The Patch

Agriculture is a big part of life in Colorado.

That’s mostly cattle, but we do have a fair share of agro-soil stuffs. Here are a few facts about Colorado crops that I bet you didn’t know (& neither did I until I decide to write this post!) –

Colorado is the biggest producer of proso millet (a grass that's grown as a grain crop for livestock) in the country.

We’re number five in the country for the production of sunflowers (which, by the way, is P.Pie’s favorite flower).

The highest alpine valley that produces crops is the San Luis Valley in SW Colorado. They grow 60,000 acres if potatoes there.

Our leading veggie crop is onions and our leading fruit is peaches.

We even manage to grow a few pumpkins.

And at this time of year, they open their doors, give hayrides, have corn mazes, and sell fresh grown pumpkins that you get to pick yourself. All this comes at a fee, of course. $10 per adult, $5 for kids under 12 and kids under 3 are free.

So for $20, the four of us got the opportunity to ride a flatbed trailer pulled by a tractor, pick a pumpkin and pay a premium price for a fresh pumpkin.

Yes, I’m a little upset that I paid money to get it, had to harvest the pumpkin myself and then pay more for it than I would at my local grocers. But, I’m a fan of the free market system and if they can make a go at it, then so be it. There was a line of cars to get in every weekend leading up to Halloween, so apparently I am the only one who feels shorted.

To be fair, they did have a plethora of things to see and do, not the least of which is a corn maze, and all of that costs them money t set up and maintain.

And finally, the kids had a blast so that makes it all worthwhile (and I even managed to eke out some enjoyment watching the kids have so much fun).

Enjoy the pics.


Yes, there were animals in the pen...


Look! Our holiday card!


"Daddy, Where do splinters come from?"


"Do we get all these pumpkins?"


"I know the way!"


Lunch break!


"Check out my Baby GQ pose!"


"Do I have to pose?"


"It's a bongo, right?"


"These are MINE!"