With less than a week until Halloween, everyone is preparing for this years’ festivities to look a little different. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting everyone across the United States, people are desperate for a little fun before Winter comes. This led us to find and review the perfect pumpkin patch that would satisfy all our fall desires.
Our search to find the perfect pumpkin patch took us outside of the Johnson County area and took us to Missouri. Johnson Farms Plants & Pumpkins is located in Belton, MO which for Johnson County residents may sound far, but in reality, it’s around a 30-minute drive, which is roughly around the same amount of time it takes to get to the Louisburg Cider Mill (another famous pumpkin patch).
We arrived at the grounds around 3:00 p.m. and we were accompanied with some shockingly very warm weather, especially for late-October. One thing that I noticed that this patch excelled in over its competition was its parking lot. Most pumpkin patches either have a dusty, dirt parking lot or just none at all, so this was a welcome surprise as we didn’t have to get dirty before even entering.
The entrance was a little barn-shaped greenhouse that led us to the retail shop. Inside there were an assortment of pumpkins and decorative fall vegetables like gourds and squash. Ideally, the store is for those who want the satisfaction of going to a pumpkin patch, but without having to pick your own pumpkin. Obviously, since we were in close proximity to other guests and the staff, face-covering masks were required in all of the indoor spaces. The tickets were $11 which at first, I thought was expensive for just a pumpkin patch (compared to Louisburg or Schaake’s which are significantly cheaper). However, after experiencing all that this patch has to offer, I now believe that it’s a fairly reasonable price.
As we entered the grounds of the patch, we were almost overwhelmed with how much was going on just as you walked out. Directly in front of us was a children’s play area which had so many fun activities that we secretly all wanted to try. If you’re looking for a fun fall activity to do with your kids or younger siblings, I definitely recommend taking them here as there are so many things for them to do. From the arcade area to the pig races, there is bound to be something for everyone.
We wandered around some more and found the entrance to the U-Pick Vegetable Garden and Sunflower field. We were all shocked to find that there was more to this pumpkin patch than just pumpkins. The U-Pick Vegetable garden had a variety of veggies that were ready to be picked. Tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and squash were all available for guests to pick out themselves. Nearby the vegetable garden was an above ground tunnel that had mini pumpkins and gourds intertwined with the wiring of the structure. The sunflowers were still blooming, which is surprising compared to other local fields that have died out weeks ago. The field was smaller than what most people would expect and smaller than other places, but the fact that you could take beautiful Instagram pictures with the sunflowers in the middle of October made up for the size. The sunflowers were also available to pick and take some home for yourself to enjoy.
It’s hard to explain the size of the pumpkin patch at Johnson Farms. There were pumpkins as far as we could see. The patch was not only ginormous, it was still full of pumpkins in the middle of October. There were many perfect-sized orange pumpkins to choose from. The patch also hard different pumpkins than the typical big orange ones such as, little orange ones, white ones and something I have never seen before, red ones. We walked around the pumpkin patch for an hour, taking pictures, enjoying the warm day and working to find the most perfect pumpkin, and with so many great ones to choose from, this took some time.
On our way to the apple orchard (I know what you’re thinking, this place is so full of different things to pick), we ran into a corn maze where people could pick fresh corn and take it with them. The apple orchard was up a little bit of a hill and towards the back of the farm. There were lines and lines of apple trees that were gorgeous and, once again, still had plenty to harvest.
Overall, the Johnson Farms Plants and Pumpkins is a must visit during the fall season. From all the harvest opportunities, to massive children’s area and don’t forget all the gorgeous “Insta-worthy” pics that will come out of the trip, it’s worth the little bit of a drive you have to make from Johnson County.
By Alieu Jagne and Gracyn Shulista