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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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!)

OP posts:
TooBigForMyBoots · 29/10/2023 17:45

Kids find it fun and farmers need the money.

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.

sittinginacafe · 29/10/2023 17:46

It’s all the pointless driving that it involves that makes me despair.

DrMarshaFieldstone · 29/10/2023 17:48

Yawn. This is an annual thread now. Can we shelve it with the 'too early / too late to take down the decs' [sic] and 'ugh Hallowe'en is so American / no it's not we've been guising since 1245' threads?

NotFastButFurious · 29/10/2023 17:49

YANBU
i blame the Americans
and instagram

ThanksItHasPockets · 29/10/2023 17:50

Have you ever actually harvested a pumpkin? You have to saw through a stalk the thickness of a small tree branch. You have to use a very sharp knife or small hacksaw and it is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I don't blame farmers in the slightest for tipping a load of squash in a fallow field.

SM4713 · 29/10/2023 17:51

@DyslexicPoster Even the 16 year old dressed up
Dressed up as what exactly to pick a pumpkin? 🤔

OP- I've never been to a pumpkin patch thing but my only though is health and safety. Is it 'safer' to cut the pumpkins and plonk them in a muddy field, rather than risk people tripping over vines? I have no idea either?

GreatShaker · 29/10/2023 17:52

sittinginacafe · 29/10/2023 17:46

It’s all the pointless driving that it involves that makes me despair.

Do you feel the same about all country walks? We’re always being told getting into nature is good for us. If you live in the town or city, like most people do, then that involves driving.

Gowlett · 29/10/2023 17:54

I think it sounds like a load of bollocks…

Triumvirate · 29/10/2023 17:54

Pumpkin Choosing is not as alliterative!

vertigomuch · 29/10/2023 17:54

We've done pumpkin picking most years, at a variety of places. Some farms grew tbe pumpkins some didn't... but either way I guess it's all much needed Income for the farm.

This year I was bit miffed about paying £10 to get in to the farm ... they sell as you get free parking and access to pick pumpkins..... well no, I've paid £10 to park and we have to pay for any pumpkins separately! Also everything else was additional... face paint, little show, drinks, treats! Cost a small fortune!

I did think it highly strange when a local, large shopping centre had a pumpkin patch installed in the middle of it!! People were shopping and carrying around massive pumpkins!

Justwondering36 · 29/10/2023 17:55

I only realised this year that it wasn’t actually cutting a pumpkin off the vine. Like the OP, I thought it was like the “pick your own” fruit in the summer. I think actually picking it would be more fun but if people are happy then it’s not the worst activity.

TheKeatingFive · 29/10/2023 17:57

It’s all the pointless driving that it involves that makes me despair.

Getting out in nature tends to involve driving for people in urban areas.

There are lots of benefits to being out in nature. So not pointless at all.

HangingStars · 29/10/2023 17:57

We did pumpkin picking at a PYO farm - the pumpkins were grown there but pre-cut and moved to the undercover pumpkin picking area - there were thousands of them, and DC massively enjoyed rooting through them all to find the perfect one that was just the right size and shape with the right type of handle. It was an hour and a half in the fresh air where they weren’t on screens, and they actually got along with eachother, and well worth the £3 fee! Pumpkins themselves were no more expensive than the supermarket.

Though there is a place closer to us that charges like £18 per person for a “pumpkin experience”, and that is clearly insane, but it’s sold out every year!

eatsleepfarmrepeat · 29/10/2023 17:59

Justwondering36 · 29/10/2023 17:55

I only realised this year that it wasn’t actually cutting a pumpkin off the vine. Like the OP, I thought it was like the “pick your own” fruit in the summer. I think actually picking it would be more fun but if people are happy then it’s not the worst activity.

So, when we’ve had PYO pumpkin in the actual fields we have had to sever the pumpkin from the plant anyway as they are huge, fleshy stalks. The fields are wet, the vines leaves die away from sept onwards so more earth it exposed, it’s slippery and not pleasant, especially with young children. Picking them and moving them to a paddock for people to pick is a lot more pleasant experience and we’ve had a lot of customers comment to that end.

It’s not for everyone, but I can never understand why people find it such an offensive activity. We also have pigs and any excess is fed to them, it’s quite an efficient crop for us to grow.

midnightblue12 · 29/10/2023 17:59

CandyLeBonBon · 29/10/2023 17:27

It's no different to picking out a freshly cut Christmas tree from the garden centre.

It's a but of a fun family activity and is not, believe it or not, compulsory!

Traffic is shit everywhere. Life is a bit grim and miserable atm so I can't begrudge a bit of wholesome family fun like this!

Exactly.

PurpleChrayne · 29/10/2023 17:59

American nonsense.

DrMarshaFieldstone · 29/10/2023 18:00

sittinginacafe · 29/10/2023 17:46

It’s all the pointless driving that it involves that makes me despair.

Love to know if you feel the same about the National Trust.

JanglingJack · 29/10/2023 18:02

Slugs ate my pumpkin plant back in rainy July 😡

I did actually think these places grew them in my naivety. Oh well DD too old now anyway 🤷

NameChange30 · 29/10/2023 18:02

What a bunch of misery guts some of you are!

It's half term, most parents of young children are looking for things to do - bonus points for outdoor activities to give the kids some fresh air and exercise. It's nearly halloween, most people buy pumpkins, farmers can grow pumpkins and need money.

Most of the farms near us make it an event with extras like hay bales to climb on, ride-on tractors, food stalls etc. It's a day out for families and an income stream for them. Win-win.

And if it annoys half of mumsnet I guess that's an added bonus!

Iamonetoo · 29/10/2023 18:02

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.

Honestly I think it's great that farmers can diversify, they're having a hard enough time as it is so let them provide the pumpkin experience

DriftingDora · 29/10/2023 18:03

batsandeggs · 29/10/2023 17:32

It’s designed for kids who tend to love running about in mud and choosing something special to bring home for Halloween. Not sure what’s so offensive about it.

Er? OP didn't say it WAS offensive.🙄

Overthebow · 29/10/2023 18:03

Freshair1 · 29/10/2023 17:41

It's naff. It's for the #makingmemories crowd. It's all about the pictures.

It’s really not, maybe for some people but not for a lot of us. My DC loves it, she gets to run around in a field and pick her own pumpkin. It’s cheap entertainment for a few pounds and then you get to carve the pumpkin at home too. If you don’t like it then don’t go to one but don’t assume everything is about photos!

NerrSnerr · 29/10/2023 18:03

We've done it in the past at our local PYO. It's only about a mile away from us and it a great local place with a free park for the kids so we like to support them where we can. I wasn't organised enough to book pumpkin picking from there this year but doing the Halloween trail tomorrow. My kids love it and it's a relatively cheap half term activity.

Screamingabdabz · 29/10/2023 18:03

I’m all for it so YABU, but let’s not pretend we are all doing it for kiddiwinkies to have ‘fun’ as much as we are getting photos to show off and brag about it on social media!