Summerlike conditions are predicted for central Illinois for the next few weeks, although for the season overall, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center still expects below-normal temperatures. The good news is there are no forecasts of deluges. Meteorologist James Aman of WeatherBug expects pumpkinland rainfall to be a bit higher than the seasonal average but thinks the fade-out of the weather-steering Pacific Ocean phenomenon known as El Niño will help bring relief.

Of course, a prudent pumpkinista could simply substitute butternut squash, which is available fresh as a Mexican import and in cans. "Most people cannot tell whether pumpkin or squash is used in a pie," states Watch Your Garden Grow, a University of Illinois Web site for urban gardeners. The texture and taste of butternut squash are quite similar to those of the Dickinson pumpkins that Libby's puts in cans. No surprise; they are both the same species of cucurbits. Or hoard the so-called sugar pumpkins that will appear in farmers markets in mid-September.

Mac Condill of the Great Pumpkin Patch, a working family farm and pumpkin attraction in Illinois' Amish country, encourages people to grow their own. "Pumpkin patches are a hot, hot item among people concerned with food safety and security." Homegrown pumpkins usually taste better, he adds.

For basic cooking, Condill recommends "old-fashioned field pumpkins" such as the Buckskin and the larger Dickinson: "Really nice stuff. Thick meat without a ton of water in it, a buff color, and the inside is bright, bright orange."

Condill loves exotic pumpkins such as eye-catching flat red ones from France, blue Australians and black ones from Japan, all of which will grow just fine in your garden. But he is a crusader for "really tasty, rare and unknown" heirloom varieties of pumpkin and squash, so he started a business collecting and selling seeds "to save the genetics of wonderful stuff."

Whether you go for old-fashioned, exotic or heirloom, prepare your patch now. But don't plant before mid-June, so your pumpkins will grow in the hottest days of summer and ripen in late September to early October.

"There's just something about pumpkins and people that works," Condill says. "They're fun to grow. Fun to pick. Fun to eat. And for kids especially, there's something magical about a pumpkin, or even a little squash that has warts on it."

Recipe



Creamy Pumpkin Grits With Brown Butter