The roadside pumpkin stand is a sure sign of autumn’s approach in Southern Indiana. Nature’s marvelous colors all come together, making an afternoon drive in the country, or even in in the city, a feast for the senses. The familiar orange pumpkin is now joined by a rainbow of colorful gourds, squashes, Indian corn, bittersweet, and even strangely shaped pumpkins in shades of peach, tan, yellow and green.

We stopped and visited Nienaber’s Farm Market along State Road 46 at the western edge of Bartholomew County and spoke with Shirley Nienaber. We wondered if this has been a good year for pumpkin growing? She told us, “Not particularly. Too dry. Like everything else.You need to have rain, and we didn’t have any after the first part of March, so it’s kind of hard to grow anything without water. Although we irrigate, but it’s not like rain.” They grow about 30 acres of pumpkins and gourds. We had never seen as many varieties as they offer, and wondered how many different types they grow. Shirley told us “I have no idea. A lot of different kinds. And there will be more next year! “

Shirley told us that when choosing a pumpkin, “size is the only difference for jack-o-lanterns. If you’re going to eat one it’s a different story. You don’t eat these orange pumpkins like we have here on the other side. In fact, we don’t have the old cow pumpkin like we always liked to eat. But the gourds are so much better to eat than pumpkins. Gourds are all good. These big green ones out here by the road are good for pie. They’re called Hubbard, Hubbard squash. There are a lot of different Hubbard squash too.” Nienabers have been growing pumpkins and squash for 30 or 35 years. They open their stand in spring with sweet corn and tomatoes, and have produce all through the growing season. The property is owned by her son.

We also spoke with Nettie Meyer, another Hoosier pumpkin grower, who agreed that the dry whether was bad for the pumpkin harvest. But “we’re amazed at how many we have, because we thought we weren’t going to get very many this year. It’s been so dry, they didn’t come up very well at first, and we thought they weren’t going to come up at all, but they did, and here they are! They’re deceiving, and it’s happened before. When the vines start dying down they’re there. It’s just hard to see them when the vines are all there. It’s amazing.”

So if you haven’t done it yet, it’s time to get out and choose that perfect pumpkin while the selection is still good! And you can support your local pumpkin grower while you enjoy all the beauty that autumn in Southern Indiana has to offer.