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Original poster

"Pumpkin picking" WTF

388 replies

HauntedGusset · 29/10/2023 17:21

Driving home from a visit to family today there was an absolutely massive traffic jam caused by cars entering/leaving a farm shop that also has a small events centre attached. I last passed the farm shop a few weeks ago and they had some other event on with cars parked all over the field nearest the road. Anyway today the same field was covered in huge pumpkins with families trudging round in the mud "picking" them - but they didn't grow there, they can't have done as the same field was a car park last month Confused They've just been plonked there. Someone tell me why this is a thing?

(And no, I don't have small DC anymore so I suppose I've missed this becoming popular, I was vaguely aware people pick pumpkins but imagined it to be like picking strawberries where you actually pick them fresh from the plant, not like a crapper muddier version of just buying one from Lidl!)

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myusernamewastakenbyme · 31/10/2023 20:30

I got stung on Sunday at a pumpkin patch...my kids wanted to go (they are in their 20's) but they'd never been to one....so £2.50 each to get in (£10).....£11.75 on overpriced coffee from a horsebox and £15 on bloody pumpkins....then came home via Aldi to buy a load of extra ingredients to make pumpkin soup🤣

Apossum · 31/10/2023 20:21

Why is something being ‘American’ the ultimate insult anyway? Such a shitty attitude.

TooBigForMyBoots · 31/10/2023 20:15

AdobeWanKenobi · 30/10/2023 22:38

It’s been explained several times on this thread now that the tradition stems from Ireland and Scotland and was originally carving turnips.
it’s very much not an American thing, people just switched to pumpkins because carving turnips is a nightmare.

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You might as well talk to the wall @AdobeWanKenobi. So many "Fact Resistant" little Englanders on here.👻

SiliconHeaven · 31/10/2023 19:45

eatsleepfarmrepeat · 29/10/2023 17:45

We have pumpkin picking on our farm for two weeks of the year.

We do it to diversify our income, we started a few years ago when the local farm shop closed and it has become very popular ever since. The commodity markets in farming are volatile and we’re absolutely fucked over by the supermarkets at every turn.

We do grow our own, they are purchased by merchants to trade on to supermarkets at a £/tonne, it works out at approx 25p per pumpkin for the growers who carry all of the cost and risk up to harvest. We figured by making it an attraction and selling a fair amount from the farm (at a very similar price to that which the supermarket sells to consumers) we can get a better margin whilst providing something which local families enjoy.

It’s really nice to see lots of children enjoying the mud and the outdoors and it does seem to be popular.

we have previously hosted it in the pumpkin fields where they are grown, but typically at this time of year and particularly after barbet it is very wet and unpleasant. We have to sever all the pumpkins from the plant prior to the picking anyway with knife so we figured it would be a more pleasant experience to bring them into grassed paddocks which are a lot more dry than wallowing in a planted field.

This is one of the most sensible posts I have ever read on mumsnet, makes perfect sense. 25p a pumpkin from the supermarkets? We should all be heading to the farm to pick one directly from the patch! 🎃

Jellykat · 31/10/2023 18:32

NoAprilFool · 31/10/2023 13:12

This generation of kids have done LOADS of non materialistic walks in the fresh air with their parents. For a large part of 2 years it was all they could bloody do!

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My comment was aimed at PP who said it was a good excuse to get the kids out of the house.. plus not everyone with kids stopped work during lockdowns you know!

eastegg · 31/10/2023 13:35

AdobeWanKenobi · 31/10/2023 12:56

That poster did say that. You then said:

I can’t believe people are doing given the COL crisis, and here’s someone dressing it up as a cost saving activity!

And you then go on to say:

it’s an additional expense on something ridiculous.

You're still being judgemental, no matter how you dress it up.

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I’m not dressing anything up, and I never said I wasn’t being judgmental. I don’t see how whether I am being judgmental has anything to do with what we were talking about. I was making the point that when someone says ‘some parents will do this as a cheaper activity because of CoL’ and I say ‘really?’, it doesn’t make much sense to then respond as you did with ‘some people aren’t affected by CoL’.

And the whole point of the thread is to invite judgment anyway.

Tiredmum100 · 31/10/2023 13:20

We took dc pumpkin picking to an independent farm. They enjoyed an hour or so out, and we supported a local business. DH caught up with his friends, whose farm it was. They also played in the tractor and enjoyed seeing the cows and horses. The dc have enjoyed carving their pumpkins. I can't see the problem myself, but we are lucky we both have well-paid jobs, so we do have extra money to spend on activities such as this.

NoAprilFool · 31/10/2023 13:12

Jellykat · 29/10/2023 18:20

Hilarious, i didnt know this was a thing these days! ( my DCs are 35 and 25 )

Can kids these days not just go for a walk and a bit of fresh air with their parents, or does there always have to be some materialistic reason?

This generation of kids have done LOADS of non materialistic walks in the fresh air with their parents. For a large part of 2 years it was all they could bloody do!

HikingforScenery · 31/10/2023 13:04

I‘m picturing this and this has made me laugh so much 🤣🤣🤣. So they’re in the mud?

ColleenDonaghy · 31/10/2023 13:00

eastegg · 31/10/2023 12:28

Look at the context of my post please. The poster I quoted said some parents might do this because of the COL crisis. They were talking about parents who are struggling, not ones who aren’t.

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Not everyone is struggling with the cost of living to the extent that all luxuries are cancelled. Maybe in other years they've had pricier days out but this has been a cheaper option this year.

And of course, lots of people can still afford little luxuries like a low cost day out. How many businesses would go under if everyone stopped?!

AdobeWanKenobi · 31/10/2023 12:56

eastegg · 31/10/2023 12:28

Look at the context of my post please. The poster I quoted said some parents might do this because of the COL crisis. They were talking about parents who are struggling, not ones who aren’t.

Show quote history

That poster did say that. You then said:

I can’t believe people are doing given the COL crisis, and here’s someone dressing it up as a cost saving activity!

And you then go on to say:

it’s an additional expense on something ridiculous.

You're still being judgemental, no matter how you dress it up.

Szara · 31/10/2023 12:39

Why are people so judgey? They're not hurting you by going pumpkin picking, your life is not affected in any way so why do you care?

eastegg · 31/10/2023 12:28

AdobeWanKenobi · 31/10/2023 12:06

Some people aren't in a COL Crisis.
Some people can afford to go pumpkin picking
Some people find things different things enjoyable.

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Look at the context of my post please. The poster I quoted said some parents might do this because of the COL crisis. They were talking about parents who are struggling, not ones who aren’t.

TheWayTheLightFalls · 31/10/2023 12:26

@eastegg obviously not for people without two pennies to rub together but in our case a total spend of £8 for four pumpkins and several hours' entertainment and then several more hours carving the thing (and probably two meals after the big day) is a lovely and cheap day out. Not for everyone but not hard to imagine either. We're not hard up but I resent spending money on soft play type kiddy things.

AdobeWanKenobi · 31/10/2023 12:06

eastegg · 31/10/2023 11:13

I came on to say this is exactly the sort of thing I can’t believe people are doing given the COL crisis, and here’s someone dressing it up as a cost saving activity! Buying a pumpkin in a field is no substitute for an amusement park is it? So it doesn’t save money at all, it’s an additional expense on something ridiculous.

Show quote history

Some people aren't in a COL Crisis.
Some people can afford to go pumpkin picking
Some people find things different things enjoyable.

eastegg · 31/10/2023 11:13

Goodadvice1980 · 29/10/2023 17:40

OP I agree it does seem a bit cringey and another americanisation 🎃 however with the cost of living crisis I think if parent(s) are struggling with money and they can afford it for their DC it’s probably better value than a crappy amusement park!

I came on to say this is exactly the sort of thing I can’t believe people are doing given the COL crisis, and here’s someone dressing it up as a cost saving activity! Buying a pumpkin in a field is no substitute for an amusement park is it? So it doesn’t save money at all, it’s an additional expense on something ridiculous.

MercyChant66 · 31/10/2023 09:49

MeinKraft · 31/10/2023 00:03

Irish too. I still remember sitting as a young child, trying to carve a turnip with a spoon 🤣

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Yes, I remember my Dad cutting his fingers trying to make a turnip lantern for us in Scotland in the 60s/70s. And no tealights either - just a stub of candle burning inside!

Mothership4two · 31/10/2023 05:53

DS and girlfriend (both 19) went pumpkin picking at the weekend from a farm and went and picked it. Think they thought it is a fun thing to do

MeinKraft · 31/10/2023 00:03

toastlady · 30/10/2023 20:43

In my day, my dad would drive us to a neep field under the cover of darkness, chuck us over the barbed wire fence and we'd have to steal a "neep" (swede) each. Then he'd angrily carve them out while we were sleeping because it took so long. I now think that it was a Scottish, hard-core version of the modern day pumpkin patch!

Irish too. I still remember sitting as a young child, trying to carve a turnip with a spoon 🤣

vickylou78 · 30/10/2023 23:59

The pumpkin patches near us are proper pick of the vine situation. Like strawberry picking but the biggest pummins the farmers have cut off. The smaller ones still all attached to the vines. Not sure why you'd go to a field where they are just plonked there?

AdobeWanKenobi · 30/10/2023 22:38

Tryingmybestadhd · 30/10/2023 21:47

It’s an American thing adopted by us in the U.K. . Honestly I hate it , whether is always crap , the pumpkins are like 5x the price and I still pay to pick them . Makes nil sense

It’s been explained several times on this thread now that the tradition stems from Ireland and Scotland and was originally carving turnips.
it’s very much not an American thing, people just switched to pumpkins because carving turnips is a nightmare.

MumApril1990 · 30/10/2023 22:15

Where we go they grow in the field (you can see the vines). It is very odd that somebody has just put them there!

Tryingmybestadhd · 30/10/2023 21:47

It’s an American thing adopted by us in the U.K. . Honestly I hate it , whether is always crap , the pumpkins are like 5x the price and I still pay to pick them . Makes nil sense

Ryeman · 30/10/2023 21:07

I think it’s daft and another thing that’s come from the US. All very gimmicky. Not quite so bad if the pumpkins are still attached where they grew.

jodes88 · 30/10/2023 20:47

We go every year have done since our little girl was one - she is now 9. There is a group of us which has grown over the years as people have had more children. Lovely annual social event where we spend about twenty quid on pumpkins get the annual photos and then go for a pub lunch! I for one thoroughly enjoy it. 🎃🎃

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