2024
U-Pick Pumpkin Patch
L to R: Pink Princess, Pink & Blue Speckled Hound, Queensland Blue, Brazilian Pink Moranga, Blue Hubbard, Pink Lower Salmon River, Blue Silver Bells
Mid - SEPTEMBER — OCTOBER 31st 2024
THURSDAYS — SUNDAYS
9am — 6pm
2024 Will Mark our 15th Year
of Our Pumpkin Patch on Vashon Island
While we are strictly a wholesale nursery that works only with our ten established accounts—we have delivered plants to for almost 30 years—we do open the farm up to visitors for our annual U-Pick Pumpkin Patch and Pumpkin Cottage.
Filled with heirloom varieties of 30+ varieties of winter squashes, 20+ varieties of unusual gourds, and over 20 varieties of orange, white, pink, blue-gray, and terra cotta-colored pumpkins, as well as all of Matt's exquisite dried flower creations from his own dried flower garden patch.
Every year from mid-September through the end of October. We always look forward to seeing many of our visitors, their children, grandchildren, and family and friends year after year.
When we first started the pumpkin patch, we only grew orange Jack O ' Lanterns. Many customers asked, Where are the gourds? Winter squash? Dried flowers? Ornamental corn?
We are so glad they asked because growing more than just orange pumpkins became our obsession. Every year we try new varieties of winter squash, gourds, ornamental corn, and flowers for dried flower crafting. Some things grow well here, some need a different climate and we love to share that information with our customers. Our successes and our failures.
Our pumpkin patch and pumpkin cottage farm stand are quite a bit different than the big pumpkin patches that many people have visited around Washington State.
We are located in a neighborhood set amidst the towering fir, maple, hemlock, and madrone trees that are native to our area. These trees are home to osprey, Bald Eagle, and Blue Heron nests, raccoons, four types of squirrels, many species of woodpeckers, goldfinches, hummingbirds, chickadees, and nuthatches.
Visitors love to visit our farm and see the birds and numerous pollinators that feed from the sunflowers planted in the pumpkin patch. You can often hear the woodpeckers calling out, owls hooting in the late afternoon, and young osprey begging their parents to bring fish.
We encourage farm visitors to spend time and enjoy the peacefulness that our farm provides—bring a picnic, wear costumes, take pictures! Ask us how we love to cook each winter squash variety that we grow. Or ask about seed-saving or flower-drying techniques.
We love to encourage visitors to try something new and to keep learning!
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Here's a fun winter squash lovers’ vegetarian dinner ( vegan if you use olive oil and coconut milk instead of butter and cream).
You can make a big batch of this and use it in two different ways: Winter squash pasta sauce and cream of winter squash soup!
It also freezes well. When reheating for meal time, heat it very slowly as it burns easily because it is very thick. If using for pasta sauce, thick is good! I like penne-style pasta with this sauce so that the sauce can fill up the pasta tubes. So yummy.
YOU WILL NEED:
• Winter squash, about 4 pounds, peeled and chopped into large chunks.
• Butter, 1/3 cube or 3 tablespoons olive oil.
• Cream or canned evaporated milk , I cup, but add more to taste if you want. Or coconut milk.
• Garlic, two medium size cloves, chopped finely.
• Sage leaves, fresh is best, but dried if that is what you have, 4 leaves chopped finely.
• Black pepper, to taste. • Nutmeg, 1/16 teaspoon or a few generous gratings.
• Salt, to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Peel and steam with 1/2 inch water in bottom of pan, until mashable. Then slowly cook away most of the excess water, stirring all the time. It should be pretty thick, like a good pasta sauce.
2. Butter, or olive oil, with chopped garlic and chopped sage leaves.3. Fry it up, with nutmeg!
4. Mix all ingredients together. Allow to cool. Purée until super smooth in a food processor, ideally. Or blender. Or use an electric hand mixer. If you don't have gadgets, it will still be delicious, just a bit more rustic in texture. It's all good!FOR SERVING
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling over the top of your pasta or bowl of soup.
Cooked penne pasta if having pasta dish, or toasted garlic bread if having soup.
If using this for soup, you want it more soupy. Add some whole milk or more coconut milk to thin it down to the texture you prefer.
You will go by taste preferences here, use the amounts that you like of each ingredient.
Some people in your home may not be winter squash lovers, that's fine. They can have a tomato-based sauce with pasta or soup. That's how we do it in our house. If you love winter squash, please use every opportunity to eat it in the fall and winter. I am sad to hear of people who don't cook certain things because their family members don't eat it.
Hours
In addition to being open Thursdays through Sundays from September 16th to October 31st, we will also be open Monday, October 30th, and Tuesday, October 31st, 2023 but we are frequently sold out before then.
Costumes
No Pets, Please
We get it, it’s fun to bring your dog on field trips but Tiger says, thank you for understanding and leaving them in the car or home. However, there are lots of great trails across from Dockton Marina for hiking with your dog.
Wear costumes and take photos in the pumpkin patch, we love to see that! And if you don’t have the bandwidth for costumes, we’ve got you covered—we’ll have our photo stand-in boards ready.
Bathrooms
No public bathrooms on the farm, but there is a public bathroom at Dockton Park and Marina which is about one mile from our farm.
Photo Shoots
All photo shoots need to be low-key. We love to see people taking photos with their friends and family, but professional shoots are often disruptive to other farm visitors, so don’t make it seem like a professional photo shoot and it’s all good, if you know what I mean.
Payment
We accept:
• cash
• local checks
• Venmo
