SHAKOPEE, Minn. - It's been a devastating harvest for farmers who rely on rain, but for fall's favorite fruit it's a bumper crop.
"Pumpkin season has been very good this year," said Peter Marshall, with Peter's Pumpkins in Shakopee. "This year's population is way up. Last year was way down."
Pumpkins need rain early, but because their leaves can absorb moisture from dew or humidity pumpkins can persevere through dry conditions.
"Some of these vine crops can handle a lot of stress," says Marshall. "I pulled 30 truck fools from a three-acre field. That's a great yield."
With weather that's expected to cooperate, pumpkin patches across the Twin Cities expect big crowds this weekend. Most of them say they have healthy fields of pumpkins ready to be picked.
(Copyright 2012 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. )