Pumpkin picking yay or nay?

[Voodooplum101]

I’m generally a make the most of it kind of person when it comes to days out.

I’ve always avoided pumpkin picking as I know you’re just going to end up paying through the nose for a pumpkin, but ds wanted to go this year so we went for it.

Aibu to think pumpkin picking is one of the most mediocre experiences you can do.

We went to a farm place, so paid entrance for that, there were a few animals to see and feed so they part was pleasant. Then there was a field where the pumpkins were all dumped 🤣 they weren’t grown there, there were some hay bales so was able to get a few nice photos of ds. The actual pumpkins were no bigger or better than you can buy from the supermarket.

It felt a bit ridiculous choosing our very expensive pumpkin from the field where it had been dumped.

Ds enjoyed seeing the animals and he enjoyed pushing the wheelbarrow round.

Perhaps there are nicer places we could have gone, there were so many places doing these pumpkin patches we just went with somewhere local.

Aibu to have found it very mediocre and quite a strange experience?

I never did it for the reasons you state, but always thought it looked very photogenic. I think it's one of those things, when you know it's a bit of a rip off, but the kids want to do it so you stump up - at least you weren't expecting much and probably got some good pics! How much did it all set you back, out of interest?

We paid £30 to enter the farm for 3 of us.

The pumpkins were £8 each. Which didn’t seem too bad but Sainsburys are selling monster pumpkins for £3.

We didn’t buy any food there but there were some food stalls, there was an indoor play barn which was £3.50. Oh and parking was a few quid too.

There are probably much nicer farms with better playgrounds and cafes and perhaps then it would have felt like more of a day out.

We went to our local patch today! Free entry, tractor rides with a donation and extortionately priced pumpkins! We picked, we wheeled them around, we dumped them in a fairy ring today and danced in them, we laughed at some pumpkins that started rolling down the hill, we wheeled some more around and dumped them in a pile for some more photos, there were other photo ops and then we left without buying a single one!

Would expect the pumpkins to be more expensive but £30 entry!
Plus extra for parking and soft play!!

What do you get for that £30? Just entry?
That's outrageous!

Our local one is free.

I live near a popular venue in West Sussex. Drove past just as it was getting dark earlier this week and the place was absolutely rammed. So someone thinks they are worth it. I thought everyone knew the pumpkins were shipped in? What a waste of food and money, never mind the environmental impact of all those unnecessary extra vehicle journeys. And all for the likes. Yuk.

I always think these things gs are a rip off… pumpkin picking, winter wonderland, Christmas markets… overpriced and underwhelming

You mean people do this in real life. My dd and I picked up a pumpkin for 59p in tesco. .. everyone does that surely. Why on earth would you pay to go shopping for a pumpkin

Well I agree with you but we actually had a really nice hour and a half at ours....went either some friends and there was quite a bit to do - mud kitchen, kids tractors and slides, rides in a tractor and trailer. But it was a lot cheaper than yours - under 16s free and £4.50 for over 16s. Plus one XL pumpkin for free per group. The pumpkins were a bit extortionate though - the largest were 12 quid 😵 we bought a few tiny coloured ones at £1.50 each and then went to Tesco for some big ones at 49p 😅.

I wouldn’t mind if they were farmers who grew the pumpkins, but when we went it was just bought in pumpkins dumped on grass in a muddy field. We grew our own the last few years so the children can see where they actually come from.

Some people complained on our local facebook page about them being bought in and the owners posted that you do get to ‘pick’ them because you choose them, rather than picking them off the plant, which made me laugh!

It seems to be one of those things that is just done
for the photo op which imo is a waste of money & time. Not for me

Completely agree! Not sure what I was expecting but was surprised they were all just dumped in a field! We're in Scotland so it was pissing down and we were all soaked, never again!

The entry was for the farm, which was ok.

Tbh we didn’t know the entry cost because we just turned up.

Won’t be doing it again, not really sure what I was expecting. Well I wasn’t expecting much but thought we’d give it a go.

I don’t even have social media so any photos are just for us.

We went on Saturday- £5 each entry but not under 2s, pumpkins were definitely grown there. DS had a fun time running around with a wheelbarrow and on hay bales for an hour or so, took one nice picture and then paid £2 per smallish pumpkin. Then carved them at home. So about 20 quid for a few hours wholesome entertainment which is pretty much standard for anything I think! You could easily pay as much for soft play.

I’d have just taken the photos and left without buying one but ds had his heart set on picking the best one, plus our Sainsburys was out of pumpkins yesterday.

Next year I’ll definitely just be back to supermarket ones. All this Halloween stuff seems to have gone absolutely batshit bonkers in recent years and I got sucked in.

I grow my own !!
Def recommend it!
Very satisfying
.and cheap!
Pic from a couple of weeks ago. All 3 are bright orange now!

I wonder if it would be better if you went to somewhere where the pumpkins are actually grown.

We’ve done strawberry picking and that was pricey but the strawberries were delicious and lasted ages, it was lovely choosing your own.

Wow that’s amazing, dh said about growing our own next year it sounds like a great idea and good experience for Ds to see how they are grown. Much more environmentally friendly too.

Yeah it is a bit of a con but yours is extremely expensive. We're going to our farm shop tomorrow, paid £14 for 3 of us and 3 pumpkins are included.

I wasn't going to book one this year but DS asked when are we going so I guess I just sucked it up.

We go as a day out and its one of the few activities my Kevin and Perry tweenager actually enjoys. Our local one is very beautiful and they have a circus,live music, smores, fire jugglers, fresh doughnuts, etc. There is also a huge farm shop there. Its extortionate but the dc are too old for Santa so its a nice autumn/winter activity.

There’s a farm near us that was free to enter when we first moved here 8 years ago. After about two years they started charging £2.50 pp, free for under 3s which we thought seemed fair so continued to go. Then they upped it to £5 pp and by this point none of our DC were under 3 so we were looking at £35 just to enter the gates and we subsequently stopped going. Now they charge £10 pp just to enter!

We go to a farm a bit further afield now which is totally free to enter and they don’t even mind people turning up just for photos provided they donate £5 to dogs trust. Much much prefer to give them some cash. We love pumpkin picking and have always done it, can’t imagine not but I would not be paying more than £2.50 to enter a patch.

I should also say what is worse about the first farm is they also no longer grow their own pumpkins. They claim they do but because we’re local we can see the fields are totally green till late September when they magically turn orange following their late night truck delivery! Locals don’t go there anymore for good reason.

We do a Halloween trail at a local pick your own farm and then buy some pumpkins from there after. I think you can do the ‘pick your pumpkin’ in one of the fields but we don’t bother. We did the year they didn’t do the trail due to Covid.

I know the pumpkins are more expensive at the farm shop than at Tesco, but they are a great local business with a playground you can use without buying anything and was a brilliant day out when the kids were tiny. We like to use the farm shop and go to events to support it.

That sounds really nice.

You’re right though that older ones seem to enjoy it that’s why we went. It’s certainly a very popular activity it was heaving and there were still people going in late afternoon.

I do wish we’d gone somewhere a bit nicer more like what you’ve described.

Yes I drive by Parsons Green today (London) and these was a pumpkin patch’. Just thousands of pumpkins strewn across the green. You couldn’t move but have a perfect pumpkin. Much better to go to a place they actually grow them, but I bet there are health and safety issues! We’ve pick our pumpkins from the Tesco crate 😄

Tulleys?

It's expensive but actually a really good (whole) day out. £70 for 2 adults and 1 dc and spent more £ on food/drink - didn't buy their extortionate pumpkins at £20 EACH! Got 2 giant and 1 large from tesco for £5.50.