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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!)

OP posts:
FrogFighter · 29/10/2023 19:19

sunnyseed · 29/10/2023 18:22

It’s harmless fun for families with small children so why not? Should this be banned as well as fireworks, Christmas etc? Is no one all allowed any fun at all?

No, no one is saying ‘it should be banned’!! Only if people personally think this is a good value, fun day our or not. Calm down 😆.

Bedazzling · 29/10/2023 19:19

I have been pumpkin picking in America and you did choose and pick from the vine they also had cider and apples for sale. I went to one in the UK so was disappointed there was no actual picking. There was a maze with animated Halloween figures which was quite good and horses, goats and pigs to feed. We actually didn’t buy a pumpkin in the end. We had zero children with us :)

FlissyPaps · 29/10/2023 19:21

HauntedGusset · 29/10/2023 18:38

Oh do calm down, I'm not saying it should be banned Hmm People are welcome to engage in whatever "fun" they see fit if it's not causing harm to people/animals/environment, I'm not the fun police, just baffled by why on earth this was a thing in the first place. It was a new one for me, seeing literally hundreds of people queuing to get their hands on a load of plonked pumpkins (plonkins?) in such a shizzy setting. But ok, if other people and their DC enjoy it then crack on and have fun!

Honestly you do sound like the fun police.

What on earth is the point in this thread? What did you want to achieve from it?

Some people enjoy it. Some don’t. And both are totally okay.

What’s not okay, is insinuating that people who do enjoy it are daft…

Blinky21 · 29/10/2023 19:22

I hate this, another stupid import from the US

NerrSnerr · 29/10/2023 19:24

Blinky21 · 29/10/2023 19:22

I hate this, another stupid import from the US

What's your actual issue? The family photos? Supporting a local farm? Getting outside for a couple of hours? Children enjoying themselves?

Or is it just the America bit?

welshweasel · 29/10/2023 19:29

It's fun! We go to the garden centre across the road. Kids get to run around with wheelbarrows, I get some nice photos, they can choose their pumpkins (we got 2 large ones for £6 so not extortionate) and we had a coffee and cake. I wouldn't pay to go to one though.

Backagain23 · 29/10/2023 19:30

I don't get it either. My 4 year old was absolutely thrilled to pick his own out of the stand in Aldi so I'm not sure what a muddy field would have added.
People enjoy different things 🤷‍♀️

mollypuss1 · 29/10/2023 19:32

The mumsnet snobs are out in force on this thread.

webuiltthiscityonrockandwheat · 29/10/2023 19:32

All those saying it's naff and it's American nonsense. I think what you mean is, this activity isn't for me, I wouldn't enjoy it and I wouldn't pay for it. Doesn't mean it's naff and not worth doing.

My kids had a blast slipping in the mud getting pumpkins yesterday. Ours are grown, cut and then left where they grew. They had face painting, a fun fare, a play park and you could carve pumpkins there and leave the mess.

Hayliebells · 29/10/2023 19:35

If people want to spend their money on that, I can't get het up about it. People spend their money on all sorts of rubbish, so if they have a nice family day out then each to their own. At least it's not contributing to crap in landfill. I've never actually been pumpkin picking myself, so I might be way off the mark, but I know people who've been year after year so there must be something to it. Farming needs to diversify after all!

Jellykat · 29/10/2023 19:35

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.

Colleen, sorry i do think its hilarious, that to you the above is as 'wholesome as it gets', its a commercial venture cashing in on Halloween tourism, but hey knock yourself out..
To me the reality of farming here in West Wales is very different!

SpatulaSpatula · 29/10/2023 19:36

It's such a fun thing to do! Gets the kids out and talking about nature and farming. I also think farmers really struggle these days so anything to keep them going is a good thing imo. If this were inspired by a festival from any other culture, I don't think it would get so much vitriol. I'm half American and I just this evening had a mini argument with my boyfriend about only being allowed to put our pumpkins out on Halloween night because he thinks Halloween is stupid. I was so excited about sharing Halloween with my daughter but I've felt shamed into doing a really half-arsed job. Luckily, she absolutely loved going pumpkin picking and helping with the carving so I'll put my foot down and go big next year. It's just a bit of fun!

PersephonePomegranate23 · 29/10/2023 19:36

I literally can't see a single negative.

Kids having fun - that's the negative for some people. 😂

It's seems as though doing something fun and shock horror, giving children pleasant memories of childhood is some kind of moral failure to some.

Nonplusultra · 29/10/2023 19:39

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.

Thanks for sharing this. I started this thread eye rolling at the idea, but the farmer’s side hadn’t occurred to me. And it sounds like a bit of fun.

HaveToSaySomethingHere · 29/10/2023 19:40

My son was very surprised when a big pumpkin appeared in our garden one year. I think he's a pumpkin believer to this day!

FlissyPaps · 29/10/2023 19:40

Jellykat · 29/10/2023 19:35

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.

Colleen, sorry i do think its hilarious, that to you the above is as 'wholesome as it gets', its a commercial venture cashing in on Halloween tourism, but hey knock yourself out..
To me the reality of farming here in West Wales is very different!

Jesus how patronising are you?

Just let people enjoy activities with their families without being judgemental.

Finding someone hilarious because they are enjoying being outdoors with their children and contributing to their local area? Very strange.

Londonscallingme · 29/10/2023 19:42

I found out about this the other day and was totally flummoxed 😂

ThanksItHasPockets · 29/10/2023 19:42

Claiming that your children would have been too clever to enjoy pumpkin picking is either the zenith or the nadir of MN snobbery, depending on your perspective. Imagine not only having that thought but writing it down and publishing it to an audience of millions.

UpInYourHead · 29/10/2023 19:44

Most kids will be more excited with a farm trip in their wellies to get a pumpkin, than going to Lidl. And what’s wrong with a bit of mud?

As for the anti America stuff. 🙄 Can we help it if you want to steal our things and yet are only capable of providing a poor imitation? 🤣 🇺🇸

Jellykat · 29/10/2023 19:47

Hardly patronising to point out its a commercial venture geared towards Halloween tourism, not what i'd call 'wholesome' FlissyPaps! 🙄

Original poster
HauntedGusset · 29/10/2023 19:50

ThanksItHasPockets · 29/10/2023 19:42

Claiming that your children would have been too clever to enjoy pumpkin picking is either the zenith or the nadir of MN snobbery, depending on your perspective. Imagine not only having that thought but writing it down and publishing it to an audience of millions.

Who said that? Certainly not me! My DC are past that stage now, and it wasn't a thing when they were small so as I said I'm very much not the target market. I do think it is a bit odd to dump pumpkins in a muddy field and then have people pay to queue up and go and get them back out again, but it sounds like the one I saw today was a particularly shite example and there are better ones out there!

Also judging by the DC's reaction when I last asked them to help me dig the garden, they are too lazy for such things rather than too clever Grin

OP posts:
HalloweenGrinch · 29/10/2023 19:52

I'm with the naysayers. I don't hate the idea of families paying for a nice day out but growing things on useful land using pesticides and petrochemical fertilisers, truck those same veg to a random field, then the veg that will mostly go to landfill, and decompose to create a whole load of methane seems a massive and pointless waste of human and planetary resources to me.

Although at least pumpkins aren't made of plastic (bad for the planet) or sugar (bad for the people) like all the other Halloween tat. It fills me with inexpressible sense of doom.

And then here comes Christmas <hides under the duvet>

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/23/pumpkin-waste-uk-halloween-lanterns

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/10/halloween-pumpkins-food-waste-energy/

Are Halloween pumpkins a problem for the planet?

Rotting pumpkins and other holiday waste thrown into landfill contribute to greenhouse gases – but there are many ways our lanterns can live on.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/10/halloween-pumpkins-food-waste-energy

CandyLeBonBon · 29/10/2023 19:52

Jellykat · 29/10/2023 19:47

Hardly patronising to point out its a commercial venture geared towards Halloween tourism, not what i'd call 'wholesome' FlissyPaps! 🙄

How would you like people to earn a living then? What, in your opinion, is an acceptable and suitably wholesome venture to ensure folk like you aren't offended by such commercial claptrap (hint-most occupations are based around commercial gain!)

FlissyPaps · 29/10/2023 19:53

Jellykat · 29/10/2023 19:47

Hardly patronising to point out its a commercial venture geared towards Halloween tourism, not what i'd call 'wholesome' FlissyPaps! 🙄

That’s your opinion. You don’t find it wholesome. But others do. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

There’s no need to try and bring someone down because they enjoy it and you don’t. What a childish and snobbish attitude to have. Gross.

Tandora · 29/10/2023 19:55

Omg is this what pumpkin picking is?? I assumed it was to pick them off the plant 😂