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Halloween
Tradition #11 - Going to a Pumpkin Farm
 Taking a trip to a
real pumpkin farm
is a lot of fun!
First off, don't confuse a pumpkin stand
with a pumpkin patch. A real pumpkin patch is where the pumpkins
are actually grown and offer you the opportunity to choose just
about any shape and size pumpkin you want and cut it fresh,
yourself.
Pumpkin farms often hold other
Halloween related activities such as hayrides, arts & crafts, picnicking, food
vendors, children's games and even petting zoos. Whether you take
the whole clan or go it on your own, spending a couple of hours at a
pumpkin patch can be really enjoyable.
For us, our yearly trip to the "Live
Oak Canyon" pumpkin farm during the month of October is a real
treat! Located in Southern California, between Redlands and Yucaipa, it always has a plethora of fun
Halloween activities and events to keep us entertained.
 Live Oak Canyon is a real farm and grow a wide variety of pumpkins.
Their
pumpkins range in weight from miniatures weighing less than a pound, to
giants as large as one-hundred
and fifty pounds or more. Its so cool to wander through a real pumpkin
patch and pick out your own pumpkins right from the field they are growing
in. They even provide
wheelbarrows or wagons for you to haul your pumpkins back to your car.
There are all
kinds of things to do, ranging from shopping in a giant tent
filled with all sorts of Harvest and Halloween country craft items to
watching the kids have various contests to snacking on
seasonal foods, and buying your pumpkins, of course!
Just remember
not to buy your pumpkins too early, or they won't last until
Halloween.
Pumpkin
Patch Tips
Most places have rags
available for their customers that you can use to clean
the dirt off the pumpkins. Even still, we always put down a thick
layer of newspaper or plastic sheeting in the trunk or on the back seat
before loading them into the car, this will help keep dirt from getting
in
the carpet or on the upholstery.
Depending
on your location, October can be a strange month when it
comes to the weather. One minute is can be warm and
sunny, the next it can turn cold and stormy. So, be
sure to take a coat and
hat along
with you just in case. It never hurts to have an umbrella
either.
Wear
tennis shoes or
boots to help protect your feet while you walk through the
fields where the pumpkins are grown. Take along a pair
of gardening gloves to keep you hands clean and safe.
You'll also need something to cut the pumpkin from it's
vine.
Weekends
typically offer more events and things to do, but are
usually more crowded. If you are just going to buy some
pumpkins, weekdays are less congested, unless its the
last couple of days before Halloween.
For the best
information about choosing and carving pumpkins visit this
Pumpkin Carving web site.
If you are thinking about growing your own pumpkins, visit
the
Pumpkin Patch site.
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