OREGON, Ohio — From pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin pies to pumpkin decorations, the fall season is in full swing and pumpkin patches are a top destination.
But given this year's spate of severe weather and mild temperatures, the pumpkin crop across northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan has been impacted. So, WTOL 11 took a trip to Fleitz Pumpkin Farm to learn how the extreme weather has impacted the Oregon pumpkin patch.
The fall season is off to a great start, with temperatures falling into the 50s and fall events happening all over, many of which are available at Fleitz Pumpkin Farm. One of the top fall things to do is walk through the corn maze and carve a pumpkin, but that may look a little different this year due to the amount of rain during the summer.
Gary Fleitz, a caretaker for the farm's pumpkin crop said the year's rain patterns made preparing for the fall season tricky.
"It was a difficult year with all the rain we got at the beginning of the year," Fleitz said. "We actually had to irrigate to get [the pumpkins] to sprout and then in June and July we got a bunch of rain, but we missed out on a lot of it. Some places were getting six inches."
More incoming rain chances from Thursday to Tuesday will also play a factor in how some of the pumpkins may look.
While pumpkins thrive in the warmth and sunshine, Fleitz said the conditions caused by wet weather, either at the beginning of the growing season or during harvest, often lead to fungus and mildew growing on pumpkins.
While most pumpkins are already out of the ground, other pumpkins that are still in fields may grow mold and mildew if left in high waters for too long.
Fleitz explained the ideal weather conditions for healthy pumpkin growth.
"The warmer the better. Pumpkins love 90s as long as it's not like a drought," Fleitz said. "Some rain, just enough, not too much."