pick your own, at the
Pumpkin Patch
Over twenty varieties of pumpkins
October 14, 2019:
Due to slippery conditions on the trail to the pumpkin patch, hayrides this weekend will likely be pulled by tractors.
The horses will be available for petting, pictures, and general adoration, though.
Take a hayride to the Big Pumpkin Patch
Climb into the wagon, find your spot on the blanket of hay, and listen to the driver tell you about the farm. Explore acres of tangled vines laden with pumpkins of every shape and size. We have over 15 varieties, from baby pumpkins that fit in the palm of your hand to giants to monsters that will challenge the strongest member of your group.
Our gentle giant draft horses will pull the hayride wagon for an authentic experience.
Take a walk to the Farm Fables Pumpkin Patch
Would you rather walk to get your pumpkins?
Our smaller pumpkin patch is within easy walking distance and we provide wheelbarrows to haul all those pumpkins around. The Farm Fables Patch has carving size and smaller pumpkins (so if you want a monster-sized pumpkin, take the hayride or grab one of our pre-picked pumpkins from around the farm.)
It is also possible to walk to the Big Pumpkin Patch if you’d rather not take the wagon ride and are up for a little bit of a walk–it’s about 1/4 of a mile.
Pumpkin Patch particulars
- Wear boots or old sneakers. It can be muddy in the pumpkin patch, and the ground is uneven (remember, it’s a REAL pumpkin patch…)
- Go before you go. There are no “facilities” in the pumpkin patch.
- Line up for the hay wagon ride tin the barnyard. The hayrides run continuously from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. No reservations are needed. The entire experience—the ride, picking a pumpkin, and returning to the farm—takes approximately 30 minutes. However, on busy Saturday and Sunday afternoons in October there may be a waiting line.
- Sorry, we cannot fit strollers or kid wagons on the hayride wagon.
- We provide wagons and wheelbarrows for you to haul your pumpkins and other purchases to your car when you’re ready to leave. We also have pumpkin valet service provided by our younger relatives–they’ll haul your pumpkins out to the parking lot for you, and then bring the empty wagon back to the farm.
Treinen Rule #1 – Everyone must carry their own pumpkin
We provide free pumpkin daycare if you aren’t ready to leave the farm but want your pumpkins to be safe and happy while they wait.
How to choose a pumpkin
- Choose a pumpkin that you can carry to the hay wagon without hurting yourself. Lift with your legs, not your back.
- Gently clean off mud. We provide a pumpkin wash so you can clean up before you head home.
- Keep one hand under the pumpkin’s bottom. Lift and carry it from the bottom, not by the stem.
- Do not roll the pumpkin on the ground. It may have a hard shell, but you don’t want to risk damaging it by grinding dirt or gravel into its skin.
- Check your pumpkin for soft spots that can indicate rot.
- Your pumpkin can last all month if you’re careful. Keep it in a the shade, and move to a cool place, like a garage or basement if gets very hot outside. Protect it from frost, as a hard frost can damage the surface and invite rot.
- Have a pattern in mind? Bring it with you to find the right pumpkin to fit it.
- Make your carved pumpkin last longer. Molds and bacteria make your pumpkin rot, so disinfect the surface before you carve. Wash your pumpkin in a mild bleach solution and then dry before carving. Use clean carving tools.
- Make it last even longer. Carved pumpkins dry out and collapse eventually. Revive your pumpkin by placing it a bucket of water (or a garbage bag with water) for a few hours.
- Don’t carve until you are ready to display it. Keep it out of extreme heat and protect from frost.
- Power tools make carving big pumpkins much easier.
History of pumpkin carving
For thousands of years, people have been scooping out gourds, turnips, beets, and potatoes, and putting candles inside them to use as lanterns. In the British Isles, the flickering lights of the lanterns reminded people of the ghostly lights that hovered at over peat bogs and marshes at night. The people called the lights will-o’-the-wisp, pixie light, friar’s lantern, hinkypunk, corpse candle, hobby lantern, rolling fire, fool’s fire, and jack-o’-lantern.
British immigrants to America brought their customs with them. All Hallows Eve became Halloween, and pumpkins became the vegetable of choice for carving jack-o’-lanterns. Today’s trick-or-treaters don’t carry real grinning jack-o’-lanterns from door to door, but they are often greeted by their glowing apparitions on their neighbors’ porches, carved into scary faces, cheerful faces, funny faces, movie stars, presidential candidates, symbols, logos… And we still put lights inside them.
Jack-o’-lanterns, also called will-o’-the-wisp
Irish turnip jack-o’-lantern from the early 20th century
Turnip jack-o’-lanterns, also called “punkies”
Modern carving of a Cornish jack-o’-lantern made from a turnip