The Pumpkin Patch opens today, begins Halloween
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| Mark Donovan and Amanda Lambe, the Pumpkin Patch is ready. |
When the Pumpkin Patch opens this morning at Hacklow, just outside Kilcullen, it will actually be the culmination of two years' work by organisers Amanda Lambe and Mark Donovan and their respective families, writes Brian Byrne.
The initiative, which will kick off the Halloween spirit over the next two weekends for Kilcullen youngsters and their adults, had a steep learning curve. An idea of Amanda's originally planned for last year on her family land, it didn't make it, in part because of a lack of knowledge about growing pumpkins. "We missed the boat last year," says Mark, who farms in the Kilgowan area and also has a landscaping business. "Our crop for last year was late, but we learned from it," agrees Amanda. "After that we did a lot of Googling and talking to other producers." This year they started again in April, setting down 2,000 propagated plants and then tending them through what was a difficult growing year between summer heatwave and almost monsoon rains.
Part of the process requires a natural pollination of the pumpkin flowers, and Mark got the idea to plant wildflowers and sunflowers around the acre where they were set, which attracted lots of bees and other pollinators. "When the pumpkins are growing they require a lot of watering, and a lot of weeding by hand because you can't use pesticides or weedkillers around food," he says. During the heatwave, the watering had to be done late at night. "It was so hot that it would have evaporated off if we watered during the day," Amanda recalls. "But it was all worth it when we saw the pumpkins actually growing."
The mature pumpkins had to be harvested a couple weeks ago and stored in the dry at Amanda's nearby stable yard or they would have deteriorated on the ground in the recent damp weather. "That took about six hours with about 15 people," she recalls. "Everybody was drafted in, sisters, brothers, neighbours and friends all came to help." During a frenetic yesterday, pumpkins were replaced on the 'patch' on straw so that people can drive in and pick their own this weekend and next.
There's music, coffee and crepes and other hot food from Mark's Moody Cow food truck catering business, and lots of fun for all through the day. "We have wellies-throwing and other country games," says Amanda. "It's all about natural rustic fun, and we'll also have some farm animals to see."
Finding the Pumpkin Patch is easy — follow Eircode R56 X860, or take the Calverstown road off the one to Athy and just watch for Steve Kinneavy directing traffic into the field around the patch — Mark is married to Steve's daughter Sarah. Once inside, Amanda's husband Shane will be doing parking management — a change from his better-known role as Kilcullen GAA legend. "It has all been very much a family effort," Amanda says, noting that her and Shane's sons Harry and Bobby have been working really hard too, "and they got a day off school to really muck in."
Would Harry and Bobby prefer to have been at school yesterday? Definite shaking of heads. Fun in the field is always a better proposition ...
The Pumpkin Patch is open from 11am-4pm through this weekend and next. Entry €5 plus charge for pumpkins.
