Pumpkins Galore! 2024

Pumpkins Galore! 2024

Chalfant Big Trees Farm’s a spooky fall delight…BOO!

By Christina Reed
The Hired Pen

Chalfant Valley, CA—“The go-to place for trees in the Eastern Sierra,” Chalfant Big Trees Farm & Feed is known for having a variety of plants, trees, shrubs, and flowers, which can withstand the eastern California environments. Every fall, the farm transforms into a pumpkin oasis, along with lots of spooky Halloween decorations. It takes about a week to compose all of the elements of its traditional “Pumpkin Patch,” and scarier parts of the large property. Fall is also a busy time around Chalfant Big Trees Farm & Feed as the region begins to wind down for winter, and there’s lots of sales going on as well.

The ”Pumpkin Patch” is a free stroll through the grassy areas, with lots of varieties of pumpkins on display to purchase, and there’s so much more to see. Check out the haunted fire truck toward the back, and the skeleton pirates / sentries keeping track of the action. There’s many different age-appropriate games to play, and there are picnic tables / benches in the shady parts out back, to enjoy watching the kids playing. The Halloween décor is placed strategically around the farm, and you’ll need to spend some time looking for many of the hidden details. If you’re brave (this somewhat scary display means little tots beware!), check out the disrupted cemetery scene, with some scary things left behind. Or try your hand at the spooky maze.

The selections of pumpkins can’t be beat, and there’s handsome pumpkins, and bumpy / creepy looking ones too! From enormous pumpkins to smaller types, white ones, deep orange ones, and some that look like they might even be able to walk away on their own. The pumpkins come from the Central Valley every year, and whatever doesn’t get sold or is damaged, goes to the local cattle, as a fall treat. As the tradition is told, pumpkins used to make “jack-o-lanterns” come from the Irish myth of “Stingy Jack,” who thought he’d make a deal with the Devil for money. It didn’t work out for Jack. Neither heaven nor hell would take him in, due to his greedy deceit. Jack’s soul was sent to wander the Irish landscape. Folks started carving pumpkins with faces, lighting them, and using them to scare Jack’s soul off to another place…. It’s lots of fun at the Pumpkin Patch, and an annual autumn tradition at Chalfant Big Trees Farm & Feed. Enjoy some treats ahead of Halloween, pick up some creative decorations, purchase some sale trees and plants, and then get ready for the pumpkin carving in two weeks. Yes, Halloween is two weeks away….BOO!