Staff writer
In addition to a new gift shop and multipurpose building suitable for all types of parties and get-togethers, this year Walters Pumpkin Patch has added a stationary wooden train with six cars and a new pedal car track.
“Carroll built the track to go through a tunnel house,” Becky Walters said. “It’s a small house on the track you can drive through.”
Becky said they also added a new grain bin for kids to play in.
“We added more animals to look at,” she said. “We have more rabbits, ducks, chickens, we got goats last year, we have a donkey too, and cattle.”
Becky said that they have about 20 acres of land devoted solely to pumpkins.
They generally entertain more families in the fall due to pumpkin influenced holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving.
“This year’s rainy weather has not been so good for raising pumpkins,” Becky said. “More moisture means more fungus more weeds, and more weeds mean more bugs because we can’t get into the field to spray like we do in the dryer years.”
Popular pumpkin related attractions aside from picking out a pumpkin at their patch include ‘punkin chunkin’ and a pumpkin cannon.
“Punkin’ chunkin’ is basically a giant slingshot fastened to hedge posts people use shoot small pumpkins at KU and K-State targets,” Becky said. “The cannon could shoot an 8-pound pumpkin about a half mile.”
Becky said they try to provide a variety of fall related entertainment and are always on the lookout for new ideas because they try to provide something new every year.
The Walterses are members North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Associations and get many of their ideas from attending annual NAFDMA events.
Becky said as members they generally go to different farms to see what other people do.
For more information, call (316) 320-4150.