Many people assume farm destinations are only for young children, that store-bought pumpkins are just as good as farm-picked ones, or that greenhouses are only for experienced gardeners. In Howell’s Farm Experience’s recent episode, host Mike Downer speaks with Erin Conner of Howell’s Greenhouse and Pumpkin Patch about the common myths about pumpkin patches and greenhouses that may keep families from enjoying a genuine farm experience.
The main takeaway is that a well-designed farm destination can appeal to every generation. Visitors can enjoy outdoor activities, choose fresher seasonal products, receive practical gardening advice, and connect with Iowa agriculture.
Are Pumpkin Patches Only for Young Children?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that pumpkin patches are designed only for toddlers and elementary-aged kids. Erin explains that Howell’s has created activities for visitors of all ages.
Children can enjoy traditional farm attractions, while tweens and teenagers can explore a large playground, obstacle course, zip line, ball games, and carnival-style activities. Adults can pick flowers, browse the gift shop, visit the farm market, take seasonal photos, or plan a relaxed fall date.
Parents and grandparents do not have to simply watch from the sidelines. At the right pumpkin patch, the entire family can participate.
Is a Grocery-Store Pumpkin Just as Good?
Buying a pumpkin from a grocery store may be convenient, but it does not provide the same experience as choosing one from a farm.
At Howell’s, families can ride or walk into the field, compare pumpkins, and select one together. Children can help carry or wash the pumpkin, turning a routine purchase into a memorable fall tradition.
Farm visitors may also find more variety in size, shape, and color. Erin recommends looking for a pumpkin that feels heavy and has a firm, securely attached stem. Older pumpkins may feel lighter and have dry or brittle stems.
This advice is consistent with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, which recommends choosing pumpkins that are firm, heavy for their size, evenly colored, and free from soft spots.
Should Beginner Gardeners Avoid Greenhouses?
Beginners are often the people who can benefit most from visiting a greenhouse.
Erin explains that Howell’s grows its own plants and understands how they perform in Central Iowa’s climate. Customers can ask questions, receive planting guidance, and see finished container gardens for inspiration.
Locally grown plants may also be more established than smaller plants sold elsewhere. That can help gardeners achieve a fuller look sooner instead of waiting several weeks for young plants to mature.
Gardeners should still prepare greenhouse-grown plants for outdoor conditions. Iowa State University Extension recommends gradually hardening annuals and vegetable plants before planting them permanently outside.
Are Farm Visits Muddy or Inconvenient?
Farms naturally include grass, gravel, dirt, and occasional mud, but that does not mean the experience has to be uncomfortable.
According to Erin, Howell’s is about 20 minutes from Des Moines and roughly 10 minutes from the Mills Civic area. The farm includes maintained spaces, gravel paths, landscaped areas, white picket fences, and indoor restrooms.
Visitors should wear comfortable shoes that can handle a little dirt, especially after rain. The farm environment is part of the experience, but it can still feel welcoming and easy to explore.
Are All Pumpkin Patches the Same?
A working farm is different from a temporary seasonal display.
Some fall attractions place previously harvested pumpkins on pallets or around a decorated yard. At Howell’s, visitors can enter the field and choose pumpkins where they were grown.
That direct connection to farming is an important part of agritourism. The USDA National Agricultural Library explains that agritourism combines agricultural production with education, recreation, and additional income for farms.
Farm visits can also help children understand that Iowa agriculture includes more than row crops. Pumpkin fields, greenhouses, flowers, farm markets, and specialty crops are all part of the state’s agricultural heritage.
Howell’s demonstrates why the common myths about pumpkin patches and greenhouses should not stop families from visiting a true Iowa farm destination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ages can enjoy Howell’s Greenhouse and Pumpkin Patch?
Howell’s offers activities and experiences for young children, teenagers, adults, couples, parents, and grandparents.
Can visitors pick pumpkins from the field?
Yes. Visitors can explore the field and choose their own pumpkins rather than selecting from a store display.
How can you identify a fresh pumpkin?
Look for a pumpkin that feels firm and heavy, has consistent coloring, and has a sturdy stem that remains securely attached.
Is Howell’s suitable for beginner gardeners?
Yes. Beginners can ask questions, explore locally grown plants, and use completed container gardens as inspiration.
What should visitors wear?
Comfortable clothes and practical shoes are best. Footwear should be able to handle grass, gravel, dirt, or light mud.
Why should families visit an agritourism farm?
Agritourism gives families an opportunity to enjoy seasonal activities, support local agriculture, and learn how plants and crops are grown.
Mike Downer: Hello, everybody. Welcome to Howell’s Farm Experience. I’m your host, Mike Downer. I’m here with Erin Conner. How are we doing today, Erin?
Erin Conner: Doing good. Glad to be back.
Mike Downer: Yeah, every time we talk, I learn a little bit more. My wife has been watching these, and now, on top of the vacations I said I wasn’t going to go on, I will be coming down there with my wife. Happy wife, happy life, right?
Today we’re going to be talking about what myths people believe about pumpkin patches and greenhouses.
The big question I have for you is: what are the most common misconceptions about pumpkin patches, greenhouses, and farm destinations that lead families to miss out?
Erin Conner: After decades here at Howell’s in Cumming, Iowa, the biggest myth we still hear to this day is that we’re just a pumpkin patch for little kids, which is totally not true.
We’ve been working hard for many years to create an environment for everyone of all ages. We’re not just a pumpkin patch for little kids anymore. We’re a pumpkin patch for tweens. We’re a pumpkin patch for teenagers. We’re a pumpkin patch for twenty-year-olds on cute dates. We’re a pumpkin patch for moms, dads, and kids. We’re a place for an older couple to come for a date day, pick some flowers, shop in the gift shop, or visit the farm market. Even Grandma and Grandpa have a place at the pumpkin patch.
Mike Downer: Yeah, I’ve been down there when we were doing the marketing for you years ago. One of our old coworkers and I were filming down there, and your facility literally has something for everybody. I can attest to everything Erin is saying. It’s a gorgeous facility, and everybody should go there.
So why do some families assume pumpkin patches are only for little kids? And let’s dig into some of the experiences at Howell’s that make it fun for all ages.
Erin Conner: The reason parents think pumpkin patches are just for little kids is because a lot of pumpkin patches have little trikes here, little swings there, and other little-kid activities.
But we have things made for everybody. We added a zip line, where you sit on a seat and go down a hill. We’ve got ball games for sports fanatics. This year, we added a new activity with an antique truck, and we called it “Faint a Goat.” You take little tennis balls and launch them at targets on the truck that have goats on them. When you hit them, they spin around like a little carnival game. That’s a fun one for any age, especially if you’re into throwing baseballs.
We also have a huge new playground that teenagers and tweens love, plus a big obstacle course. And all the women and ladies love picking flowers, getting those Instagram pictures, wearing their pretty dresses out in the flowers, and picking their own flowers.
Mike Downer: Yeah, I can definitely see where that’s a big draw. The Instagram moments are an actual thing. You hear about them all the time.
This one is kind of a no-brainer, but is buying pumpkins from a grocery store really the same as picking them from a farm, or are families missing something bigger if they just go to a big box store and pick one up?
Erin Conner: If you buy a pumpkin from a big box store out of a box, you’re not getting the same experience as you would here at Howell’s. You’re not going to remember picking out that pumpkin from a box. It’s just another commodity.
When you come out to Howell’s, you get an experience. The pumpkins are out in the field. You may have to take a wagon out to get them, and that’s memorable. Maybe the pumpkin has a little mud on it, so you bring it back and wash it. Every kid loves washing pumpkins. They love that.
You also get to say, “Oh, look at that one,” and “Look at that one.” You don’t get the same selection at a big box store that you would here on the farm.
Plus, the quality of the pumpkins is different. I can always tell how old a pumpkin is based on its stem. In big box stores, the stems are brown and kind of caving in because they’ve been picked for a long time. They’re so light. There’s nothing to that pumpkin anymore. If you want a big, hearty pumpkin, you come to a pumpkin patch.
Mike Downer: There you go. I learned something new because every time I go to a big box store—and we won’t name any names or put anybody down—the stems are brown and, a lot of times, brittle.
Erin Conner: Yes, they’ll snap right off because they’re so brittle.
Mike Downer: Because they’ve been picked. How long do you think it’s been picked when the stem is brittle like that?
Erin Conner: You can always tell how long a pumpkin has been in a box. Most growers who reach the market to resell their pumpkins want to pick them in late August or early September because everyone seems to want to start decorating for fall right when school goes back, which is the beginning of September.
That’s when they want pumpkins out in the big box stores to hit the market. But most people don’t want to buy pumpkins until October, mid-October, or late October. By then, the pumpkins have already been picked for six weeks. So there are six weeks of them just getting more rotten, lighter, or brittle. Just because it’s in season doesn’t mean it was picked right away. It may have been picked several weeks ago.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense.
Shifting gears a little bit, let’s go to gardening. Why should beginner gardeners feel comfortable visiting a greenhouse, even if they don’t know much about plants?
Erin Conner: Any beginner gardener should be comfortable coming here to Howell’s to buy their plants because we know what we’re growing. We know how to grow it. We know what we’re talking about.
We have the knowledge and know-how behind our product to give you the best start for your gardening experience. We grow the plants here. We acclimate them for the weather in the Des Moines area. We make awesome container gardens, which most people take pictures of and then create their own in their own pots.
Plus, where else are you going to go to a garden center that’s also on a farm?
Mike Downer: Exactly.
What would you say to families who think a farm visit will be muddy, gross, uncomfortable, or too far out of the way?
Erin Conner: Here at Howell’s, we’re not that far from Des Moines. We’re about twenty minutes away and about ten minutes from Mills Civic. We’re not that far away.
Mike Downer: That’s not far at all.
Erin Conner: Not at all. Yes, we are a farm, and yes, there is mud, but don’t wear your stilettos out here. Wear normal shoes—something you’re okay with getting a little dirt on.
I’ve seen a lot of people wear their nice, shiny white shoes out here, and I think, “You’re not going to want to do that later.” But you have to get the perfect outfit pictures, too, so I understand why they wear certain footwear.
Yes, there may be mud, but it’s a farm. That’s part of the whole experience. There’s gravel and grass. You’re not going to Timbuktu. We’re ten minutes from town. We have gravel pathways, nice manicured areas, cute white picket fences, and indoor plumbing bathrooms.
Mike Downer: Nice. That’s huge.
Erin Conner: Yes, that’s a big one.
Mike Downer: Are all pumpkin patches basically the same, or what separates a true farm destination like Howell’s from a basic seasonal setup?
Erin Conner: What makes us stand out from other pumpkin patches is that you actually go out into the field to pick your pumpkins. Not all places do that. Some just have pumpkins set up in the yard on pallets. They bring them in, buy them from a box, and put them outside to make it look like a cute festival pumpkin patch area.
But you can easily tell when something is just a pop-up. It’s not an actual farm that’s in it for the love of the whole experience.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense.
We’re going to shift gears back to gardening. Why can locally grown greenhouse plants actually be a smarter investment than cheaper plants from one of the big box stores?
Erin Conner: Here, we grow our plants so they will survive. We acclimate them for the environment.
Say you go to a big box store and get a four-pack of annuals. Yes, you may get more plants for a less expensive price, but those plants are itty-bitty. They’re going to take a month to get to the standard that we already have ready to go.
It’s like, do you want to wait, or do you want the wow now? We give you the wow now.
Mike Downer: I like that. I’ve never heard that before. “We give you the wow now.” I might have to use that one. I like that a lot.
Whenever we plant plants, that waiting period is hard. I love the idea of getting more mature plants. That’s actually a smart thing.
We’ll wind this up with one last question. How does agritourism help families connect with Iowa’s farming heritage instead of feeling like just another seasonal attraction?
Erin Conner: Visiting an agritourism farm helps you get back to your roots. It helps you know where we came from. It helps teach your kids the importance of agriculture so our children can protect the future of agriculture.
We’re losing farmland here and there at a fast rate. Before you know it, there won’t be anything left for us to grow food on. It’s important to teach younger generations about the different types of farming. It’s not just all row crops. There are different avenues of agriculture and growing crops that might appeal to younger generations and help them protect the future.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense because Iowa is kind of what our whole state is founded on. The cities were an afterthought.
I agree with you. It is important to get out there, see where we come from, and help support our farmers. That’s what I really love about what you all do out there at Howell’s—keeping Iowa traditions alive.
All right, Erin, thank you. That was definitely informative. Now we all know that if you buy from a box store, you may be getting a six- to ten-week-old pumpkin, and we don’t want those.
Erin Conner: No, we don’t. We want the heavy, fresh pumpkins with green stems that don’t collapse in your hand. Plus, they’ll have more gooey guts in them, which everyone loves when carving pumpkins.
Mike Downer: Okay, that’s not my favorite part.
All right, Erin. Thank you again. It’s always fun talking to you, and we’ll talk to you very soon.
Erin Conner: Yep. Thank you.
