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（by うーたん54513）

When Virginia farmer Charles Martin first got into the pumpkin game a decade ago, he started small, with a half-acre plot of traditional round, orange jack-o-lanterns. Today he grows 55 varieties of gourds, squash and pumpkins, and he’s always looking for something new.

As he walks through his half-harvested patch, Martin points out an orange pumpkin covered in green bumps — the Warty Goblin. A few feet away there’s a white-and-red-striped pumpkin called One Too Many. “It’s supposed to resemble a bloodshot eye,” Martin says, laughing. Then he spots a striped gray squash. It’s a new variety a seed company is toying with, and it doesn’t have a name yet — it’s Experimental 133.

These colorful gourds aren’t just a hobby for Martin: They’re big business. In the last 30 years the amount of American farmland devoted to pumpkins has tripled, and most of those big fruits aren’t filling pies. As the weather turns, the Pinterest-loving sorts among us increasingly look for odd, eye-catching pumpkins, gourds and squash to decorate homes and offices.

Good Gourd! What’s With All The Weird-Looking Squash?

Photos: Ariel Zambelich/NPR