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THE PUMPKIN PATCH OF ALBERT LEA

** --WE'RE OPEN TUESDAY-SUNDAY, 1-6 PM ***** CLOSED ON MONDAYS*****





*** OPENING DAY--OCTOBER 8, 2011...
THE 27TH PATCH WAS UNDERWAY!

WE'RE FOR THE 2011 SEASON!

Q & A HALLOWEEN ALERT:!
Q: How do you fix a cracked pumpkin?
A: !ti no hctaP nipkmuP a tup uoY (answer written backwards)

Booooooo!

We love to have F*U*N at the OLD FASHIONED PUMPKIN PATCH IN ALBERT LEA!

ENTRANCE FEE: None, just come and enjoy the patch!




The 27TH Pumpkin Patch (2011) in Albert Lea O*P*E*N*S SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2011... THANK YOU for visiting us on the web and hope to see you in the Patch--SOON!

Hours: TUESDAY-SUNDAY -- 1 PM to 6 PM CDT
CLOSED ON MONDAY


CLOSED IF RAINING
See below for phone number & weather infomation at the Patch today

507-373-3845







W*E*L*C*O*M*E

(Scroll down to see which groups are coming later this month)



TRIVIA:

One question I get a lot is, "Is there anything I can do to make my pumpkin last longer?" Yes, a couple things--1st, keep it in a cool dry area at home like the garage at night or on very warm or cold days to keep it's temp even. 2nd, make up a solution of water and a little liquid bleach and clean off the outside of your pumpkins with it and that will remove bacteria that's natural to any vegetable and thus help it last longer.

In 1999 we had 5757 Visitors!

In 2009, we had 2200 plus visitors coming from Nebraska, Iowa, Virginia, Florida I'm sure from other areas..always fun to have visitors from out of state! Our season was very wet & cold with lots of snow showers PLUS the highway to the patch, Cty Road 46 was closed for the 1st two weeks of the season!

In 2008, we had visitors from Nebraska, North Dakota, North Carolina and Arizona..at least that I know of!
In 2000 we had 5000+ (ran out of stickers) Visitors! In 2001, we didn't keep track with stickers but would estimate that we had at least 5000 people again...hope you were one of them!
In 2002, we had 3500 visitors--worst weather for a Patch in 18 years! In 2003, we had about 4,400 visitors. 2004 saw about 4,500 come through the patch in about 21 days--THANK YOU!

Will you be visitor #1 in 2005?
Visitors in 2007 were about 3500.
Visitors in 2008 were about 2500 visitors but we opened late and closed early due to a poor crop.



PUMPKIN PATCH ALMANAC



 THE FROST WAS ON THE PUMPKIN!.....
In 2008, we had only light frost prior to closing on October 25th. We had NO SNOW in 2008 while the patch was open.
This year the FIRST FROST was on October 1, 2004 (Same date, Oct 1 in 2003)
First Hard frost, mid 20s, October 16, 2004
FIRST SNOW 2004: Light fluries/rain mix on Oct 15 in the overnight
BUGS--Asian lady bugs by the 10s of 1000s, October 8 & 9, 2004

FIRST SNOW 2003: Light fluries on Oct 25 in the pm
BUGS--Asian lady bugs by the 10s of 1000s, October 4 & 5, 2003

Monday, September 23, 2002--light frost

First SNOW in 2002 -- October 16
In 2002, we had 2 days with warm temps & sun--both days we were attached by noseeums and pseudo ladybugs in swarms! 2002 was a very cold and damp year--Lake Please Be Gone never emptied!

First frost in 2001, September 25-light
First snow 2001, October 24--squals & didn't stick
For Halloween night, we had a beautiful full moon that was in and out making for a spooktacular night for the Presbyterian Church hayride!
We are having very hard frosts in 2000 on Oct 5, 6 & 7--down to mid 20's each night--very early for this cold!brrrr

First frost in the Patch in 2000 was early morning, Sept. 25!

WOW--in 1999 IT SNOWED! on Opening Day 1999, October 1--another first in the 15 years at the Patch!
In 2000, we had snow fluries with temps about 38 on Saturday, October 6 with a wind chill of about 10--brrrrrr at the Patch that day!Then 4 nights of temps in the mid teens...very coooold!
THEN HEAT--On Thursday, October 19, 2000, we had a record day for warm temps--82 degrees so what a contrast from earlier in the month!



Tune in frequency 1610 AM on your radio when you turn into the Patch for todays Patch information.


CALL: In case of rainy weather, please call (507) 373-3845 for a recording to be sure we're open--check out below the current weather conditions here in

Click for Albert Lea, Minnesota Forecast

ACTIVITIES: We sell pumpkins for carving at a top price of $15.00 and we always have pumpkins for 25 cents. Other items we sell include howden pumpkins, pie pumpkins, lumina (white skinned) pumpkins, mini pumpkins, gourds & squash (acorn, butternut, buttercup, spagetti, cinderella & hubbard)








GAMES FOR THE KIDS: We have a variety of games set up for the kids to play while here at the Patch. Games include pumpkin checkers, table top bowling, pumpkin bowling, pumpkin toss, Crow-K, gourd miniture golf and more.



VISITORS: Each year we have visitors from out of the area--This year we welcomed visitors from:
(10/4/03) Vammala, Finland, Rapid City, SD & Minneapolis area
(10/6/03) Eagle River, Alaska
(10/13) Estherville, IA
(10/16)Kansas City, KS

Last year (2002), we welcomed visitors from: Estherville, Iowa
Chanhassen, Minnesota

Last year (2001) we had visitors from:
Kansas
Washington
Wisconsin, Appleton, LaCrosse
Duluth, MN
Minneapolis/St. Paul area
Iowa, Adel, Estherville,Lake Mills, Northwood
Arizona
Ohio
Illinois
London, England


In the year 2000, Visitors were from
FLORIDA
IOWA
ENGLAND
Minneapolis/St. Paul area
Duluth, MN
SOUTH DAKOTA
WISCONSIN (Green Bay / Appleton)
MISSOURI
RUSSIA
PENNSYLVANIA (Philadelphia)
INDIANA
CONNETICUT
NEBRASKA

Be sure to let me know so I can keep track of "Where in the World" you're from here on our website at the aMAZEing PumpkinPatch of Albert Lea!



WALKING TRAIL: CHECK WITH LARRY AT THE PRICING TABLE FOR THE TRAIL DIRECTIONS- We have a 1/2 mile walking trail that the family can take beyond the Patch--picnic tables available if you want to bring a snack & enjoy on the way! Passes along Pumpkin Creek--watch for the 'fishin scarecrow' and see if he's had any luck! Bring your dog (leash required) and a fun walk for the whole family!

#1 PUMPKIN PLACE: We have a small house set up for the kids to grill, wash clothes, sit at the table & have "coffee" while they enjoy a movie on the TV set. And don't forget to check the mailbox to see if any mail has arrived!






GOLDIE--12 YEARS OLD in March, 2003!
My Animal Friends: Goldie, used to love to jump up on a round bale of hay to keep an eye on things! He loved to greet everybody with a handshake or a swish of the tail--and I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted your sleeve or mittens or stocking cap..he loved to have *something* in his mouth--he's a retriever, you know! We sure miss him here at the Patch! We also have some typical farm animals for the kids to observe like sheep (the girls) , a goat (the boy) , pot belly pigs (Big & Little) , Elmer & Curly the regular white pigs, the two little pigs (Larry & Moe) and about 20 cats walking around the Patch just hoping for a kind hand to pet them! (We just ask that you don't pick them up as sometimes they will get scared and scratch) In 2004, Baa Baa will be walking around for the kids to pet and feed..he's Grandma's son and now slowing up himself! In 2003 we welcomed a new sheep "BABE" and he's a cutie but NO BABY ANYMORE--he's the biggest sheep in the pen! In addition, we have a new LLAMA who we call BAHAMA--BAHAMA LLAMA! Llama's are protectors of sheep and so will fit right in with our sheep and goats.


CHECK OUT THE SCARECROWS THIS YEAR!


These cute scarecrows are just "sitting around" at the patch to add to the Patch atmosphere.

ALSO CHECK OUT THE iron pumpkin stands we have again this year FOR SALE! They are lawn ornaments in the Halloween theme in various designs. Check them out by the Pricing Table for design ($25.00 -- only 1 left)






LOST & FOUND

We occasionally have items lost out here in the Patch--currently we are holding:

Gloves & earwarmer
T-shirt
Cloth Hat
Sun Glasses
Mittens
Items in 2000
Small red sweater
Bag of Gourds someone left
Wooden Bead girls Necklace
camera lens
AAA Cell Phone

LOST
Mitten

See Larry at the Pricing Table to identify and pick up.

Check Out these Local Links

Join me on tour in Canada, Alaska, Norway or Hawaii??
United Methodist Church of Albert Lea
Albert Lea Tribune
Freeborn County, Minnesota Homepage