If you live in the Northeast you’ll want to buy your pumpkins early this year because they’re going to run out fast, as farmers predicted last week. A rainy summer and flooding from Irene have ruined many pumpkin crops. Now that the official harvest has come in, it looks like instead of hunting for The Great Pumpkin, most people will just be hunting for “a” pumpkin.

“I’m getting a lot of calls from other pumpkin retailers asking if I might have some pumpkins I’ll be able to wholesale to them, but my response is ‘sorry. I barely have enough for myself,'” David Dumaresq of Farmer Dave’s told CBS Boston.

If you do find a pumpkin, you’ll have to pay the piper. Reader Nugatory said that at the HEB last week, 1-foot in diameter pumpkins were going for $9.99 per. “Guess I’m not going to be carving any this year,” Nugatory said.

Some may choose to forgo pumpkins entirely. There’s those gnobbly little gourds that you can try instead. For a crafty and frugal approach, reader lim says, “It isn’t quite the same, but draw ghosts on milk jugs. The white jugs (as opposed to the more translucent ones) look great at night. Just cut a hole in the back to put the candle in.”

For others, fewer pumpkins on the shelves just mean fewer pumpkins that end up in the streets. “I dont’ like to put punkins outside anyway,” said reader HogwartsProfessor, “Someone always smashes them.”

But if you do want a pumpkin, get it soon, because there’s not going to be many left at the stores after this initial wave.

Irene, Rainy Summer Cause Pumpkin Shortage In Northeast [CBS Boston]

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