The Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur

アーサーのかぼちゃ農園

Our final destination in Arthur was the Great Pumpkin Patch, located about three miles (or 4.5 kilometers) south of downtown Arthur. This is part of the 200 Acre Farm, and there are three major facilities in it: the Great Pumpkin Patch, the Homestead Bakery, and the Homestead Seeds. The main attraction for tourists is the Great Pumpkin Patch for sure.

You just drive down south on County Road 10, and turn right at the intersection of 10 and 11. The Great Pumpkin Patch will be on the left-hand side, The surrounding is just a huge farming field. The entrance may confuse you because only a sign board for the Homestead Bakery comes into your eyes. You may unwittingly get past it. Enlarge the photo by single-clicking on it.

This is a visitors' parking lot. Three signs stand by, showing three facilities that constitute this huge farm. The Great Pumpkin Patch is seasonal. It is open between September 15 and October 30. Single-click on the photo for enlargement.

Lots of chickens welcomed us near the entrance. Small children and a few teachers were playing with those chickens in a pen.

The chickens had a variety of feather colors, but I did not see any chicken with white feathers, which is typical in Japan. All the chickens looked kind of round. They were obviously well fed.

We turned right at the chicken pen and saw one woman selling admission tickets. I don't remember exactly how much I paid. It was probably five or six dollars. Then we saw a small farm house on our right, which was the Great Pumpkin Patch Museum. It came with a bridle shop and a gift shop, too.

This is the outside look of the museum. It presents a typical farmhouse of the American Midwest.

When we stepped in a wide open space, we saw tons of beautiful displays for pumpkins. How beautiful this balanced combination of a tree, pumpkins, squashes, and potted flowers is!

This is what they call a pumpkin tree! A lot of big orange pumpkins are displayed vertically like a tree (or a tower).

A big pile of pumpkins, squashes, and gourds! It looks like a pumpkin mountain! A very impressive display.

I think this is a very creative way of pumpkin display. How long did it take to put a pumpkin in each cell?

It was early October when we visited this farm. There were tons of pumpkins lined up for pickup for Halloween because this was the Great Pumpkin Patch. Single-click on the photo to enlarge it.

This is the largest pumpkin displayed in this farm. This "baby" is Louise, just about 70 days old, born in late July, but already weighs as much as 884 pounds (or 400kg!). A Wisconsin farmer grew it and brought it to a contest, where it won the first prize just a week before. Then taken to this farm for display until the end of the season. A big pumpkin trivia: this kind of pumpkin grows 25 pounds (or 11kg) a day! Can you believe it?

Farmers make hay rolls to feed animals in winter. Here they use hay rolls to make funny displays. How creative people in this farm are!

The Great Pumpkin Patch continues to the next page.

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