Shane and Ashley Valentine have opened a new venue for family fun this fall- and have already welcomed over 500 visitors on their opening weekend, September 17 and 18. The Moose Mountain Pumpkin Patch is located two miles northeast of Carlyle's Prairie Dog Drive-In and in addition to picking out the perfect pumpkin, kids of all ages can explore the corn maze, play in a giant sandbox, tackle the zipline, pose for a family photo, enjoy a homemade lunch or treat, and more.
“We first thought of it a few years ago,” says Shane. “We thought it would be a great idea to do a pumpkin patch at our place. We opened on Saturday, Sept. 17 and we had 300 visitors on our first day. We had people from broadview, Esterhazy, Regina and lots of people from our local area.”
“We appreciate their support and we're happy they like what we've done so far.”
Shane was largely self-taught when it came to planting pumpkins. “Last year, I started 1,000 pumpkins. Then later, they got hailed out. They grew to be small, so we gave them all the the playschool.”
“I broke the pasture this year, cultivated, disced it, bought a corn planter for the corn for the corn maze and planted all of the pumpkins by hand,” he says. “So I planted 4,800 pumpkin seeds per acre. It took about 16 hours.”
“We have 10 different kinds of pumpkins this year,” adds Shane. “They take anywhere from 90 to 120 days to grow. We're finding out which ones we'll plant again and which ones we won't bother with. I talked to buddies who are farmers and through the winter, I read a whole bunch about pumpkins.”
“I taught myself and I'm still learning. I've never even planted a garden before this,” he laughs.
As part of the pumpkin planting process, Shane learned how to pollinate the plants by hand, which he did “every morning, from mid-July on.”
The 10 varieties of pumpkins in the Moose Mountain Pumpkin Patch range from the delicious to the decorative. “We've got pumpkins that are made for making pies,” says Shane. “And there are some that are bred just for something like decorating for Halloween. We've got one called a knucklehead pumpkin, that has kind of a ghoulish look. It's actually got little wart-like growths on the outside of it to get that look.”
Shane says the pumpkins must be rotated every day in order to retain their shape. “Otherwise, they can get big flat spots or get mouldy.”
'It's been a real learning curve,” he says. “In the future, I might get some equipment for planting the pumpkins next year, but so far, I'm pretty happy.”
Shane's foray into farming didn't stop there, however.
Another feature at the Moose Mountain Pumpkin Patch is the four-acre corn maze, suitable for all ages.
The stalks-now 10-feet tall- were planted in a zig-zag pattern, so ensure that the maze appeared to be impenetrable. However, Shane says: “As the dad of young kids, I've made sure there's an easy way out, too. We want it to be fun and challenging for older kids and adults, but we don't want any little kids getting lost either.”
Shane designed the maze himself-with only a pencil and a piece of paper-and the design features a “K” and an “A” in honour of he and Ashley's children, Knox, 5 and Andie, 2.
“I bought a corn planter and planted 240,000 seeds over the four acres. I planted them north, south, east and west, because I wanted the maze to be really thick. There's a little clearing with some bales and an old truck in it, which Ashley has set up for family pictures. You can take your own, or she'll take them. It's a really great idea, not just for a souvenir, but for a family Christmas card, for example. They can also get pictures in front of a pile of pumpkins or a bunch of other farm-themed scenes she'll set up.”
“There's also a little bale maze for kids to play in, a big sand box, a train wagon, a zipline, a canteen and more,” adds Shane. “We're also planning a giant slingshot for shooting cobs of corn.”
“We're open to hosting other events too,” he adds. “Adult and teen nights where the corn maze is open at night, birthday parties, school trips, field trips and all kinds of events.”
“For this year, our first year, we'd like to make it a place where people will come back to. We want to grow it- maybe add a petting zoo, for example. For now, we'll play it year by year and we're happy to welcome everyone to the Moose Mountain Pumpkin Patch.”
For more information, call (306)-577-7655 or check out Moose Mountain Pumpkin Patch on Facebook.
