Despite a poor growing season, demand for pumpkins is high this week, with Halloween on the horizon.

Whether someone wants to carve a jack-o'-lantern, paint a gourd's face or cook its seeds, a variety of vendors have pumpkins in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Barrie Moser, of Moser's Garden Produce, said he hopes to have pumpkins still available for next Friday's farmer's market, held weekly on Locust Lane.

"Unless we sell out, we'll have some," he said. "It was not too good of a crop this year with pollination problems."

Moser added that the poor growing weather this past summer kept crop output low.

"It was a wet season, so we couldn't plant in time," he said, whose farm is in Centre Hall. "A lot didn't pollinate properly because of the cooler weather."

Meteorologist Dave Martin, of the National Weather Service in State College, said average rainfall this past summer was 23.48 inches between May and August, compared to last summer's 17.81 inches for those four months.

Although the weather hasn't been ideal for pumpkins, Moser said he has a variety of sizes available and the pumpkins at the farmer's market are fully matured.

Chuck Mothersbaugh, of Mothersbaugh Farm in Spring Mills, said he was also disappointed in this year's pumpkin crop, but tries to bring out about 30 or 40 pumpkins to the market each week.

Dan Harner, of Harner Farm, 2191 W. Whitehall Rd., said he only brings a few pumpkins to the market each week, but has several thousand at his farm, adding that the variety there is better.

He said a good pumpkin has several important qualities. Green pumpkins are not ideal if you want them to turn orange anytime soon.

"Color [is important]," Harner said. "Size is a personal preference, but it should be firm."

While shopping for a pumpkin at the Locust Lane market last week, Kim Spaccarotella (graduate-nutrition) said she likes to buy pumpkins that will endure for several months.

"I like pumpkins with green, because they'll last," she said. "I once had one last until April."

Spaccarotella said she prefers to keep her pumpkins whole rather than carved, though.

"I've never really carved them much," she said. "Sometimes I paint them."

Justin Bergey (senior-mechanical engineering) said he likes to carve large pumpkins with intricate designs.

"I'm going to carve a haunted ship into one," Bergey said. "I also found a sketch of a raven on a skull, and I'm going to carve into the back so it makes a shadow that says 'Nevermore.' "

Bergey added that in order for the shadow to cast properly, the letters have to be carved in reverse.

He said he hopes to display the finished pumpkins at his fraternity this week.