Oh my gourd! Fall has arrived at Costa Mesa’s Hana Field
For fall lovers eagerly eyeing their sweater collections despite the recent spike in daytime temperatures, an autumnal paradise has opened its corn rows to the visiting public — the Hana Field Pumpkin Patch in Costa Mesa opened Saturday.
Situated between the 55 and the 405 freeways and bordered by Anton and Sunflower avenues, the 30-acre field has been planted with 4 acres of pumpkins, in various shades, sizes and textures, along with marigolds and sunflowers — all of which people can pick and take home with them.
In addition to the crops, Hana Field offers a series of activities for all ages, including a corn maze and a barnyard with live chickens and goats.
The site was originally scheduled to open to the public on Oct. 1, but owner Kenny Tanaka said the hot weather spurred the early growth of its sunflowers, so operators wanted to make sure visitors still had time to pick some stems.
“We weren’t planning on opening this weekend, but the flowers came in early, so we figured we’d better open early, so we don’t lose them,” Tanaka said Thursday.
Starting next weekend, additional areas on the site will become available, including a range where people can launch gourds via a pumpkin catapult or shoot turnips out of a two-handled device powered by compressed air.
Tanaka, a fourth-generation farmer whose family also owns Tanaka Farms in Irvine, leased the property last year with the idea of creating a sort of annex to the family’s main farm, located on University Drive.
“During the last three weeks of October, we’re pretty impacted, because there’s a demand for more unique pumpkins,” he said of the Irvine location, which hosts thousands of visitors in a single day.
By comparison, about 6,000 people visited the Hana Field pumpkin patch in its first open season in 2021. Operators are hopeful that once enough people check out the Costa Mesa location, visits will even out between the two locations.
“It’s going to take probably a couple of years for it to pick up the way we’d like it,” Tanaka said of the Costa Mesa location. “But the people who came last year really enjoyed it.”
Admission costs $10, with free admission for members of the military and children under 2. Parking is $10 but is free with the online discount code “HANAPARK22.” Pumpkins and sunflowers may be purchased separately.
The Hana Field pumpkin patch is located at 427 Anton Blvd., in Costa Mesa, and is open Fridays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with last entry at 5 p.m. For more, visit tanakafarms.com/hana-pumpkin-patch.
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