Pumpkin patch’s last pick

The sun’s bright rays shine through the clouds, heating up the air on a surprisingly warm October day. Surrounded by endless walls of corn, a small field filled with pumpkins of many shapes and sizes is dotted with people. The unexpected weather has brought in families from all over Windsor and Essex County. It’s a tradition at McLeod Farms that has lasted for many years, but soon these fields will be empty.

 

McLeod Farms was established in 1980 when Murray and Helen McLeod bought the sprawling farmstead in Cottam, a rural community just outside of Windsor. At the time, the fields were barren plots of land, uncared for and void of any crops. The McLeods got to work sowing seeds and soon after, colourful pumpkins dotted the landscape. Once the fruit was growing, corn was planted and the now-popular corn maze was carved out though the towering stalks. The maze and pick-your-own pumpkin patch have been a popular family attraction for over 20 years, but this fall marks its last season.

 

McLeod Farms has always been run as a family business with the McLeod’s children sharing the workload to keep everything going smoothly. But as time went by, the children became adults, started families of their own and are finding it harder to make time for the farm. This is one of the main reasons that McLeod Farms is shutting down its pumpkin growing operations and autumn events.

 

“Over the years we have been able to keep it going because we’ve had our children here, helping out on a Sunday if we need them, but they have children of their own now; life happens,” said Helen McLeod, during a farm visit over the Thanksgiving weekend.

 

In most cases, people come for the family experience and even with part time workers to fill the empty spaces, it’s just not the same when all the McLeods aren’t there.

 

Ryan McLeod has been helping out his parents, together with his two siblings, Heather and Adam, for as long as he can remember. He said that working on the farm has been a full-time job and now that he is older, he wants to be able to devote his free time to his own family.

 

“You work all week and you want to spend the weekend with your kids, and you can’t do that if you’re out here,” said Ryan. “It’s not just October either; it’s all year round, pulling weeds and planting. It’s a pretty big time commitment.”

 

Despite the amount of work, Ryan said he will miss a lot of things about working at the farm. He has made many connections over the years being there and enjoys seeing old friends when they come by to chat and catch up with the family. The entrepreneurial aspect of farm life is another thing Ryan has valued and the experience he gained has helped his own career. He is worried his children might miss out on that opportunity.

 

The family going their own way isn’t the only problem that has taken root for the McLeod’s pumpkin business. There are many variables that can affect pumpkin farming. For example, too much rain caused problems for the McLeods this season. “We had to keep going in and keep planting the pumpkins because it would rain and the soil temperature wasn’t warm, and the seed would rot,” said Helen. “You couldn’t even drive a tractor on the field because it was too wet, so we had to do it by hand.”

 

Also, pumpkin fields need to be irrigated if they become too dry, and bees have to be brought in for pollination.

 

“Pumpkins are not the kind of crop that you can plant and leave to grow,” she said.

 

Even with the end of their pick-your-own pumpkin patch and corn maze, McLeod Farms won’t be closing down entirely. The McLeods will continue farming, but with crops that are easier on their land.

 

“Our farm has planted a pumpkin and berry crop for years. It takes a lot out of the soil even though we are putting in a lot of fertilizer,” said Helen. “We need to rest that land and put in a crop that’s not going to draw so much from it.”

 

The McLeods have recently planted a new crop of strawberries and they also plan on planting soy beans to fill in their fields. This might be the last pumpkin harvest, but Helen and Ryan said they are both interested in making sure the grandkids still get to experience some sort of farming life. Even though their pumpkin picking days will be over, for the McLeods, it seems that farming will always run in the family.