BARK RIVER, Mich. (WZMQ) – Bark River’s Porath Pumpkin Patch is officially open for the fall.
“We’ve been planting pumpkins as a family for about ten years now,” said co-operator Jessica Porath. “We started out with mostly Atlantic giant pumpkins and we still plant those today.”
The Porath family now grows about 100 varieties of pumpkins.
“We have several different types of pie pumpkins with a nice thick flesh, great for baking,” Jessica said. “We also have the more goofy-shaped, warty pumpkins. We like lots of colors, our reds and yellows and whites. The baby gourds did amazingly well. Some of our pumpkins have really nice, hearty stems on them so when you pick them up, you know they’re going to stay attached.”
While all those colors and shapes make for festive fall decor, they also help to offset tough growing seasons like this one.
“Last year was a really, really good growing year for us, but my husband thought it was about a third less than last year,” said Jessica. “We had a really wet June and some washouts in our pumpkin patch, but most of our pumpkins came back from it.”
Some pumpkins can even withstand other environmental threats.
“Certain pumpkin varieties are more resistant to fungus, bacteria, drought, things like that,” Jessica explained. “It allows us to get a better supply of pumpkins to everyone.”
The pumpkins and gourds are available to purchase for between $0.50 to $20, depending on size. Guests can also purchase ornamental corn stalk bundles, take photos around the farm, and meet the animals who live there.
“We have our lambs, our bunnies, our ducks, and Shellington, our cat,” said Jessica. “He loves the farm and he’s always around.”
The Porath family is eager to welcome both new and familiar faces to the farm this season
“My husband’s family has been farming here for over 100 years now, so it’s like, ‘Oh, when are the pumpkins coming?’ and ‘How long is it going to be?’ and ‘We always come to you guys and get pumpkins!'” Jessica said. “We get really excited about it too! We love our pumpkin patch, so it makes us that much more happy when people are really enjoying what we do.”
Porath Pumpkin Patch is open seven days a week during daylight hours. A payment box is set up for customers who want to purchase pumpkins while the patch is unattended.
Porath Pumpkin Patch is located at 5299 F Road. To learn more, follow the pumpkin patch on Facebook or call (906) 235-5548.
