We popped along to the pick-your-own pumpkin patch at Bert's Barrow Farm in Hillam.
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00:00 I'm Jason, Jason Thompson, owner of Burt's Barrow in Hillam.
00:04 We're in a stud in the pumpkin patch.
00:06 - I'm Charlotte.
00:07 So I'm the other half to Jason.
00:11 So yeah, I'm the one that does all the social media
00:15 and makes it look tidy.
00:17 - We started about five years ago going 50.
00:20 And then we went to 500, then it was 3000,
00:24 and then up to 13,000.
00:26 Then last year it was 36,000.
00:28 And we ran out with a week to go, so we missed half term.
00:32 So we planted 60,000 this year.
00:34 About 15 different varieties.
00:35 So you've got bluey gray ones,
00:37 you've got your hot chocolate, your mellow yellow,
00:40 and then you've got your gaurds and squashes.
00:41 So you've got the bluey gray ones, the crown prince,
00:46 which is the best one to eat.
00:47 It's nice and sweet and orange inside.
00:50 Loads of choice for everybody.
00:52 - I'm the one that plants them with our team.
00:54 He sits on the tractor basically the whole time.
00:56 So I plant them and then I get on the weeder
00:59 and it's a machine that, it's on hydraulics,
01:02 so it opens up round the plant.
01:04 So say you've got your pumpkin there,
01:06 I'm sat on the machine here and it opens up.
01:08 So it's a spinny thing, opens up and goes round
01:11 to get rid of the weeds and the rubbish.
01:14 The busy time is September,
01:16 even though everybody thinks it's October,
01:17 but actually our hard work is September and the team.
01:21 They work really hard.
01:22 We've got five in total
01:23 and they've really worked hard this time, haven't they?
01:25 - Yeah, it's all, you wouldn't believe how much work
01:28 there is before actual now.
01:30 Do you know what I mean?
01:31 It's like the weeding, there's the planting of them,
01:34 there's a planting in the field of them,
01:35 they're putting seed in the trays.
01:37 It's all work that people don't see behind the scenes.
01:40 Do you know what I mean?
01:41 - But it's worth it.
01:42 - But it's worth it, yeah.
01:42 - 'Cause we've got our own
01:43 and we've got loads of different varieties this year
01:44 as well, haven't we?
01:45 - Yeah, and people enjoy it.
01:46 Do you know what I mean?
01:47 It's nice to see people coming back down to the farm
01:49 when they're picked to see the faces,
01:51 how smiley they are and what they've got in the barrows
01:53 and how much they've enjoyed it, do you know what I mean?
01:55 That's what it's all about.
01:57 We love seeing the smiley faces on them.
01:59 - The way we decide how much they are,
02:03 we use the sizing guides.
02:06 So then we put them in.
02:09 And then it, however big it is,
02:11 that's the price if it goes straight through the hole.
02:14 You can carve the pumpkins and you can paint the pumpkins
02:17 and this is so you don't have to do it at home
02:20 and make a mess.
02:21 - We are supporting the Dogs Trust
02:25 because I saw Owen Sharp on the TV last year.
02:29 Our aim is 550 pounds.
02:32 Owen spin the wheel.
02:33 - We're open Friday 12 till five,
02:36 Saturday and Sunday nine till four.
02:38 We've got the pumpkin patches open.
02:41 There's all the different photo opportunities
02:43 knocking about the place.
02:44 There's, we've got the activity bar
02:46 where you can paint them or carve them.
02:48 We've got face painter.
02:50 We've got a fairground ride, crepes,
02:53 bars open on a weekend, full job.
02:56 A lot of few local businesses with stalls.
02:58 So there's loads going on.
03:00 - Happy Halloween.
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