When Is The Best Time To Buy Pumpkins For Halloween In Western New York?

A couple of weeks ago, I saw pumpkins for sale out by the road, and I remember thinking to myself, "It's way too early to buy pumpkins right now, isn't it?"

Pumpkins have been available for weeks

It's not your imagination. Pumpkins are available early now. They're not out quite as early as the decorations at Home Depot, but it's not uncommon to see pumpkins for sale in Western New York starting in the last couple of weeks of September. But is it a good idea to buy them that early? Will they be rotten by the time Halloween gets here?

What's the perfect time to get pumpkins for Halloween?

When we were kids, it was always the weekend before Halloween. We would go and pick out our pumpkins then take them home and carve them so they were ready to go by Halloween night. But if you pay any attention to the Farmer's Almanac, you don't actually have to even wait that long.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, you can get your pumpkins now and still be good to go for Halloween. The best time to get them is early to mid-October.

There's one important detail to remember if you get them this early

They do say you can get the pumpkin now. However, the important thing to remember is that you have to wait to carve them. If you carve them right away, they will almost definitely look like a shriveled, moldy pile of orange guts by the time the trick-or-treaters come out.

Their advice is to keep them whole until Halloween week, then aim to carve them somewhere around the 28th or later.