Millets farm pumpkin picking - Bubbablue and me
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Pick pumpkins to be proud of from Millets Farm PYO

Sometimes children don’t want to do the activities suggested (food shopping anyone?).  But other times something sparks their imagination and they’re ready and waiting at the door to leave.  Picking a pumpkin is one of those times. I don’t really know why because we don’t go to town at Halloween at all.  But Millets Farm pick your own was something we did last year, and N obviously remembered and was keen to go again this year.

Millets farm pumpkin picking - Bubbablue and me

I didn’t want to buy our pumpkins too early (they usually go mouldy, so this year I’m keeping them outside until carving), but also didn’t want to leave getting them until half term.  Millets Farm pumpkin patch only opens for a couple of the weekends before half term, and then during the week.  So my plan of going on inset day wasn’t going to work.

I’d hoped that it would be a sunny day like last year, but as we set off it was raining. Not a good start but thankfully by opening time at 10am, the drizzle had stopped, we’d found a prime parking space right by the pumpkin PYO entrance, and we were there choosing our wheelbarrow.

I think the wheelbarrows are the big draw for N.  He loves pushing them and it saves my back having him take control.  It took a while for him to decide on the one he wanted.

wheelbarrow choices at millets farm pumpkin picking

This year the pumpkins were in a nearer field so it wasn’t as much of a trek. The morning weather was grey but warm, and getting to the pumpkin field is advisable.  It was already getting busy by the time we were leaving it.

checking out pumpkings
examining pumpkins
picking up pumpkins
pushing the pumpkin whelbarrow
pumpkin choices
chosen pumpkins in the wheelbarrow
photographing pumpkins

Things N learnt this year pumpkin picking:

  • It’s easier to push a wheelbarrow before it has pumpkins in it
  • It’s easier to go up a row rather than across, and also easier to return along the edge of the field than back down the pumpkin rows again
  • There’s a lot of damaged crop
  • You can get green pumpkins (and blue squashes)
  • Less is more (maybe he hasn’t quite grasped this, I had to stop him grabbing every small one he spotted)
  • Never believe mummy when she says the playground is this way….via the garden centre

Things I learnt about N:

  • He’s getting to know when I’m tricking him
  • He’s not excited about Christmas in October (the garden centre had all the Christmas displays up)
  • Diggers beat tractors when it comes to being next in the queue

N was a bit gutted that the Halloween maize maze wasn’t yet open.  The spooky maize maze and the Halloween circus opens over half term, so if you can hold on til half term, it’s worth the wait.

People often moan about the price of pumpkins at pumpkin patches, but at Millets Farm pick your own they’re not a bad price. You pay by size, either £3, £2 or £1. We paid £7 for 3 pumpkins plus another £3 for a carving kit because I couldn’t think where ours was from last year.  If you want one that’s picked already and cleaned then look for the ones in the farm shop, but it’s much more fun choosing them from the field.  And this year they were chopped off closer to the stalk end, so no prickled fingers when trying to pick them up.

playing on the millets farm diggers
swings at millets farm
long legged boy on swings

We had a lovely morning picking pumpkins, and enjoying the playground before getting some lunch.  And all for free – except for the pumpkins and lunch!

Do you pick your own pumpkins?

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27 Comments

  1. I adore pumpkin picking, in fact I adore any form of PYO! J announced to me this week that she didn’t like mud or pumpkins in mud, but refused to get one from the shop, so that was a fun session picking the ‘right’ one. I’m glad he had a great time and I think they’re really reasonably priced #CountryKids

  2. The price is really good the one we went to the other day cost £8.50 for a medium one. I love the wheel barrows will have to look for this next time. I don’t blame him on Christmas in October. I hate they start so early now! x #countrykids

  3. Must admit that going picking anything is something I’m looking forward to when my son gets a bit older. If I tried it now I think he would fail miserably just cos he wouldn’t get it. We’re not massive Halloween fans so the lure of the pumpkin is low, I guess when he gets older some of his friends will light that fire! Does look like fun though #countrykids

    1. Yes, we don’t do halloween either apart from a pumpkin, although N has announced he’s going to trick or treat granny this year. He doesn’t do dressing up so even if I agreed with trick or treating, I doubt he’d actually go.

  4. We haven’t managed to go to a pumpkin patch yet this year, and our weekends are full, so I suspect that we won’t… MUST be more organised next year! Looks like you had a fun morning, love the photos from the patch 🙂 #countrykids

  5. How fun to choose your own pumpkin! It has been a couple of years since we visited a farm to pick our pumpkins. My son says he has outgrown pumpkin patches. #countrykids

  6. It looks like a great place to visit. The price of their pumpkins is great. Having wheelbarrows is a genius idea, wherever we have been in the past we have had to carry them and it’s been a struggle! #countrykids

  7. Yet again another year has gone by and I’ve failed to do any PYO here, all too easy to just text the OH. It does look like a fun idea but have they actually already been harvested then and just laid out willy nilly in the field to be chosen? #CountryKids

    1. Yes, here they always chop the stalks but last year they were laid with all the rest of the detritus and some of the plastic was still out. This year it looked like they’d been laid and not grown because it was a different field. They’d also chopped the stalks better so you didn’t get prickly hands. But most patches clean their pumpkins too

  8. It looks like you had a brilliant time and he looks so strong lifting that pumpkin! I love your summary of the things you both learnt. I love a good pumpkin farm and I also found out that it’s FAR easier to push a wheelbarrow without pumpkins in it last weekend! I really did struggle to get back across two fields to the payment marquee. #CountryKids

    1. Having an older child who’ll push one certainly helps. I felt for one person we saw from a distance who was trying to carry her young toddler and push a wheelbarrow up to the payment table. Personally I’d have stuck the kid in the wheelbarrow.

  9. What a wonderful activity for you and N to explore, pumpkin patches look like a fabulous draw for kids. I’d love to take mine to a patch, it’s something even my teens might enjoy but I don’t think we have one local. I love the shots of N bent down inspecting the pumpkins, it’s clear he’s taken his pumpkin picking very seriously.

    Thanks for linking up your pumpkin picking fun on #CountryKids.

    1. It is a nice tradition, and we can turn it into a day out. But only 1 of them is going to last, the other 2 have already gone mouldy this year. We didn’t check them well enough before picking them!

  10. We love going pumpkin picking and it’s a great activity to do with kids. Looks like you had a while field to choose from! Great prices too. My mummy can’t trick me either these days!! 😉 #CountryKids

  11. Pumpkin picking is so fun. My girls love it too. Its great that they get to see where these things actually come from.

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