Pumpkin patch at Ramona’s California Farm Life offers fun for the whole family

With thousands of pumpkins in more than a dozen varieties, there are no shortage of surprises at the California Farm Life Pumpkin Patch.

Visitors can choose from standard big orange pumpkins, small multicolored varieties, pumpkins with unique color combinations and even pastel blue and pinks, all grown on the farm.

“We have white, black, pink, orange, blue green warty, regular, striped, tan, little and really big pumpkin varieties,” said Akke Dowle, one of the owners of the farm and manager of wholesale pumpkins. 

Dowle owns the farm with her parents, Steve and Karen Dowle, who she describes as high school sweethearts from Ramona. Her son, Steven, 2, is also “out there working with us every day,” she said. 

On the first weekend in October, the farm was busy with dozens of visitors seeking their perfect gourds and enjoying the sunny day. Visiting the farm is free, as are most of the attractions.

A concession stand at the entry to a former chicken house had a line of guests at the counter, eager to check out the treats. The options included pumpkin fudge, caramel apples, homemade marshmallows, Dutch cookies, cotton candy, popcorn and lavender and pomegranate lemonade. Plenty of cafe tables offer seating.

Large bins overflowing with all types of pumpkins filled the remainder of the barn. Several customers were busy filling the available wheelbarrows with their choices. 

A second building was occupied with youngsters taking advantage of the 2,000-square-foot pallet maze; for $3, they can enter the maze as many times as they want.

One young boy yelled “Bombs away” while leaping into the wheat pit, while a young girl was debating which of the several hay bale horses she wanted to try.

Outside the barns, several women were choosing you-pick flowers from colorful options, including dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos roses and mini marigolds.

“The flowers are $1 a stem, $30 for a cup or $15 with a kid’s package,” Dowle said. “No matter how many people cut, we always tell them their cup isn’t full enough.”

While a handful of youngsters were busy sticking their heads into several farm-themed photo-op murals, Hank Robertson, 9, the son of Randy and Mallory Robertson of Ramona, was unknowingly keeping his parents entertained. 

Hank played at an old concrete cattle watering trough-turned-goldfish game, determined to catch one of the small goldfish with his bare hands. After succeeding, he quickly released it back into the trough.

Having known Dowle since high school, the Robertsons said they’ve been coming to the farm since it opened. 

“We come for the pumpkins and stay for the activities,” Mallory Robertson quipped. 

Dowle said the family has owned the farm since her father was a freshman in high school. It was previously owned by her grandparents. 

“We’ve had calves, pigs, chickens and everything ag here;” she said, noting that the family previously owned a cattle dairy on Warnock Drive, and later owned a fruit stand across from the Wild Animal Park (now Safari Park) where they row-cropped.

But with their finances tightening, they started growing pumpkins in 2003, she said. They opened the pumpkin patch about five years ago. 

“We want to make it as wholesome as we can. We’re off the beaten path, so everyone who comes here is someone that wants to be here,” she said.

Their pumpkin crop has grown from less than 5 acres to nearly 30, and the family “survives on the fall season,” Dowle said.

Pumpkins are sold wholesale by the bin. Individual pumpkins are priced by size, but there is no scale in sight. 

“We ask people to give us their best estimate and decide what they want to pay,” she said. “The kids always say ‘it’s a dollar’ or ‘it’s the best pumpkin here and it’s a million dollars’ while the parents are ‘oh no!’ at their guesses.”

A row of large tractors kept many of the youngsters and more than a few adults entertained.

“These are real working farm tractors we use on the farm,” Dowle said, describing a few, such as a blue New Holland used for disking, a white David Brown used to pull implements for the fields, a rusty red Hesston with a transplanter attached used to transplant all the pumpkin plants and a red and yellow Harobed used to move hay bales. 

“The kids can climb in them and pretend to be a farmer and it’s all free,” she said. “For $10, guests can drive either a smaller orange or a baby pink Kabota. We even had a 78-year-old man drive one.” 

Corey and Virginia Gossett, who have lived in Ramona for the past year, brought their son Oliver, 8, to see the farm. 

He couldn’t resist driving his first tractor.

“Although he was a little scared at first, he loved it,” said Virginia Gossett. 

Also for a small fee, guests can use a wooden sledgehammer to smash a pumpkin and feed the pieces to three cows and a couple of pigs, all eager for the treats.

Package deals are available; for $20, kids can enjoy all the attractions, as well as popcorn and a slushy.

California Farm Life Pumpkin Patch, at 18409 Rangeland Road, is open Mondays through Fridays from 2 to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., from mid-September until the last day of October. For more information, call 760-789-7201 or visit: https://www.californiafarmlife.com/.