Family day trip to the pumpkin patch
Pumpkins embody the pastoral harvest season—don’t miss the heavenly pleasure of picking your own
Every Thanksgiving, when the first cool kiss of winter mingles with the scent of damp, fallen leaves, the entire Maury family heads to the country. While the turkey gently roasts in the oven, they drive out to a small pick-your-own farm just north of their home in southern Ontario. For the next couple of hours, they make the most of the precious fall day. After a wagon ride, they find their way through a cornfield maze, pet the animals and finally, choose perfect pumpkins—their preference is oblong with a flat face—for carving. The “great pumpkin-picking expedition,” now in its sixth straight year, has become a much-loved autumn tradition, especially for daughter Grace, 6, who can’t wait to spend time with her cousins and grandparents. For her mother Corinne, it’s a chance to relish her favourite season.
Thanks to enthusiastic autumn day trippers, pumpkins grown for fresh sales comprise Canada’s fastest-growing vegetable crop, according to Statistics Canada. Imaginative farmers are luring crowds with activities including scarecrow-building contests and petting zoos.
In most central and northern parts of the country, you won’t actually get to pick your own pumpkin, as frosts usually hit well before October. But that doesn’t detract from the experience: farmers simply pick pumpkins early, ripen them indoors and then lay them out (as though in a field) for your perusal. Selecting a pumpkin at Prairie Gardens & Greenhouses in Bon Accord, Alta., is just one part of the experience, says owner Tam Andersen. Besides revelling in a “haunted pumpkin festival,” kids can shoot less-than-perfect pumpkins out of the farm’s popular “pumpkin cannon.”
If you live in southern Canada, you may have the chance to pick straight from a patch. At Lindley’s Farm & Market in Ancaster, Ont., there are more than 50,000 pumpkins in the fields. Owner and operator Joe Lindley compares the hunt to choosing a Christmas tree—there’s a perfect match for everyone. When picking a pumpkin, gently tug to break the stem off the branch at a 90-degree angle.
Most pick-your-own pumpkin farms are located near urban centres. You’d be surprised how lauded the familiar orange globe is across Canada! The Maurys prefer their regular haunt, Wilson’s, a small family-owned farm. There, they get to avoid crowds, ensuring the best pumpkin pickings for themselves.
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