"Pumpkin picking" WTF

[HauntedGusset]

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 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!)

Totally beside the point, but I absolutely laughed my head off when I saw your username OP 🤣🤣 been a long day with the children and it tickled me 🤣🤣

Meh, different people enjoy different things and some of those people like to take photos of it. Harmless fun.
We did our local one once but haven’t gone since as the kids aren’t really interested now. The pumpkins are grown there but pre-cut then left in situ for ‘picking’.

Hopefully it will mean more pumpkins in more front gardens so no one knocks my door

Took my DS aged 3.5 our third year running to same place.

A small family run farm that they clearly do for a bit of extra revenue. So feels good to support a small family business too.

Free entry and they set out lots of things to play on too. Hay bale with slide, tunnels to crawl through and tractor tyres.
And a real tractor you can sit in, which DS loved!

They have child sized wheelbarrows and he loved wheeling it around and choosing some pumpkins. They have all sorts of types, colours and sizes.

We walked away with a massive orange one, a white one medium size, a green striped one. And 4 tiny mini orange ones.
£14.50

Not bad for all those pumpkins and a few hours of entertainment, and family time in the fresh air.

I’ve seen lots of mixed opinions on it, we enjoy it as a nice autumnal tradition. If it’s not for you that’s fine!

Yeah, this is my feeling. And my kids would have had enough brain cells when they were little to realise that they were just collecting already picked pumpkins from a field. Strawberry picking is one thing, you're actually picking them off the plant and kids can see that. But I had no idea that some of these pumpkin places are just pumpkins dumped in a muddy field off the back of a tractor. It's just depressing-sounding.

But it really isn't. I went with my little one, and shock horror, I didn't need to post a picture. I just had fun.

This is such a weird thread. OP being outraged that other people do something she doesn't want to do.

Our local one actually grow them in the field, so you literally pick your own. Plus they have a tractor ride & a food stall with pumpkin snacks & Halloween arts and crafts! I think it’s great. Wish it was around when I was a kid!

If that’s people want to do it it’s up to them. I’m not into the whole baby shower and gender reveal thing, but if you want to do that is it entirely up to them? Nobody is forcing them to do these things or spend money on it if it makes them happy and makes memories for them who are we to judge.

Because my 5 year old enjoyed choosing a pumpkin in the mud with his wellies having photos taken on bales of hay, pushing a wheelbarrow.. having a hot chocolate. Yes all in all it cost us £10 but he had fun so I didn’t see the issue!!

It's also supporting local businesses.

Awwww we had a great time on Wed at the local farm, me and my two little boys. We went on a tractor to the field, they had set up little wheelbarrows and pumpkins everywhere. They were in their element, they got the idea straight away and tottered around with their barrows, picking up pumpkins that were way too heavy for them to move and then collecting little ones. They had set up a hay-bale maze as well which all the toddlers were running around on.

We had a fantastic time. They loved it & we had marshmallows to roast over the fire pit & hot chocolate.

Granddaughter went yesterday,thoroughly enjoyed herself. It cost a fiver and the farmer will be making a nice well deserved profit for a week. Why not 🤷‍♀️

This

I went pumpkin picking a few weeks ago, but they deffo grew in the fields! It was fun, the kids have a good time and we got some different colours to what the supermarkets sell.

It benefits the farmers, who can make a tidy profit from pumpkin picking. Lots of farmers struggle just now and I'm sure the extra income is appreciated.

We went to https://www.spilmans.co.uk/

What you did actually sounds lovely. Grown at the farm, big pile under cover, not too expensive. I can see the attraction with that.

I can't however see the attraction traipsing over muddy fields where they've been dumped in a line. At least let them literally pick off the plant if that has to be done imo.

£10 at a local farm for my daughter to pick out her pumpkin, squelch around in her wellies, see the farm animals, toast some marshmallows and have a hot chocolate. Bit nicer than grabbing a pumpkin from Tesco.

I took my dd to it last year and maybe I am naive but i expected to pick the pumpkin. But yes, when i got there, i was shocked to see they had been basically put down in a very muddy field for us to just pick up. It cost me a fortune.

I took my dog to one for some photos. It was free to enter and pumpkins started from £1. We were there for 2 hours and took home a giant £6 pumpkin to support the small family run farm. It brightened my mood in a difficult week and it didn’t hurt anyone

Small children playing with little wheelbarrows, petting animals, doing a treasure hunt in the woods, toasting marshmallows, playing in a playground, excited on a tractor. None of that feels materialistic to me, it's as wholesome as it gets.

I literally can't see a single negative. Kids are outside, the four of us get some time together without work or chores encroaching, farm gets some money to keep going. I guess the marshmallows are high in sugar, bad me.

People have no imagination...

As math explained above there's very good reasons why it's pumpkin selecting and not pumpkin harvesting (the word picking of course having more than one meaning in this context).

Giving a load of people with small children sharp knives to cut the pumpkins off the vine (or whatever it's called) would be a very very bad idea.

I think it’s a bit more wholesome than other activities for kids so I think it’s okay. I’d rather go to an actual farm though if so inclined. I don’t think “boo boxes” are necessary though. Anyone else heard of those? But I also don’t think kids really need a Christmas Eve box as well as everything for Christmas. Bah Humbug! 😁

I felt similar but we went for a day out at a farm attraction with friends this week and it included a voucher to pick a pumpkin and then carve it. It was expensive at £17 each but we were there all day for animals and other activities virtually had to be thrown out when it closed. We went to the pumpkin field towards the end and dds loved choosing a pumpkin each (dd2 chose a small white one that I haven’t seen in the supermarkets) and then going to carve it in a special tent they had set up. I was surprised how much they enjoyed it tbh.

There are some proper snobs on this thread 🙄 don’t go pumpkin picking if you don’t want to, what’s it to you if others want to do it?