Ever since I was a little girl Halloween was always a big deal in our household. I remember driving as a family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to West Virginia to find the perfect pumpkins for our October celebration. Now as a parent, I want to pass this family tradition along to my son, Cashton.
Well, parents, get ready for a sad pumpkin patch experience this year. Unfortunately, we have had some inconvenient conditions for pumpkin growing these past few months and the crops have taken a hit!
Typically, in years past we have taken the short drive up to Moorseville to explore Carrigan Farms and enjoy their tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch and farm animals. Last year, we stayed local and decided to check out Hunter's Farm in Matthews. It was okay. Cute for photos but not a ton to see.
Last weekend my mother, brother and I took Cash to Hall's Family Farm in south Charlotte. I had seen some of my friends post on Instagram and it looked fun! However, in hindsight, all of those posts were focused on the family activities, not on the pumpkin patch themselves.
Hall's Family Farm has a ton of kids activities. Face painting, rubber ducky races, a playground, sandbox, kids maze, farm animals, a fire truck and more. What they don't have this year is pumpkins.
I have never been so heartbroken than walking out to that field with Cash in tow and seeing only 10-15 pumpkins. All of which were rotten and most were covered in flies.
As a family, we tried to make the best of it, doing what I assume every family does. We took photos that made it look fantastic. We found two pumpkins with little rot and turned them to look normal, then had fun on the playground.
Now let me be clear, this is not a jab at the farm themselves because we would take Cash back for the family fun aspect in a heartbeat. However, this is unfortunately not the place to pick pumpkins this year especially so far into the season.
After learning that many pumpkin crops were destroyed this year due to weather. I would advise you to call ahead before seeking out the perfect pumpkin at your typical patch. Sadly, you may have better luck at your local Harris Teeter.
