Farmer Focus: Pumpkin patch picking is now in full swing

The pumpkin patch has been in full swing during October, with hundreds of people coming through the field gate.

With nine patches within an hour of us and everyone wanting a slice of the pumpkin pie, it has kept us on our toes and means we’re always looking for the next opportunity.

For my husband and I, it has always been about keeping it fun, affordable, and growing a good-quality pumpkin. Our unique selling point has got to be our pumpkin canon.

It can blast pumpkins several hundred meters across the field to the targets. An attraction in itself, it has given us good media coverage and an experience that is hard to find anywhere else.

See also: How to control wireworm in potatoes effectively

About the author

Annabel Hamilton

Annabel Hamilton farms 1,100ha of arable in the Scottish Borders with her parents. The arable area grows 65% winter and 35% spring crops. She is Basis and Facts qualified and runs a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. The farm finishes more than 300 Limousin cattle a year.  Follow Annabel on Twitter @annabelhami11

Read more articles by Annabel Hamilton

This October has definitely been filled with positive interactions with young farmers, schools, and the public.

Last week, we hosted a local grammar school on the farm to talk about and highlight the technology that is now used on farms.

Nine students and one teacher came to Bee Edge, where we had discussions and demonstrations on a range of topics.

I would like to thank all those who gave up their time to talk to the students.

I can only take positives away from hosting a visit like this.

We had an agronomist, a drone, a sheep dog demonstration and, of course, we offered people a chance to go on the Pumpkin Canon.

As farmers, we can sometimes forget the importance of interacting with the public and schools. It can be daunting, time consuming, and it’s not for everyone.

But if there was ever a time to be involved, it is now.

We finished autumn drilling on 6 October with a field of Spotlight going in after potatoes.

A fantastic team effort by all our staff, and we are looking forward to our end of harvest meal (albeit being a bit late) at the beginning of November.

We only missed out on two fields of Conway oats which we will get in the springtime, so all in all, we are fairly happy with our autumn drilling campaign.