How to Get Pumpkins in Terraria (Planting or Finding – step-by-step)

In Terraria, pumpkins are a versatile resource used in crafting various items, including furniture, building materials, and the Pumpkin Moon event summoning item.

To acquire pumpkins, you can grow them yourself or find them in the world.

Here’s how you can get pumpkins in Terraria:

Growing Pumpkins

1. Purchase Pumpkin Seeds: First, you need to obtain pumpkin seeds, which can be bought from the Dryad NPC for 2 silver and 50 copper coins each.
   
   The Dryad becomes available once you have defeated any boss or if it’s during the Halloween seasonal event (October 20th to November 1st).
   
2. Planting Seeds: Once you have pumpkin seeds, use them on Grass blocks. They can be planted in any biome and do not require a specific environment or soil.
3. Growth Time: After planting the seeds, pumpkins will grow over time. They pass through several growth stages, and you can harvest them at any size. However, fully-grown pumpkins yield more resources when harvested.
4. Harvesting: When pumpkins are fully grown (which takes about 8 in-game days), you can use an axe or a pickaxe to harvest them.
   Each fully-grown pumpkin drops 2-10 pumpkins when harvested.

Finding Pumpkins in the World

1. Seasonal Events: During the Halloween seasonal event (October 20th to November 1st), pumpkins grow naturally in various places on the surface. You can find and harvest these pumpkins without needing to plant seeds.
2. Goodie Bags: During the same Halloween event, Goodie Bags have a chance to drop from any enemy.
   These bags can contain various items, including Rotten Eggs, Unlucky Yarn, and occasionally Pumpkin Seeds to grow your own pumpkins.

Using Pumpkins

1. Crafting: Pumpkins can be used at a Work Bench to craft various items like Pumpkin Wall, Pumpkin Chair, Pumpkin Door, and other furniture and building materials.
2. Pumpkin Moon Event: The most significant use of pumpkins is crafting the Pumpkin Moon Medallion, which is used to summon the Pumpkin Moon event.
   This event is a Hardmode, wave-based event similar to the Frost Moon event.

To craft a Pumpkin Moon Medallion, you need:
30 Pumpkins, 5 Ectoplasm, and 10 Hallowed Bars at a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil.

Remember that during the time outside of the Halloween event, the spawn rate of naturally occurring pumpkins is significantly lower.
Hence, it’s usually more efficient to buy seeds from the Dryad and grow your own pumpkin patch.

Reference: Pumpkin Terraria