The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: Womble on October 19, 2016, 03:41:28 pm
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Pumpkin lanterns? Seriously? When I were a lad, you had to risk life and limb carving out a turnip with a teaspoon and a blunt knife! :roflanim: Yet, whether it's because of the increasing Americanisation of our culture, or simply due to Health and Safety, pumpkins do suddenly seem to be popular this side of the pond too!
I hadn't quite realised HOW popular though, until I drove past a local farm on Saturday and saw a huge number of people tromping about in one of their fields selecting Halloween pumpkins, despite the fact the rain was absolutely pouring down!
The farm in question had grown maybe a couple of acres of different varieties of pumpkins, plus about the same to make a 'kale maze' for kids, along with other activities. You can get a good flavour of what was on offer by reading this blog post (http://monkeyandmouse.co.uk/pyo-arnprior-pumpkins/).
(http://monkeyandmouse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/P1070426-ed-800x600.jpg)
All in all, this struck me as the perfect smallholder venture: grow your crop throughout the summer, then have a few mad weekends selling pumpkins, soup, burgers and whatever other produce you have to Joe Public (coincide lambs going away so you have fresh meat to sell, etc etc). Then, once Halloween is over, relax and get back to peace and quiet! I can't be the only one who would hate the idea of opening to the public all year round, but would do it for a short time if it brought in cash to keep things afloat the rest of the year.
Any thoughts folks? :thumbsup:
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Yeah sounds great but I'd be concerned about having all your eggs in one basket so to speak.
I don't know how easy they are to grow and how susceptible to disease etc they are.
I'm sure there'll be some more knowledge people on here who may offer some enlightenment :-) x
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My neighbour does exactly that during October and is very popular.
http://www.pumpkinpatchundley.com/ (http://www.pumpkinpatchundley.com/)
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I think that up here it could be dodgy, as pumpkin plants are very susceptible to frosts early in the season. You would either need to start off many many plants under cover, or leave sowing the seeds until into June, which might not give time for them to mature before Halloween and of course if you miss the 31st, then no-one will be remotely interested in your field full of pumpkins. In a wet and windy year, you could well lose the plants - I am unable to grow pumpkins and squashes outdoors for that reason.
How about trying a dozen plants next year to see how they do? I'm with Louise P, that the risk of having all your eggs in one basket is too great.
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Sounds like a great idea.
Pick your own pumpkin maybe a burger van with your own produce and you could even add a small selection of animals for the kids to see while selling feed for the visitors to give to the animals.
You just have to advertise well and keep up to date with the governments red tape
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If you have a load of left-over pumpkins they will store pretty well and your pigs will love them!
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Don't under estimate the amount of work an/or expense involved. Or the fact that the supermarkets all sell pumpkins for way less than it'll cost you to grow one.
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One large supermarket is advertising on the tv pumpkins at 79p.
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Yes, but Asda don't offer face painting or a kale maze.
If you'd asked me before I saw it I'd have been sceptical too. However, hordes of people had driven at least 10 miles in order to tromp around a muddy field in the p1ssing rain so they could pay over the odds for a pumpkin of their choosing. Just sayin' ;) .
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Don't under estimate the amount of work an/or expense involved. Or the fact that the supermarkets all sell pumpkins for way less than it'll cost you to grow one.
Asda are selling them for £1 for a large and 50p for a small!
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I have also wondered about doing this a pick your own Pumpkin, I have only grown Pumpkins for ourselves for Halloween (inner child), but they seem to be fairly easy to grow although I wouldn't like to rely on this as an income. Supermarkets sell them so cheaply but I think it's more novelty being able to choose your own.