AROUND HOME : Pumpkin Patches

IF IT ISN’T HALLOWEEN without a real jack-o’-lantern, and it isn’t a real jack-o’-lantern if it comes from the supermarket instead of straight from the field, take heart. Pumpkin patches still exist in urbanized Southern California. Because the pumpkin is not subtropical in nature, it doesn’t grow well in the immediate vicinity of Los Angeles, but a pleasant drive into the surrounding countryside brings a plethora of horticulture, pumpkin patches included. These anachronistic open fields are becoming fewer and farther between, but they’re there, nestled in rural areas that have so far eluded the reach of developers.

At Ayres Pumpkin Patch on Faulkner Farms in Santa Paula, a fall harvest festival is in full swing, complete with Clydesdale-drawn hayrides around the farm (for $1), a haystack for kids of all ages to play on, a Model T truck for rides, a crafts fair, musicians and pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins. These magnificent specimens are available in sizes ranging from the massive ‘Big Max’ all the way down to minis and sugar pumpkins weighing in at 2 or 3 pounds. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the corner of Briggs and Telegraph roads, the farm also has 25 varieties of winter squash, Indian corn, gourds and a selection of fall fruits. Driving time from downtown Los Angeles is about an hour.

It requires about the same amount of travel time to reach the Tierra Rajada Ranch, 3370 Moorpark Road, Moorpark, where a tractor-drawn hay wagon takes visitors around the pumpkin patch seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pick-your-own pumpkins are usually priced by size, not by the pound, and here, volleyball-size sells for $1; the largest offering goes for about $10. A return journey on Highway 101 through this bucolic agricultural area followed by a drive along the ocean makes for an extremely pleasant outing.

It takes somewhat longer to get to North County Farmers Market in Escondido, but it is another trip worth taking. In the past, young visitors to this farm had such a grand time running up and down rows of cornstalks, that this year there is a cornfield labyrinth. If you make it through the maze, much additional fun can be had: free hayrides, a petting zoo, a huge barn decked out for Halloween, costumes to buy and, of course, a field of pumpkins awaiting adoption. To get to the North County Farmers Market patch, take the Via Rancho Parkway exit off Interstate 15, and go east about a mile. The patch is open daily 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Foothill Properties, Main Street at Chase Drive in Corona, sells pumpkins, Indian corn, pomegranates, apples and pears. There is a guess-the-weight pumpkin contest. Last year’s winner: a local youngster who guessed the weight of the featured pumpkin to be 114 pounds. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The pumpkin patch at R & M Ranch, 100 Kent St. at Avenue J in Lancaster, features scarecrows and a corn maze, and it is adjacent to additional you-pick fruits and vegetables. Hayrides and tours for groups are available with reservations. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Other Southern California pumpkin patches:

Gless Ranch Inc., 19985 Van Buren, Riverside.

Vargas Produce, 10833 Topanga Canyon Blvd. (at Tulsa Street), Chatsworth.

Lupine Hill Farm, Highway 154 at Baseline exit, Santa Ynez.

Lane Farm Pumpkin Patch, Hollister Avenue at Walnut Lane, Goleta.

DR