Here Are The Best Pumpkin Patches Near Mooresville

MOORESVILLE, NC — It’s that magical time of year again when kids unglue themselves from their tablets and smartphones for just a couple precious hours to join their parents in a jaunt to the local pumpkin patch. Few things excite our youth more than picking out gargantuan gourds, and for parents, it’s the perfect excuse to throw on that new fall sweater, round up the squad and have a stranger snap the perfect Christmas card photo for grandma and grandpa.

Haunted houses get all the attention, but pumpkin patches are the soul of the season. And if you’re looking for the cream of the crop, consider heading over to Mike’s Farm in Beulaville, North Carolina, ranked the best pumpkin patch in the state by the folks at the women's magazine Good Housekeeping. The patch is open until Oct. 31.

Here’s what the magazine had to say about the pumpkin peddlers:

“Luckily, Hurricane Florence only caused minor damage to Mike’s Farm. To kick off the fall festivities, they’re hosting the first pumpkin patch hayride of the season on September 29. Their Pickin’ Patch is one of the most popular attractions of the year, and it costs $2 per person for ages 3 and older if you want to pick your favorite pumpkin.”

If a drive to Beulaville doesn’t suit your fancy — or, more likely, the drive is simply too far — you can also try one of the following places. Whether you’re looking for haunted hayrides and spooky corn mazes, or simply family-friendly bounce houses, petting zoos and pony rides, one of these should do the trick.

Iredell County

• Carrigan Farms, LLC — 1261 Oak Ridge Farm Highway, Mooresville, N.C. (704) 664-1450.
• Howard Family Farm — 250 Crater Road, Harmony, N.C. (704) 539-4994.
• Regal Corn Maze — 347 Bell Farm Road, Statesville, N.C. (704) 348-1648.
• Triple Diamond Farm -- 2260 London Road, Mooresville, N.C. (704) 907-2804.

Mecklenburg County

• Hall Family Farm — 10713 Providence Road, Charlotte. (704) 562-4021.
• Hodges Family Farm and Pumpkin Patch — 3900 Rocky River Road, Charlotte. (704) 608-8897.
• Hunter Farm — 13624 Providence Road, Weddington, N.C. (704) 846-7975.
• Rural Hill — 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville. (704) 875-3113.

If you’re hoping to find locally grown pumpkins, consider this — while technically grown throughout the country, there’s a 50-50 chance your pumpkin was grown in one of just six states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There’s a good chance that state was Illinois, the nation’s largest producer, which harvests up to five times as many pumpkin acres as any other top state at more than 600 million pounds.

Your turn: Send your best and — more importantly — worst pumpkin carvings to kimberly.johnson@patch.com. Here’s one to give you an idea:

When picking your perfect pumpkin, here are a few tips to keep in mind, according to the folks at Kitchn.

1. Know the difference between pumpkins best used for pies and those best for carving. Workers will sometimes label their pumpkins to help you identify which is better for eating and which is better for carving. But if they don’t, remember smaller, thicker and rounder pumpkins are generally better for eating. They have more guts on the inside and are more difficult to saw.
2. Tap on your pumpkin. By tapping on your prospective pumpkins, you’ll be able to compare which feel sturdy and sound hollow. The sturdier, the better, and it should sound hollow.
3. Flip it upside down and apply pressure. It might sound odd, but trust us, this is key. Turn your pumpkin upside down and press on it with both thumbs. If it’s not sturdy, chances are it’ll rot.
4. Always carry it from the bottom. Do not carry your pumpkin by its stem, that’s the easiest way to test whether your pumpkin can defy gravity. So far, gravity remains undefeated.
5. Wait to carve your pumpkin. Ask anyone what happens if you carve too early and you’ll hear one of two answers, neither of them good. Either the pumpkin rots before Halloween or it simply becomes dinner for a family of hungry animals.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: David Allen/Patch