Pumpkin Picking at Pickwell Farm

As Instagram and Facebook have slowly been filling up with beautiful pictures of pumpkin patches I felt as though I was missing out on this tradition and couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of pumpkin picking sooner. As a huge fan of Autumn and Halloween, I knew I had to find somewhere to visit with the family to give this a go ourselves.

It didn’t take long to find out that Pickwell Farm in Netley, Southampton was clearly a favourite amongst parents in and around Hampshire. Living in Basingstoke, it only took around 40 minutes to get there and this trip is definitely worth it as you can see by what we were greeted with as we arrived!

There are so many choices of pumpkins in the boxes seen, inside the shop and then out in the field that you will be sure to come away with everything you need for Halloween.

Jake, however, spotted straight away that you could also pick strawberries so he made a beeline for that field first.

At £4 for this large punnet, I think we got our money’s worth here.

Our next task was to commandeer a wheelbarrow. It was a very busy day and everyone was looking for one to take out to the field. The trick is to casually follow a person back to their car and wait for them to start returning it!

Out in the fields there is a huge selection of fruit and veg that can be picked; blackberries, raspberries, courgettes, runner beans, corn, rhubarb, pumpkins… the list goes on. The sections for pumpkins is vast and clearly needed to be for the demand there is at this time of year. This activity is so simple yet so much fun for everyone. Watching Jake get excited about picking fruit and veg was great to see and there was a nice atmosphere amongst all the visitors there. Of course, everyone was trying to get that perfect photo with the sea of orange in the background or with their kids sat with the pumpkins and we were no exception!

And I just felt like a big kid! Can you tell that Halloween is one of my favourite events of the year?!

After picking some rather large pumpkins we set off to show Jake where corn comes from. I kinda felt as though I was in a horror movie as I wandered through the tall plants but Jake thought it was all great fun.

Once you have picked all you want you can wash your pumpkins on site before returning to the main shop to pay. We couldn’t resist popping back in and picking up some tiny pumpkins to use as decorations for inside the house.

The shop has other gorgeous foods on offer, from veg boxes to homemade cakes, eggs, honey, jams and more. There are also plants, pots and gifts to choose from too. This is definitely somewhere we will be returning to again throughout the year.

I highly recommend going to visit a pumpkin patch this year and perhaps getting there sooner rather than later because it is clearly becoming a very popular option. Jake was buzzing after selecting his own and learning about where certain foods come from, it’s just a great way to have fun together, being outside and teaching your child about healthy eating.

Pickwell Farm is open 7 days a week but times can vary on the season so do check out their website or Facebook page before setting off.

Now all that’s left to do is to think of some ideas for carving this year!

Have you been to a patch yet?

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