To find the best—and possibly biggest—home-grown pumpkins in Bayport, the Hodge family on Bay Avenue has been serving up some sizeable gourds for decades.

A staple of Halloween time in the community, the Hodges incorporate the largest and most aesthetic pumpkins into their elaborate autumnal decorations.

“The sizes have varied over the years,” said son, J.K.

Working as a team, J.K.’s parents, Kenny and Penny, have planted a variety of seeds in the pumpkin patch, with Penny often preferring seeds that yielded the largest pumpkins.

Ordered online, the seed Kenny uses produces a 100-pound pumpkin.

By Oct. 1, the Hodge patch typically has approximately a dozen pumpkins to be harvested, but this year appears to have yielded three times that amount.

“My father nor I have seen anything like this, but sometimes a patch starts very strong and you lose some to rot,” said J.K.

To have pumpkins ready for Halloween, they should be planted from late May; if pumpkins are planted too early, they may become soft and mushy before Halloween. If planted too late, they won’t be ready in time.

In general, pumpkins require 75 to 100 frost-free days after sowing seeds in late spring when the soil is at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) and the risk of frost has passed.

The pumpkin patch should be in a location that receives at least six hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day. Sun helps keep the leaves dry and can also produce more and larger pumpkins.

When sowing seeds, they should be half- to one-inch deep, with the appropriate spacing interval for the variety’s vine length. Once seedlings are established, you should thin to one plant per spacing interval.

Depending on the variety, it can take just over three months (100 days) for pumpkins to mature from planting, but some varieties, like giants, may take up to 120 days.