Pumpkin bins for farms and farm stands
Pumpkin growers and farm stands buy cardboard pumpkin bins, usually octagon or heavy triple wall on a 48 x 40 pallet, and order them ahead of the fall rush.
A bin for a heavy round crop
A pumpkin weighs more than a melon of the same diameter feels like, and it rolls. Bulk bins keep a field's worth of them moving from truck to stand without handling each one. The usual choices are cardboard pumpkin bins, octagonal gaylords or heavy triple-wall boxes, all on a 48 x 40 footprint.
Octagons win on the road because eight walls resist bulging when the load shifts on a bump. A rectangular triple wall does fine on a short trip and costs less per box. Wholesale pumpkin bins, used pumpkin bins and cardboard pumpkin bins are all the same family; the difference is wall count, condition and height.
Farm stands and wholesale, side by side
| Detail | Farm stand | Wholesale grower |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | A few dozen bins | Hundreds across the season |
| Display | Bin doubles as the shelf | Bin is for transport only |
| Appearance | Clean, plain board preferred | Condition matters less than strength |
| Storage between sales | Open lot or barn | Packing shed or yard |
| Weather risk | Rain on an open lot | Rain in a loading yard |
A bin that doubles as a display deserves a clean Grade A box with its walls and bottom intact. A bin that just hauls can be a Grade B with scuffs.
Order ahead of fall
Pumpkins are an autumn crop. The bins have to be on the farm and set up before the pick, and the empties piling up afterward need a place to go. Order when you plan your plantings, not when the vines turn orange. The same reasoning as melon bins applies: in the week of the pick, delivery is the part you cannot control.
Weather turns a good bin into a bad one quickly. A bin left in a wet field absorbs water through its base, and a bin that has absorbed water cannot carry a full load of pumpkins on the way to the stand. Keep them dry.
After the season
- Knock the bins down and stack them flat on pallets under cover.
- Sort them: dry and sound, creased, wet.
- Send a photo and a count; the dry ones can be sold back into use.
- Wet ones go to the baler. See what goes to the baler.
Questions people ask
What are pumpkin bins made of?
Cardboard: corrugated gaylords, often octagonal, in 5-wall or heavy triple wall.
Can I buy a few?
Yes. A farm stand ordering a few dozen is a real request.
Do they need liners?
Not usually. Pumpkins are dry and hard.
Next door
| Place | Some of its ZIPs | Industries |
|---|---|---|
| Gloucester County, New Jersey | 08085, 08066, 08027 | petroleum refining, food distribution, cold storage, logistics, farming |
| Salem County, New Jersey | 08023, 08069, 08070 | chemical manufacturing, fluoropolymers, farming |
Sources
- The Inquirer on the Vineland auction, last reviewed November 11, 2026
- Container Exchanger: the gaylord box guide, last reviewed November 11, 2026
Ask for boxes
Say which style and bottom you need, how many, and when. We reply by email.
Prefer email? Write to info@phillygaylords.com.