Pumpkin Patch Fun

While it’s totally acceptable to buy your pumpkins from a grocery store, I cherish the hours we have already spent playing with the pumpkins lined up on wooden crates and hay bales at Tapia Bros. pumpkin patch in Encino. In fact, we had so much fun there on our last visit that we forgot to pick out pumpkins.  I swear.  We’re planning on going back again this week to actually buy a couple pumpkins for carving.

We’ve proven there is so much more to do there than just pick out a pumpkin!  If you’re planning on making the trip, try to give yourself at least 2 hours if not more so your young gardeners can enjoy the adventure and learn a bit about pumpkins.  Besides carrying Cinderella to the ball and being turned into Jack O’Lanterns, pumpkins are pretty crazy vegetables. 

They come in all shapes and sizes. Which one do you choose?  Challenge the kids to pick out a pumpkin the same size as their head! It’s a manageable size for their small hands and it makes hunting for just the right pumpkin a lot of fun. (Their arm muscles get a bit of a silly workout too!)

Here are some other fun games to make the pumpkin picking adventure fun:

• Create an obstacle course out of pumpkins and have fun running, hopping and even crawling through a zig-zagged course.
• Write your name by lining up pumpkins.
• See who can find the largest, fastest, smallest pumpkin first.
• Pick 10 pumpkins and then line them up from smallest to biggest.
• Look at the stems. Can you find one that’s still green? One that is bigger than your hand? What about one with a few vine curlicues still? (Something cool to teach kids is that these curlicues are called tendrils and act like little hands as the pumpkin vine grows. They wrap around poles, sticks, or even weeds to help keep the vine stable. Neat huh?)
• We also like to bowl with pumpkins, although the guys at the farm don’t like seeing you roll their produce so this game should be saved for when you get home.  (The cannonball pumpkins at Tapia are the perfect size. Use them to knock over toilet paper rolls!)

Tapia Bros. in Encino is a family run urban farm, selling locally grown produce all year round.  Our family enjoys the seasonal corn, tomatoes, strawberries and other fruits throughout the year. However, October always brings are favorite time to visit the farm. 

5251 Hayvenhurst Avenue, Encino, CA  91436

For more garden games and ideas check out Lisa’s website at www.kardenscorner.com.