What's the point in a pumpkin patch

[Llindsey85]

So, my son is just turning 3 and suddenly my Facebook is full of people taking their kids to pumpkin patches.
What is the point in these? It seems like farms just buy in a ton of pumpkins, put them in a previous empty field and I presume charge double what the supermarket does.
Am i missing something here?

It’s just money making and a bit of fun for little kids. I think we imported the idea from the USA.

It’s for fun.

The ones near us seem to be very much "farmer plonks lots of pumpkins in a field".

I enjoy going strawberry picking because you're actually picking produce and it's lovely, but pumpkin patches just seem a mix of fad to make money for the farmers and an opportunity for instagrammable making memories posts on social media.

It's called 'fun'. Gets your child out in the fresh air. Often there are other things on, tractor & trailer rides, hot dog stands etc.

Buy a pumpkin for a couple of quid and then carve it out.

A good few hours entertainment on an otherwise dull October weekend.

They grow them in the field, you choose a pumpkin, pay for it, take it home. You can recreate at home for the cost of a packet of seeds.

They provide farmers with much needed income, which means they can continue producing our food.

DD is 4 and we did it this year and last. It is her favourite thing to do in the run up to Halloween, and as others say it's a good few hours of entertainment for a few pounds as well as supporting the local farms

Went to one today. Some pumpkins had been grown there as there were pumpkin plants visible. Did it like pick your own and it wasnt more expensive that a supermarket one but it was more fun for my toddler

My DSis works in one of these places, they do grow them on site but they can't just be plucked like strawberries and you can't be handing out folk the sharp implements required to cut them off. If they are still attached, people pull at them and damage the pumpkins, so they go round daily and detach them so that people can choose and just pick them up. Some farmers will put them in a cleared field to stop people pulling at/trampling the ones that aren't ready to be cut.

heatingsoup
That makes sense if they've actually grown them. it's just like an autumnal version of strawberry picking then

The photos I've seen on social media seem to be farms come glamping type places who've put a food truck up, dumped a load of pumpkins they've bought.

What I think is funny is when people take their small children for their “pumpkin shoot” (a professional photo shoot done at a pumpkin farm). This must be more of a standard thing in the US I think.

Our local one grows them and there are photos over the summer of the various stages of growth. My kids loved choosing theirs.

Our local one is a dump. It's clearly just a truckload of pumpkins dumped in the field and sold on at extortionate prices. Medium sized pumpkin for a fiver. Wtf.
In addition to that you've got to fight through the yummy mummies taking 500 photos to get the perfect insta shots of their grumpy looking kid. Never again.
The ones with reasonably priced pumpkins and additional activities sound fun.

The local farms here grow them and different types like the tiny ones and white ones.
It’s just a bit of fun that doesn’t cost much to do!

They should really have people digging up turnips. More traditional for the uk.

And you can make a nice stew from them.

Our local one is great - you choose a pumpkin, carve it there with their tools so no mess at home. There’s food and drink too. Great way to spend a couple of hours for not much money

It is more fun that just picking your pumpkin out of a container in the supermarket I'd imagine (haven't done it myself but would like it).

We go to a farm that grows Christmas Trees, you walk around and pick your tree and they cut it down for you.

Because kids find it fun. Is that a good enough reason for you?

Just to add that we haven't done it this year because the non-stop rain has closed most of the pumpkin patches around here today

Our local one is great, I don’t think they grow the pumpkins there but they have a turnip patch you can pull your own turnips, plus potato and kale picking. It is a bit wanky but it’s a nice morning out and if I’m buying a pumpkin I’d rather the money went to a local farmer rather than a massive supermarket.

Haha @treeofwhispers head to Arnprior for your turnip needs!

It’s fun for the children. You should see it some time

its fun, teaches them pumpkins are grown in the ground, nice day out for the kids in the fresh air, social event they can do with their friends while i chat to the mums .....and at the end of it i can send the family grannies cute seasonal photos of the kids with wheelbarrows and pumpkins. win win all round.

Our local farm has strawberry picking in spring and pumpkins in the fall. They grow there, but are cut loose by the farmer because pumpkin vines are very tough.
Kids can pick out their pumpkin, put it in the little wagon provided and bring their "crop" in from the field. {photo op}
The farm is decorated with lots of scarecrows. There is a corn maize and a petting zoo with miniature donkeys and bunnies. {photo op}
There is also a food shed with hot cocoa, hot apple cider, miniature pumpkin pies and caramel apples.
Last year there was a field that was planted with tall grass and left for the kids to run in. Just a place to run and run and fall down and roll in the clover. It was that favorite spot for the little ones.

Ok if you think this is bad - NCT ladies last year taking 3m old babies fucking pumpkin picking and posting the photos on social media to show what wonderful parents they are! A bloody 3m old doesn’t know what the colour orange is, let alone needs to go pumpkin picking! 🤦🏻‍♀️