Pumpkins Color Ramona's Autumn

Pumpkin fudge, huge jack-o-lantern pumpkins, tiny red-white-and-"boos" and decorative gourds. It's quite a sight to behold at roadside stands around Ramona.

Autumn has arrived.

Driving along the western end of Main Street on Sunday, it was hard to miss an inflated jack-o'-lantern and a frontage of pumpkins. It's one family's way of helping Ramona High School raise funds for the girls' volleyball team.

"In this economy, this is something we can do," Ken Buggeln told Ramona Patch. "We grow them on 3/4 of an acre on our 2-acre property. They seem to do well."

This is the second year that Ken and his wife Sheri have grown and harvested pumpkins and offered them up for sale. They'll be on Main Street every Sunday until Halloween.

"By this time of year, other teams have sold just about everything there is to sell," Sheri said. "This is an alternative, something healthy too."

Their daughter Carolyn is on the team. Their other daughter, Kayla, has graduated.

Their son Casey posed for a photo for Patch, in a trailer loaded with the family's harvest.

Meanwhile, on Warnock Road, Karen Dowle has The Dairy Farm Stand, including all the items we've listed above, plus acorn, butternut and banana squash and other produce. The fudge is delicious.

"That's my recipe," Dowle said with a smile.

She offers the pumpkins at this time every year. This year, there's a special surprise for young visitors: a newborn calf named Star in a small petting area.

What makes Dowle's pumpkins grow so big?

Cow manure.

"We have a whole pile of it over there," she said, pointing to a mound a few hundred feet further up the road. People can take as much as they want. If they want a truckload, we'll load it into their truck for $5."

The Buggelns are selling their small pumpkins at two for $5 and the larger ones are $5.

The Dairy Farm Stand prices range up to $8, depending on the size.

The large pumpkin lot at Mountain Valley Ranch on Highway 78 at Magnolia is also garnering a lot of interest.

Click here to read the history behind the jack-o'-lantern tradition.

Click here for a CBS video on carving pumpkins, which is featured with many other videos on You Tube.

Martha Stewart offers these ideas for decorating with pumpkins.

Here are some pumpkin recipes to try.