In what has become a tradition in the Western Illinois University's Malpass Library, this fall the second floor of the building has an educational display of pumpkin varieties, which were grown by a University employee.
Library Operations Associate Greg Phelps grows a wide variety of pumpkins each year on his family farm near Plymouth, Ill. Included in the display are cards with information about the origin in each pumpkin and the seeds used to grow it.
Phelps has been growing pumpkins for over 20 years, but took some time off from bringing them to the library during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Gardening is a big part of Phelps family history," he said. "The unique pumpkin growing started when my cousin (WIU alumnus Brian Castlebury '92) and I were looking for odd varieties of plants to grow in our gardens. I enjoy sharing my love of gardening with students at WIU, whether it is putting out free peppers and tomatoes, or displaying pumpkins that maybe they haven't seen before."
Phelps added that there are many varieties of pumpkins throughout the world, so he enjoys bringing in a few to show to students.
"It is hopefully illustrating a few things about the squash family people might not know," he said.
For more information about Malpass Library, visit https://wiu.edu/libraries.
Categories: Illinois, Crops, Fruits and Vegetables