A pumpkin patch has grown into a popular fall destination in California’s Central Valley.<\/p>\n
Sunlight powers the solar panels that help generate electricity for the farm’s pumps and facilities<\/strong>, while the crop matures naturally through the season. Solar panels located within Hunter Farms’ solar fields provide electrical energy to the pumps and buildings.<\/p>\n Drip irrigation systems deliver water directly to the crops. These are just some of the ways Hunter Family Farms is working toward sustainable farming practices.<\/p>\n Today, thousands of visitors arrive each year for pumpkins, attractions, and a closer look<\/strong> at farm life.<\/p>\n Wil and Connie Hunter purchased land in Livingston, California, in 1971 to begin farming. About a year and a half after graduating from Cal Poly Pomona, Scott Hunter joined the family farming operation.<\/p>\n Many years went by until the Hunter family purchased a former dairy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n They planned to grow almond trees on this new property once it had undergone all required soil preparation work.<\/p>\n However, due to California\u2019s devastating drought, young almond tree growth was severely hindered<\/strong> and eventually died. The family decided to try and salvage the situation by planting 3 acres of pumpkins.<\/p>\n The first year after opening this new area to the public, Scott Hunter kept his expectations very low. He thought if there were only 10-20 vehicles in the parking lot, then they would have been successful.<\/p>\n However, many more people came than expected. This positive reaction led the family to increase the number of attractions<\/strong> and add more varieties of pumpkins.<\/p>\n The California Department of Food and Agriculture<\/a> highlighted the farm’s growth from its early pumpkin-patch days. Today, Hunter Farms provides its customers with over 70 different varieties of pumpkins.<\/p>\n California Grown<\/a> featured the farm’s extensive selection of pumpkins and family attractions. There are also 8 additional family-friendly activities available to guests at Hunter Farms.<\/p>\n Visitors may ride the Time Travel Train, navigate a corn maze, see animals at the Critter Corral, or travel down a zip line.<\/p>\n Scott personally supervises every aspect of<\/strong> growing pumpkins from planting through harvesting.<\/p>\n Growing pumpkins does not start immediately prior to Halloween. Seeds are started in trays in May and June.<\/p>\n After germinating, the seedlings are then transplanted into the fields<\/strong>.<\/p>\n According to Scott, pumpkins can be difficult crops to manage.<\/p>\n Too much or too little water can create problems for pumpkin crops, while insects and soil conditions must also be<\/strong> monitored carefully. Drip irrigation allows for delivery of specific amounts of water and fertilizers to each plant.<\/p>\n The family also works with specialists to determine when and how insect issues should be treated<\/a>. Solar panels provide electricity for pumps and buildings, while composting is utilized as a source of organic fertilizer.<\/p>\n Scott defines sustainable farming as providing for the replacement of whatever<\/strong> is taken from the earth.<\/p>\n Harvest typically begins in late September<\/a> and continues throughout October, with every pumpkin picked by hand. Workers use a sharp knife to cut pumpkins from the vine and place them into wooden storage bins.<\/p>\n From there, the pumpkins go to a barn where they are sold<\/strong>. There is also more to Hunter Farms than merely selling pumpkins during harvest time.<\/p>\n During weekdays, many local elementary school students visit Hunter Farms for agricultural education programs. An animatronic puppet show featuring farm animals helps teach children about California agriculture.<\/span><\/p>\n Water conservation and food production are also part of the experience. Over 5,000 students participate in this<\/strong> educational program per year.<\/p>\n Many visitors leave their cellphones behind and spend more time with their families.<\/p>\n What began as a difficult situation became one of many farms that connect families with agriculture<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A pumpkin patch has grown into a popular fall destination in California’s Central Valley. Sunlight powers the solar panels that help generate electricity for the farm’s pumps and facilities, while the crop matures naturally through the season. Solar panels located within Hunter Farms’ solar fields provide electrical energy to the pumps and buildings. Drip irrigation … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":37750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"pumpkin,farm,irrigation","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"A California pumpkin farm uses solar-powered irrigation to sustain more than 70 pumpkin varieties through the growing season under sunny growing conditions.","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37655"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37770,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37655\/revisions\/37770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The future of the farm changed due to the drought<\/h2>\n
Small expectations gave way to rapid growth<\/h2>\n
Little room for error in the pumpkin crops<\/h2>\n
Building more than a seasonal attraction<\/h3>\n