with 95 different varieties across 10 acres — and at roughly 2,500 seeds per acre for the smaller gourd varieties — it’s a tedious task.

TAKE YOUR PICK: The Frank Pumpkin Farm operates on weekends in September and October. Visitors choose their pumpkins from prepicked piles while enjoying the resident cows, goats, chickens and kitties. And don’t forget to grab a few apples on the way out. Pictured (from left) are Emma, Heidi, Justin and Abby Frank.

However, it's a task the families say is totally worth it when the farm opens in the fall.  “Our kids act like tour guides on the weekend, showing visitors around,” Heidi says. “They really get into it. We love seeing all the families come out and enjoy the farm.”