Cal Poly Pomona’s Farm Store is said to be the single biggest pumpkin patch in Southern California.
Under the watchful eyes of Chino prison guards, some 40 acres of fat orange gourds were harvested a week ago and trucked 11 miles north to a 5-acre field outside Cal Poly Pomona’s Farm Store, which becomes home to a monthlong Pumpkin Fest leading up to Halloween and what is said to be the single biggest pumpkin patch in Southern California.
The rest of the month belongs to Pumpkin Fest, a less crowded but no less festive version of the seasonal activities. The vendors and special activities will be gone, but you can still wander the corn maze, visit the farm animals and take a hayride, in addition to finding your perfect pumpkin. Cal Poly Pomona’s pumpkin patch covers 5 acres, so bring some good walking shoes to find your perfect jack-o-lantern wannabe.
The activities all fit into the university’s motto: “Learn by doing,” and the outreach seems to be paying off. The agricultural school’s enrollment of 2,200 students this year is the highest in its 80-year history, Walters said. But the programs aren’t training hands-in-the-dirt farmers so much anymore, he said, as much as students who want to work in some aspect of the agriculture industry, such as selling produce, brewing craft beer, doctoring animals and making clothing and textiles.
But the pumpkin patch got so popular that student clubs asked if they could get involved to raise money for their organizations. The event grew from there, Walters said, but the pumpkin fields were moved to Chino around 2001, so the college could develop its AGRIscapes property, with the Farm Store, visitor center, children’s garden, greenhouses and Discovery Farm, a kind of mini-demonstration farm.
If want to avoid massive crowds — and an admission fee — come later in the month, when entry is free.Cal Poly’s 3-acre corn maze is 12 feet high, and you’ll cover a fair bit of ground trying to get out. For a nongory but still spooky experience, bring a flashlight and try the new Night Maze on Friday and Saturday nights, starting Oct. 11.
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