Pumpkin prices are more of a trick than a treat this Halloween
GOLETA, Calif.-Whether you are shopping for something reminiscent of Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin or a tiny pumpkin, prices are inching up this Halloween.
"There is a real shortage of pumpkins because [in] the Central Valley a lot of the guys have cut down, some guys have quit because of the water crisis in the Central Valley, and some guys have cut there acreage in half," said John Lane of the Lane Farms Pumpkin Patch in Goleta.
Pumpkin prices have spiked at least 10 percent nationwide depending on where they are grown and sold.
'Our costs have gone up, we really noticed it with fuel costs, they increased the minimum wage, it is very hard to get labor," said Lane.
He saves by cutting back on hours and employees.
Weekdays they open a 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. with longer hours on weekends through Halloween which is on a Monday this year.
Lane is a fifth generation farmers and his sixth generation twin daughters and seventh generation grandchildrens are helping out this holiday season.
Miranda Zaragoza who works at the sales stand said pumpkin buyers are likely to pay a dollar or two more than last year when prices also rose.
They have many sizes and new kinds of pumpkins to choose from with prices ranging from $5 to $50.
New specialty pumpkins with names such as Grizzly and Fairytale sell for about $10 each.
One thing hasn't changed at Lane Farms; the pumpkin patch experience is free.
Hayrides and the maze that is easy to get lost in are part of the fun.
The Lanes have been farming since 1868 and still operate 50 acres with rotating crops.
Grocery store prices vary too, with tiny pie pumpkins selling for $2.99 a Sprouts on Milpas St. in Santa Barbara and mid-size orange pumpkins selling for $5.99.
Californians may want to wait to carve their pumpkins since they don't last as long in warm weather.
But Lane said it isn't bad for business if people carve them now, and come back for more pumpkins closer to the holiday.
After the Halloween the pumpkin patch will be transformed into a winter wonderland full of Christmas trees for sale.
