The countdown to Halloween is officially on, and pumpkin patches across Waterloo Region are buzzing with activity. From classic jack-o-lanterns to family traditions, visitors are searching for the perfect pick of the crop while some local growers navigate a challenging harvest season. For Victoria Finlay, her husband and their seven-month-old daughter, a trip to the farm was the ideal way to spend a fall day and gear up for an upcoming milestone - their baby’s very first Halloween. “We’ll just take a walk around,” Finlay said. “It’ll be good family bonding time.” The family plans to make the holiday extra special with a creative twist on a seasonal classic. “We’re going to do the carving [of a] pumpkin and putting her in the pumpkin,” Finlay laughed, noting her daughter will practically be wearing it “like a diaper.” Whether visitors are looking for something to wear, carve, or bake into a pie, places like Good Family Farm in Waterloo, Ont. are working hard to meet peak demand. Co-owner Byron Good said their farm grows more than 18 acres of produce, including pumpkins, squash, and gourds, adding up to around 10,000 pumpkins every year. They have been a staple in the community since 1994. “Between gourds and squash and pumpkins, we have 120 varieties of seeds that we grow,” Good explained. Despite the impressive selection, Good said this year’s crop had a few issues. “We had some production issues with parts of the field that didn’t produce real well,” said Good. He said the challenges were due to specific soil patches rather than weather conditions. “But we’re managing. Where they did grow, they grew - they were very good quality, nice size.” Good said that as Halloween draws near, customer focus shifts almost entirely to classic orange pumpkins. However, once you bring your pumpkin home, timing is everything if you want your creation to survive until the spookiest night of the year. “The trick is, of course, to keep the squirrels from eating them,” Good said. “You don’t want to carve it until a day or two before Halloween. Because once you carve it, once you cut into it, then it will start to deteriorate pretty quickly.” Once the Halloween rush dies down, the farm will remain open through November to sell squash, and when the warmer weather returns in the summer, they transition to selling fresh flowers and sweet corn.
