Visitors enjoy all the extras at Gail’s on Fall Farm Day

[September 24, 2021]    After an exciting day on Saturday, moving the two giant pumpkins the Sasse’s raised this year, Fall Farm Day was another big day at Gail’s Pumpkin Patch on Sunday.

Each year in the fall the pumpkin patch hosts Fall Farm Day with extra activities and offerings for visitors in the hopes that they will stay a bit longer and get a little better feel for life on the farm.

In addition to growing pumpkins, the Sasse farm includes a field of popcorn, gourds, apple orchards and also fields of traditional grain crops such as corn.

At the Sunday event, one special activity was the rides to the popcorn field in the farms popcorn wagon. Visitors could ride the wagon to the field and pick their own popcorn off the corn stalks. They could purchase the popcorn and then take it home to shell and pop at their convenience. For those who didn’t wish to pick their own, Gail’s offered pre-picked popcorn in the retail shed on the farm.

The same is the case with the pumpkins. Visitors can grab a wagon and a pair of cutters and head out to the eight acres of jack-o-lanterns to peruse and choose that special one that will be perfect for their needs.

For those who wish to be a little less ambitious, pre-picked pumpkins are stacked all around the farm’s retail barn and range from very large to quite small. Visitors can also purchase miniature gourds, Halloween and fall decorations, Amish made apple butter, pumpkin butter and a variety of jams, and other sweet treats. On a warm day, the apple slushies are also quite tasty.

For the Fall Farm Day, Nuthatch BBQ was on hand with their large smoker truck selling pork sandwiches to hungry guests. While enjoying their food or playing some of the pumpkin themed games around the farm, visitors could also enjoy the musical stylings of local artist Jeff Cordes.

The fun activities and animals that are at the patch every day were also big attractions from the PVC pipe bumper slide to the goats, chickens and of course the kittens.

And, as anticipated, the two Atlantic Giant pumpkins raised by David and Gail Sasse this year were on display prominently. The one that ended up being less than perfect but weighing more than 480 pounds was placed near the Gail’s sign at the driveway into the farm. The other one, weighing more than 500 pounds and slated to be transported this weekend to Minooka for judging was set up inside the retail barn.

While the Fall Farm Day at Gail’s is dubbed as extra special, every day at the farm is special. If you’ve not made it out to the Gail’s Pumpkin Patch just yet, you still have plenty of time. The patch will be open through October 31st. The hours of operation are Sunday, Monday and Wednesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. On Saturday’s the patch opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m.

The patch is closed on Tuesdays this year so that staff can do deep cleaning in the common areas.

[Nila Smith]