Howden Farm

Mission:

To maintain the agricultural integrity and heritage of this farm, by raising the Howden pumpkin varieties and other quality produce; and to give B&B guests the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed casual atmosphere in the beauty of this open agricultural land.

History:

John Howden started to grow pumpkins in the1940’s. He would select the best pumpkins each year, save the seeds from those pumpkins to plant the next season’s crop. Over the years he developed a superior pumpkin. A seed salesman called on John and wanted to know where he had gotten his pumpkin seed. The answer was, “that he had bought it from them originally.”  The parent of the Howden Pumpkin was the Connecticut Field Pumpkin and those seeds are still sold today.

In the early seventies a Plant Variety Protection (PVP) a horticultural patent, was applied for with the United State Department of Agriculture. It was received after five years and ran for the next seventeen years. The variety is called the Howden Pumpkin and is known as the standard of the industry.

A second variety of pumpkin was also developed and is known as the Howden Biggie. It was a product of just one large pumpkin found in the field of Howden Pumpkins. The seed was saved and the variety came true from that one pumpkin.

Howden Farm sells its pumpkins wholesale to roadside stands throughout Southern Berkshire County, and in past has sold in Connecticut, and New Jersey.