by Bob Groeneveld/Special to the 91原创 Advance

There has been plenty of talk this fall about a pumpkin shortage caused by the hot, dry summer and dearth of bees.

But local pumpkin patch operators are unfazed.

Robyn Duineveld at said there is some concern there鈥� but not much.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just a little bit worried about running low,鈥� she said a week before opening the pumpkin patch at 18730 88th Ave., 鈥渂ut we鈥檙e already contacting our suppliers just to make sure we have a back-up supply, just in case. It was kind of a hard year. We have lots, but we just want to make sure we have enough.鈥�

Rene Duineveld said they actually have more pumpkins than they did last year, because they planted an extra two acres.

He was skeptical that a lack of bees might have had anything to do with lower yields.

鈥淚 saw lots of bees out there,鈥� he said, adding that the unusual summer weather would have had a greater impact.

Meanwhile, at in the northeastern corner of 91原创 Township, Albert and Dorothy Anderson were surprised to see news reports about any pumpkin shortages.

鈥淚 know that there were these things on the news 鈥� we saw it on TV,鈥� said Dorothy, 鈥渂ut we didn鈥檛 water, and ours look really, really good.鈥�

鈥淪upposedly there鈥檚 a shortage of pumpkins because of the weather,鈥� added Albert, 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 not our experience this year at all. Pumpkins like the heat. If they鈥檙e started before the weather gets real hot, they do well.鈥�

In fact, the Andersons said, the unusually hot and the near-drought conditions proved advantageous for their 20 acres of pumpkins at 24990 84th Ave.

鈥淥nce we went through with the initial weeding, we didn鈥檛 get a lot of rain, and the weeds didn鈥檛 germinate as much,鈥� said Albert, 鈥渟o we got a really good crop.鈥�

鈥淵ou know, the way pumpkins have their leaves,鈥� explained Dorothy, 鈥渢he dew gets on them and dribbles down their stems right down to the ground.鈥�

鈥淲e don鈥檛 irrigate [the pumpkins],鈥� said Albert. 鈥淚f you want to go for the giant 1200-pound type, then maybe you鈥檝e got to give them a lot of water, but your standard 30- to 40-pound pumpkin can get a lot of water just out of the dew in this part of the world, even on those hot days. If you鈥檙e out up to the middle of the day, at the base of the plant you鈥檒l often see a circle of moisture, and they鈥檒l take that moisture up.鈥�

Albert said that irrigating the pumpkins might make some of them grow larger 鈥� but that would come with a price. Wet pumpkin leaves can become diseased. 鈥淵ou can run into a problem of powdery mildew early in the summer, and all the leaves die off, and then it goes down and starts to rot the stems off,鈥� he explained, 鈥渟o we don鈥檛 use a lot of water.鈥�

Dorothy noted that it鈥檚 easy to spot where a bit of misting from irrigation of nearby corn crossed to some parts of the pumpkin patch.

鈥淏ut that helped the weeds, too,鈥� she said.

The heat did ripen some pumpkins earlier than usual, but even that has posed no great difficulties at Aldor Acres, where there are 鈥渓ots of pumpkins and good sizes,鈥� said Dorothy. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been orange for a while, though we鈥檝e got some that are still kind of green and turning orange. Some of the vines still have some goodness or juice in them that is feeding the pumpkins. Too us, the crop looks great.鈥�

Pumpkins are relatively easy to grow, said Rene Duineveld, and there鈥檚 no such thing as too many, since leftovers at the end of the season get picked up by local farmers to feed their animals. He鈥檚 planning to add yet another acre to his pumpkin patch next year.

Of course, pumpkin patches are about far more than just pumpkins, as venues like Aldor Acres in Glen Valley and Port Kells Nursery help local families gear up for Halloween festivities.

鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely catered towards younger kids with all the activities here,鈥� said Robyn Duineveld of her nursery鈥檚 offerings.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got all the different animals鈥� chickens, bunnies, pigs, and guinea pigs,鈥� she said. The kids can get right up to them, but not in with them. 鈥淭he kids can feed them, but they鈥檙e in their little pens.鈥�

There鈥檚 an indoor hay maze, made out of hay bales, and outdoors there鈥檚 another maze made with hedging cedars.

They also have a sand pit for kids to play in, and a ball-toss area, plus lots more activities and sights to keep the young ones interested.

Included is a 鈥渃hild-friendly鈥� haunted house 鈥� again, aimed at younger kids, but designed to give the more adventurous ones just a little more.

鈥淭he beginning half is not as scary, more catered toward the smaller kids,鈥� said Robyn, 鈥渁nd then there鈥檚 an early exit out that you can take in case you don鈥檛 want to go through the scarier part鈥�

But it does get a bit scarier past that: 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 one thing that jumps out, and the rest kind of move and make noises.鈥�

鈥淎nd then obviously the pumpkin patch,鈥� she added.

And no pumpkin patch seems complete without hayrides. Both Port Kells Nursery and Aldor Acres have horse-drawn wagons to make the trip to the fields, to pick the perfect pumpkins for Halloween.

At Aldor, that hayride might follow a visit with the gentle animals of their petting zoo, or the ride into the heart of pumpkin territory might come on the heels of an exciting pig race.

There are barns filled with displays for kids to explore, and the adults might wish to take in the Aldor Farmacy, where they鈥檒l find fresh produce, homemade preserves, and honey from the nearby Campbell鈥檚 Gold apiary 鈥� honey that may well have been produced by the very bees whose pollinating excursions helped grow the big orange globes in the pumpkin patch.

And the sights are part of the fun, the Andersons agree.

鈥淲e鈥檝e also got squash and that kind of thing鈥� and gourds, we have a tremendous amount of gourds of different varieties. They鈥檙e really pretty,鈥� said Dorothy.

鈥淭he last couple of years we planted sunflowers all around the perimeter,鈥� added Albert. 鈥淎 band of sunflowers 20 feet wide 鈥� even to a non-artistic type, that looks pretty nice. And the bees like them, too.鈥�

Both pumpkin patches are now open until Halloween.

Port Kells Nurseries is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Aldor Acres welcomes pumpkin seekers 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day to Oct. 31.