Farm diversification: Mid Wales diversifies into PYO pumpkins for October

We love a good farm diversification idea, and here is a very seasonal example of how farm diversification projects can be flexible throughout the year. Adding to your farm income when you need it most. Farm diversification doesn’t have to be just one thing, it can be a series of related businesses which all support the farm income. Creating a farm marketing campaign for this type of farm diversification needs to be carefully planned with a clear social media strategy, book a free consult with us to find out how we can help.

Visitors to the farm will be invited to pick their own pumpkins in the run-up to Halloween as part of a successful farm diversification project in the Upper Severn Valley.

Having welcomed hundreds of visitors to Porth Farm since mid-August as part of an ongoing series of farm diversification projects, including to see fields of blooming sunflowers, a maize maze and a woodland walk, Gerwyn Vaughan and Sarah Pinnell are now switching their focus to pumpkins.

They have planted a three-acre field with an estimated 16,000 edible pumpkins in six varieties and will be opening to visitors from October 9 to Halloween.

Visitors must book online to visit the farm to pick their own pumpkins. On arrival, they will be given a wheelbarrow to transport their pumpkins back to the farm where they will pay by card.

Porth Farm will also be running workshops on pumpkin carving, Halloween decorations and making autumnal wreaths accompanied by afternoon tea. A mobile food outlet will serve a range of refreshments, including home-made pumpkin soup, hot drinks and ice cream.

Visitors are advised to wear wellies and waterproofs in case of rain and no dogs will be allowed in the pumpkin field or public areas. Toilets will be available on site. Follow the latest news from Porth Farm on Facebook.

“This is a chance for adults and children to slip on their wellies and gloves and head out into fields of sprawling vines to pick their perfect pumpkin,” said Sarah. “We have knobbly ones and wrinkly ones in different shapes and sizes, as there is a bountiful supply of shiny pumpkins in different colours.

“Whether you want to carve a ghoulish face, make a delicious pie or decorate your house with them, there are plenty of options.”

Gerwyn and Sarah are looking for ways to diversify their 70-acre sheep farm which allow them to welcome visitors. They already grow hay and haylage for horses but are looking for other ideas to supplement the farm’s income.

“We have a beautiful outdoor space here where we promote biodiversity and conservation and want to create an experience for visiting families,” explained Sarah

“We are delighted with the public response to our sunflowers, maze and woodland walk. Now our focus for October turns to the pumpkins.”

When the sunflowers and Phacelia have finished flowering, they will be left to feed the birds through their “hungry gap” before being ploughed back into the earth to enrich the soil.

To promote the new attraction, Porth Farm has become a member of MWT Cymru, an independent company representing more than 600 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and the Meirionnydd region of Gwynedd.

Article taken from Herald Wales