BY CAROL ROEHM NEWSROOM @ DANCOMNEWS . COM
Anyone searching for their own Great Pumpkin should look no further than Willow Barn ’ s Pumpkin Patch where more than one colossal cucurbit is waiting to be picked .
In mid-September , the 4-acre field just south of event venue Willow Barn on Henning Road was a sea of orange with pumpkins ready to be picked and vines laden with yellow blossoms that will yield more pumpkins in the coming weeks .
Willow Barn owners Brian and Penny Bensyl started growing pumpkins and gourds 10 years ago on their property west of Danville .
“ We ’ ve been doing it since 2012 ,” Penny said . “ Every year we ’ ve grown larger .
“ We would pick them all by hand , but it got to be too much , so we decided to start a ‘ U-pick ’ pumpkin patch two years ago ,” she said .
Pumpkins dominate the western half of the 4 acres while the eastern half is dedicated to ornamental gourds – some of which resemble pumpkins but are not the traditional orange color .
“ We grow 10 different varieties of pumpkins and gourds ,” Brian said . “ We do this just for fun .”
In addition to the familiar carving pumpkins , visitors to the pumpkin patch will find smaller orange Field Trip pumpkins , white Ghost pumpkins , Porcelain Doll gourds that
IF YOU GO
The Willow Barn Pumpkin Patch , 20482 Henning Road , Danville , is open 4-6 p . m . Monday through Wednesday , 10 a . m . to 3 p . m . Saturday , and noon to 6 p . m . Sunday through Oct . 31 .
Check the Willow Barn Pumpkin Patch ’ s Facebook page for updates during the picking season at https :// www . facebook . com / willowbarn04 . They also are on Instagram .
look like pink pumpkins , and Blue Boy gourds that look like dusty blue pumpkins . The white and orange mini pumpkins are gourds , too .
The names of some of the gourd varieties the couple grows are comical and descriptive , such as the warty Lunch Lady gourd , Joe B Little ,
Turk ’ s Turban , Autumn Winged Blend and Crown of Thorns .
“ We started out planting every seed by hand ,” Penny said .
These days , Brian uses a planter and starts planting seeds in mid- May , staggering the planting times so pumpkins are available from mid-September through Halloween .
“ Pumpkin blossoms will keep coming up as long as the vine is alive ,” he said .
Certain pumpkin varieties , such as Dill ’ s Atlantic Giant , and growing times determine how large a pumpkin will become . About 120 days is needed to grow a really large-sized Great Pumpkin . Smaller pumpkins and gourds are ready to be picked after about 80 days , Brian said .
“ They only get so big , and then bugs , fungus and weeds could choke it out ,” he explained .
Brian also has planted eight rows
These Dill ’ s Atlantic Giant pumpkins are some of the largest pumpkins at the Willow Barn Pumpkin Patch on Henning Road west of Danville . Photo by Carol Roehm
Left , Remi sits in front of the pumpkin shed , which was new last year at the Willow Barn Pumpkin Patch on Henning Road west of Danville . Visitors can borrow a wagon from the shed to transport the pumpkins they pick . Photo by Carol Roehm
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