[Updated on September 5, 2020] Did you know there were at least 142 types of pumpkins? I didn’t! I knew there were lots of pumpkin varieties because they are everywhere this time of year and for me, they are hard to resist!
You see, I have this “thing” I call Pumpkin Fever. It starts… ummm…late September and by mid-October, it has completely consumed me! I can’t go anywhere without buying a pumpkin during Pumpkin Season, whether they are real or the retail variety (as in faux). I guess I could have worse afflictions than Pumpkin Fever – for example, I could have Skeleton Fever or Zombie Fever and then my home would really look entirely different! Or, I could be that “cat lady who lives down the street” with Black Cat Fever!
[convertkit form=5280751]Anyway, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite pumpkin photos from the last several years to illustrate some of the 142 types of pumpkins there are in the universe. The reason I say “some” photos is because I’ve yet to come across all the 142+ types of pumpkins out there. But now that I’m retired, I’ve added that to my bucket list – see all 142 types of pumpkins before I kick the bucket. I think that’s a worthy bucket list addition because that means I’ll be visiting many more pumpkin patches over the next few years and that’s not a bad thing in my book!
This is one of my favorite pumpkin patches – Bates Nut Farm – in northeastern San Diego County. I’ve lost count as to the number of times I have been to Bates Nut Farm because they not only have an awesome pumpkin patch every year but have other great events throughout the year, like craft fairs and special exhibits. With over 100 acres in a beautiful valley, Bates Nut Farm is a truly special place. And, the drive to get there is so beautiful – a windy, tree-lined rural road in a peaceful valley. I’ve written about my numerous trips to Bates Nut Farm time and again on this blog, so the various links aren’t all to Bates Nut Farm’s website, but rather to other blog posts about one of our visits to this beautiful farm.
Don’t you love this adorable scarecrow painted on a wooden cable spool smack dab in the middle of a pumpkin patch? So cute! What a great way to recycle, right?
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Different Types of Pumpkins with Pictures
I’ve collected multiple photos of pumpkins over the years – traditional pumpkins that are more well known as well as unusual pumpkin varieties – all beautiful in their own way. Even the ugly warty bumpy ones (the ones that have lumps growing all over them) have a unique beauty all their own. I’ve curated them into “collections” for this post – small pumpkins, medium pumpkins, and large pumpkins.
Small Pumpkin Varieties
This is a pile of Wee-Be-Little Pumpkins in a box at Bates Nut Farm. They weigh an average of 8 ounces. So adorable, of course, I had to buy one (or more)!
Here’s a Wee-Be-Little Pumpkin on my kitchen table (I gave it a bath and washed off all the dirt). Don’t you love the stem with the vine attached?
Speaking of tiny little pumpkins, this is a crystal bowl filled with Jack-Be-Little Pumpkins, also on my kitchen table (I like to change things up). The Jack-Be-Little Pumpkin weighs about 8 ounces, just like the Wee-Be-Little pumpkins. Those are palm trees in my backyard in the background. September and October are really hot months in Southern California and palm trees do very well here.
These, too, are Jack-Be-Little Pumpkins on my kitchen table. I couldn’t decide which photo I liked better, so I’m sharing both!
And, this is a pile of Munchkin Pumpkins at another pumpkin patch in Southern California in the town of Ramona called Mountain Valley Ranch. I haven’t made it there, yet, this year. Teeny, tiny, Munchkin Pumpkins weigh about 4 ounces.
This is a Lil’ Pumpkemon Pumpkin on top of a White Ghost Pumpkin by my front door. The Lil’ Pumpkemon Pumpkin is quite distinctive because of the orange stripes on the white pumpkin. So cute! The Lil’ Pump-ke-mon Pumpkin weighs between 1 and 2 pounds.
This is a pile of Mini Tiger Striped Pumpkins – love their orangy-yellow stripes! To be honest with you, I can’t tell the difference between a Mini Striped Tiger Pumpkin and Lil’ Pumpkemon Pumpkin, can you? Both mini pumpkins come in a variety of color variations – mottled green and white, plus yellow and orange striped. But, here’s the difference: Mini Tiger Striped Pumpkins weigh about 8 ounces and Lil’ Pumpkemon Pumpkins weigh 1 to 2 pounds.
Medium Pumpkin Varieties
This is the Fairytale Pumpkins sign at Bates Nut Farm.
And this is a Fairytale pumpkin at Bates Nut Farm. The difference between the Fairytale Pumpkin and the Cinderella Pumpkin (also known as the Rouge Vif D’Etampes Pumpkin) is the color. Cinderella pumpkins are orange (“rouge vif” means “vivid red” in French) and Fairytale pumpkins are peach (called buckskin). Both are French heirloom pumpkins, have a flat-topped shape, and average in weight from 10 to 15 pounds.
This photo, taken in the waning light, shows both the Fairytale Pumpkin and the Cinderella Pumpkin together on bales of hay.
This is a Howden Pumpkin growing in a field at Mountain Valley Ranch in San Diego County. Howden Pumpkins are one of the most popular varieties for pumpkin carving because of their size and perfection. Considered the “gold standard” for the perfect carving pumpkin, they average in weight from 18 to 26 pounds.
Here’s another lying on its side in the pumpkin patch.
A row of perfect jack-o-lantern carving pumpkins lined up in a field.
Here’s another Howden pumpkin – this one used as a sign to announce a pumpkin patch down the road at Julian Mining Company. The town of Julian in San Diego County is a beautiful, picturesque mountain town. If you are ever in San Diego County for a vacation, this little town is a great day trip. Not only do they celebrate pumpkin season, but they are famous for apple season, too,
Here’s a field full of carving pumpkins about 10 miles down the road from us at Mountain Valley Ranch. Aren’t the scarecrows cute? Moving on…
This is the stem of a Rock Star Pumpkin. Rock Star Pumpkins also have preferred status as carving pumpkins. I guess the name, Rock Star Pumpkin, is a dead giveaway. One of the differences between a Rock Star Pumpkin and a Howden Pumpkin is that Rock Star Pumpkins have this beautiful blue-green stem. They typically weigh from 20 to 28 pounds, so a tad larger than the Howden pumpkin. This Rock Star Pumpkin is in a blue wheelbarrow, thus the glorious background. Sometimes I just get plain ol’ lucky when it comes to composition, lighting, and subject matter and this was one of those zen moments. This is one of my favorite photos.
This is a Rock Star Pumpkin basking in the glow of the hot afternoon sun at Bates Nut Farm. There’s no cold, rainy, snowy weather at our pumpkin patches in October; no siree Bob! Blazing hot most years, so bring lots of water!
These are two perfect and lovely Rock Star Pumpkins in an orange wheelbarrow at Bates Nut Farm. I think the year I took this photo all the blue wheelbarrows were taken.
This one is a Zeus Pumpkin – they are a little smaller…16 to 20 pounds. Another pumpkin perfect for carving, they have large, fat stems that are perfectly attached (in other words, the stems don’t break off easily), which is convenient when you are carving your pumpkin and want to keep the stem as part of the “look” you are going for.
These are Casper Pumpkins, so named because they are white. They typically weigh 10 to 20 pounds.
And this is a pile of Lumina pumpkins. Actually, I don’t know that for sure; these could be White Ghost Pumpkins or Casper Pumpkins or Lumina Pumpkins – I truly don’t know how to distinguish between them except by weight. They are all white and about medium-sized, but the Lumina Pumpkin weighs 10 to 12 pounds, so a little smaller than a Casper Pumpkin that is fully grown.
This is a Pink Porcelain Doll pumpkin on my office desk – not quite mature and or fully formed. I love this pumpkin because of its beautiful color, but also because it was misshaped and lopsided. A reminder that we all don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful!
And here are three beautiful Porcelain Princess Pumpkins lined up in a row illustrating the depth of shading these pumpkins can have. The one in front is a medium peachy-pink shade, the middle one is a little paler, and the one in the back is a darker peach approaching orange in color. Porcelain Princess Pumpkins weigh 7 to 10 pounds.
This is a pile of Turban Pumpkins also known as French Turban, Turk’s Turban, and Turkish Turban. On the small side of medium, they average about 6 pounds and come in a variety of variegated colors. But, the one obvious telltale sign of this interesting pumpkin variety is that it has a hat!
The bumpy green pumpkin above is called Marina di Chioggia Pumpkin, which originated in Italy. It’s often used to make various pumpkin pasta dishes and averages 6 to 12 pounds. Not quite as ghoulish looking as the Warty Pumpkin variety or Knucklehead Pumpkins.
Above is a pile of small pear-shaped orange pumpkins called Red Kuri Pumpkins (actually, they are a type of squash) nestled into and next to a wooden crate with fall leaves scattered about – so pretty! They weigh between 3 to 7 pounds.
Large and Giant Pumpkin Varieties
Now on to the Big Mac Pumpkins – the ones that take our breath away (literally, have you ever tried to lift one?). They weigh between 50 to 200 pounds and I wrote a whole post about how to carry a pumpkin just in their honor!
This is a field of Big Mac pumpkins at Bates Nut Farm. The photo is misleading because there are no other, smaller, pumpkins nearby to gauge the size of these monsters in the field. Quite large, check out the photo below for a size reference.
This is one of my great-nieces, Princess Sweetie Pie, sitting on one of these Big Mac Pumpkins when she was about 5 years old.
And, here’s a giant Big Mac pumpkin on a bale of hay at Bates Nut Farm.
More Big Mac Pumpkins in a field at Bates Nut Farm. This is proof that Bates Nut Farm does, indeed, raise pumpkins; but the demand is so high because they are such a popular destination, they also truck in other pumpkins.
And, even more Big Mac pumpkins at Bates Nut Farm with Wee-Be-Little pumpkins on a table in the background.
Here are several Big Mac Pumpkins in a lovely old blue wooden cart…so pretty!
Not to be ignored is the Atlantic Giant Pumpkin, this one balanced on bales of hay with a Red Warty Thing Pumpkin on the left alongside a Turban Pumpkin and on the right appear to be Fairytale Pumpkins. Growing one of these would truly be a project and the talk of the neighborhood! Just kidding – about the neighborhood thing. If you are, indeed, serious about growing an Atlantic Giant Pumpkin, just know that they grow to weigh 200 to 500 pounds! So, give yourself plenty of room (as in acreage) or this monster will take up your entire front or back yard!
Faux (Fake) Pumpkins
And if real pumpkins aren’t your thing, you can buy velvet pumpkins or felt pumpkins in the store at Bates Nut Farm…
Or other decorative fake pumpkins…so many choices!
A Plethora of Pumpkins
This is my blue wheelbarrow full of pumpkins at Bates Nut Farm. The blue one in front is a Jarrahdale pumpkin. There are also Rock Star Pumpkins, Munchkin Pumpkins, White Ghost Pumpkins, Baby Boo Pumpkins (the little white ones), and Wee-Be-Little Pumpkins. Oh, I think there is a Pie Pumpkin in there too! Did I miss anything? Remember – at the beginning of this post I did admit to having Pumpkin Fever!
Here’s another blue wheelbarrow full of various pumpkins from one of my pumpkin excursions. Two different years, but I’m guessing you see a theme going on here – I like blue wheelbarrows and I like lots of different pumpkins!
And, this display of pumpkins on a green wooden trailer with stacked hay bales illustrates the wide variety of pumpkins as well as the size difference in all these pumpkins. A Big Mac Pumpkin takes center stage dwarfing the other pumpkins.
And this photo – all I can say is WOW! Such amazing color – a beautiful pile of pumpkins strewn on the ground for all of us to admire.
142 Types of Pumpkins
Here’s the list of 142 types of pumpkins (just in case you were wondering), in alphabetical order (note: a few are hyperlinked to seeds in case you want to try and grow them yourself):
- Aladdin Pumpkin
- American Tonda Pumpkin
- Amish Pie Pumpkin
- Australian Butter Pumpkin
- Autumn Buckskin Pumpkin aka Buckskin Pumpkin
- Autumn Crown Pumpkin
- Autumn Gold Pumpkin
- Baby Bear Pumpkin
- Baby Boo Pumpkin
- Baby Pam Pumpkin
- Batwing Pumpkin
- Big Autumn Pumpkin
- Big Mac Pumpkin aka Big Max Pumpkin
- Big Moon Pumpkin
- Big Moose Pumpkin
- Big Rock Pumpkin
- Black Futsu Pumpkin
- Blaze Pumpkin
- Blue Doll Pumpkin
- Blue Lakota Pumpkin
- Bumpkin Pumpkin aka Peanut Pumpkin aka Galeux d’Eysine Pumpkin aka Galeuse d’Eysine Pumpkin
- Bushkin Pumpkin
- Calabaza Pumpkin aka West Indian Pumpkin, La Estrella Pumpkin
- Captain Jack Pumpkin
- Casper Pumpkin
- Casperita Pumpkin
- Charisma Pumpkin
- Cinderella Pumpkin aka Rouge Vif d’Etampes Pumpkin
- Connecticut Field Pumpkin
- Cotton Candy Pumpkin
- Cronus Pumpkin
- Crown Prince Pumpkin
- Crystal Star Pumpkin
- Cushaw Green Striped Pumpkin
- Dickinson Pumpkin
- Dill’s Atlantic Giant Pumpkin
- Early Abundance Pumpkin
- Early King Pumpkin
- Fairytale Pumpkin aka Musque de Provence
- Flat Stacker Pumpkin
- Flat White Boer Ford Pumpkin
- Frankenstein Scarface Pumpkin
- Full Moon Pumpkin
- Funny Face Pumpkin
- Ghost Rider Pumpkin aka Ghostrider Pumpkin
- Giant Titan Pumpkin
- Gladiator Pumpkin
- Gold Rush Pumpkin
- Golden Delicious Pumpkin
- Gooligan Pumpkin
- Goosebumps Pumpkin aka Frankenstein Goose Bumps
- Harvest Jack Pumpkin
- Harvest Moon Pumpkin
- Hooligan Pumpkin
- Howden Biggie Pumpkin
- Howden Pumpkin
- Howden’s Field Pumpkin
- Hungarian Blue Pumpkin
- Hybrid Pam Pumpkin
- Iron Man Pumpkin
- Jack-B-Quik Pumpkin
- Jack-Be-Little Pumpkin
- Jack-O’-Lantern Pumpkin aka Jack O’ Lantern Pumpkins
- Jack of All Trades Pumpkin
- Jackpot Pumpkin
- Jarrahdale Pumpkin
- Jill-Be-Little Pumpkin
- Jumpin Jack Pumpkin
- Kakai Pumpkin
- Kamo Kamo Pumpkin aka Kumi Kumi Pumpkin
- Kentucky Field Pumpkin
- Knucklehead Pumpkin aka Frankenstein Knuckle Head
- Lady Godiva Pumpkin
- Lakota Pumpkin
- Lil’ Iron Sides Pumpkin aka Lil’ Ironsides Pumpkin
- Lil’ Pumpkemon aka Lil’ Pump-Ke-Mon Pumpkin
- Long Island Cheese Pumpkin
- Lumina Pumpkin
- Mammoth Gold Pumpkin
- Marina di Chioggia Pumpkin
- Mini Tiger Striped Pumpkin aka Dwarf Tiger Striped Pumpkin
- Moonshine Pumpkin
- Munchkin Pumpkin
- Muscat Pumpkin
- Mystic Pumpkin
- Neon Pumpkin
- New England Cheddar Pumpkin
- New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin
- New Moon Pumpkin
- Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin
- Old Zebs Pumpkin aka Ol Zebs Pumpkin
- One Too Many Pumpkin
- Orange Smoothie Pumpkin
- Orangita Pumpkin
- Oz Pumpkin
- Pankow’s Field Pumpkin
- Pepitas Pumpkin
- Phat Jack Pumpkin
- Pik-A-Pie Pumpkin
- Pie Pumpkin
- Pink Porcelain Doll Pumpkin
- Polar Bear Pumpkin
- Porcelain Princess Pumpkin
- Prizewinner Pumpkin
- Queensland Blue Pumpkin
- Red Kuri Pumpkin
- Red Warty Thing Pumpkin
- Rhea Pumpkin
- Rock Star Pumpkin aka Rockstar Pumpkin
- Rumbo Pumpkin
- Silver Moon Pumpkin
- Small Sugar Pumpkin
- Snack Jack Pumpkin aka Snackjack Pumpkin
- Snowball Pumpkin
- Sparkler Pumpkin
- Specter Pumpkin
- Spirit Pumpkin
- Spookie Pumpkin
- Spooktacular Pumpkin
- Styrian Pumpkin
- Sugar Pumpkin
- Sugar Treat Pumpkin
- Sunlight Pumpkin
- Sweet Dumpling Pumpkin
- Sweet Sugar Pie Pumpkin
- Sweet Meat Pumpkin aka Sweetmeat Pumpkin
- Sweetie Pie Pumpkin
- Thai Kang Kob Pumpkin
- Tricky Jack Pumpkin
- Triple Treat Pumpkin
- Trombone Gramma Pumpkin aka Gramma Trombone Pumpkin
- Turban Pumpkin aka French Turban, Turk’s Turban, Turkish Turban
- Valenciano Pumpkin
- Warty Pumpkin
- Warty Gnome Pumpkin
- Warty Goblin Pumpkin
- Wee-Be-Little Pumpkin aka Wee-B-Little Pumpkin
- White Ghost Pumpkin
- Winter Luxury Pumpkin
- Wolf Pumpkin
- Young’s Beauty Pumpkin
- Zeus Pumpkin
And, then there’s Pumpkin on a Stick – not actually pumpkins (actually eggplants), but the.cutest.thing.ever!
Let’s not forget the scary jack-o-lantern carved pumpkins! Okay, okay, these aren’t a “variety” of pumpkin, but guess what? There really is a type of pumpkin called a Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin – see number 63 in the list above.
Equipment and Supplies Needed to Grow Pumpkins
Pumpkin Seed Starter Kit || Melon Cradle/Plant Support || How Does a Pumpkin Grow Books || Garden Fabric || Compost || Floating Row Covers || Mulch || All-Purpose Vegetable Garden Fertilizer || Garden Tools || Soil Tester || Pruning Shears || How to Grow a Pumpkin – Kindle
Will you do me a favor? Would you share my post on social media? The pinnable images scattered throughout this post are for your Pinterest boards so that you can bookmark this post and come back to it later. Thanks for sharing!
Here’s a nice pinnable image to share on Pinterest.
And another pinnable image…
And yet another pinnable image. Why so many? To give you choices! Oh, and one more thing…
Don’t forget to sign up to receive my newsletter in your inbox. As a thank you, I’ll send you a freebie – a Pumpkin Activity Book with 30 games, puzzles, and coloring pages that I’ve put together just for readers! Look for the sign-up boxes near the top of this post and again at the bottom of this post. Thanks so much!
Tootles,
Related Posts from Toot Sweet 4 Two’s Archives:
Chillin’ with a Gopher at the Pumpkin Patch
42 Items for Your Thanksgiving Dinner Shopping List
Soul-Satisfying Harvest Pumpkin Chili for a Crowd
You Might Also Like:
Five Minute Fall Decoration (these are the Pumpkin on a Stick I mentioned above) by Tilly from Tilly’s Nest
35 Stunning Dollar Store DIY Fall Decor Ideas by Jenn from This Tiny Blue House
Decorating Ideas with Muted Fall Colors by Jamie from So Much Better with Age
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