MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Michigan’s pumpkin crop is maturing about a month ahead of schedule.

At Papa’s Pumpkin Patch near Mount Pleasant, owner Bill Miller said they are harvesting every day and he anticipates regular harvesting to continue as staggered plantings of several varieties of pumpkins grow and mature.

“Our crop has come on early,” he said. “We plant our varieties at a number of different times so we have early and late pumpkins.” He said staggered plantings also help growers deal with unpredictable weather conditions.

According to Ron Goldy, a senior educator with Michigan State University extension, the state’s early spring and hot summer has affected the crop’s normal growth pattern. Goldy said many of the pumpkins planted in May and June flowered before it became hot and set fruit early. Then the pumpkins endured hot temperatures throughout July and into August. During that time, the early-set fruit grew rapidly.

Around Aug. 10, Goldy said the same plants blossomed again and set another crop of fruit. “So, on the same plant, we have almost-mature fruit as well as new fruit,” he said.

He explained the odd growing season leads to concerns about whether the pumpkins will last until Halloween and how well early-harvested fruit will store.

According to Miller, leaving the pumpkins on the vine tends to help lengthen their life, especially in hybrid disease-resistant varieties. He said pumpkins are most susceptible to powdery mildew, which attacks the vines and causes leaves to drop and the plants to dry up. The powdery mildew resistant varieties, however, “have a good shelf life,” he added.

Goldy agreed, saying growers should be careful not to destroy the plants’ vines when harvesting early fruit because it will harm the fruit that is later to mature. He said pumpkins are best stored in cool, dark conditions, and a chlorine dip can be used to help preserve them.

With the hot, dry summer weather, Miller attributes some of the quality of his crop to irrigation that was run throughout the summer.

“We watered more this year than the last two years combined, and we still lost ground,” he said. “There were some crops we just had to let go. We watered the pumpkins a number of times and we ended up with a tremendous yield. The pumpkins look wonderful.”

Much of Miller’s business is U-pick, and the farm market hosts special fall outings “to get kids and families out and educate them about food,” he said. In addition to traditional orange pumpkins, Papa’s Pumpkin Patch offers white, blue and other specialty pumpkins. The business also sells a variety of other fruits and vegetables through its farm market, which are grown in its orchard, as well as cider, doughnuts and other goodies.

Miller said he has received calls from across the country seeking to buy his pumpkins, but as a small grower, he can’t accommodate their orders.

Michigan ranks in the top six states for pumpkin production along with Illinois, California, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. In 2011, pumpkins were harvested in these six states from 47,300 acres and were valued at $113 million.