Where to buy pumpkins in Chicago?

Just wondering where the folks who come down from Wisconsin are camping out these days. We used to buy at Lincoln and Belmont, then a couple blocks south of there on Ashland. Anyone seen them around this fall? It's become a silly tradition to buy from these folks rather than the grocery store before we carve.

Thanks in advance for help.

HI,

While this may not apply to you, there might be others who find this of interest:

If you want a car load of pumpkins:

Thompson's Strawberry Farm
Wisconsin Rt 50, 1 mile west of I-94
(Less than 5 miles from the Illinois boarder)

Tel: 414/857-2353 (Wisconsin)
847/679-8140 (Illinois)

If you want the hayride, haunted house and kid activities while getting your pumpkin:

Von Bergen's Country Market
9805 Route 173 Hebron, IL 60034
Tel: 815/648-2332
(Between Richmond and Hebron, just along the Illinois-Wisconsin border)

Regards,

Another option would be Wagner Farm in Glenview. Here's the website:

http://glenviewparkdist.org/fa-wagner-info.htm#

They have cows and other critters and always a nice selection of pumpkins, gourds and etc.

I'm not sure about the pumpkin lots, but Gethsemane Garden Center at 5739 N. Clark St. in Chicago has a great selection of pumpkins, all kinds . . . for cooking and for carving. Of course, I'm sure they'll be a little pricier, especially given the scarcity of pumpkins this year.

Gethsemane
773.878.5915

BR wrote:Of course, I'm sure they'll be a little pricier, especially given the scarcity of pumpkins this year.

Is there a scarcity this year? Could you please say more about this? (I am interested as we grew pumpkin vines this year and only ended up with two lovely) pumpkins despite hundreds of blossoms.)

Kristen

kl5 wrote:

BR wrote:Of course, I'm sure they'll be a little pricier, especially given the scarcity of pumpkins this year.

Is there a scarcity this year? Could you please say more about this? (I am interested as we grew pumpkin vines this year and only ended up with two lovely) pumpkins despite hundreds of blossoms.)

Kristen

I heard recently that the very heavy rains of this year actually left the soil too wet, and that the overly-wet soil allows fungus to develop, thus ruining this year's pumpkin crop.

There's a lot at Greenview & Clybourn, and also just north of Addison and California.

We picked ours at Didier Farms at Buffalo Grove and Aptakisic

They have great homemade cider and pumpkin donuts, plus the whole hayride,pony ride, petting zoo experience as well as a farm stand and other u-pick veggies.

The pumpkin supply at the Lincoln Square farmers' market on Tuesdays has been good. I suspect that the same is true at other local farmers' markets. Support your local farmers.

There is a pumpkin shortage in New England due to excessively wet weather there.

tons of pumpkins at Clark/Division Farmer's Market today(and last weekend)

we, however, picked ours from a nearly bumper crop a month or so ago at the s/o's parents' downstate farm(and had a hayride thrown in for the nieces)

-only two more weeks for the Clark/Division market!-