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Marlow’s Pumpkin Patch sells several varieties of pumpkins, gourds and mums. The pumpkin patch attracts a lot of business because of its mazes and pirate ship hay rides. RORYE O’CONNOR/REGISTER-NEWS
Pumpkin patch owner recalls beginnings
By RORYE O’CONNOR
rorye.oconnor@register-news.com
MT. VERNON — Marlow’s Pumpkin Patch, now a thriving local business with dozens of rows of pumpkins and other fall items for sale, had humble beginnings.
“We started out with 30 pumpkins and a Pringles can in the yard,” owner Tim Marlow said.
Marlow said his two eldest daughters, Emily and Erica, now 17 and 13 respectively, began growing pumpkins for a fun project, and began selling them by the honor system in the front yard.
The chip can graduated to a mailbox, and that grew into the business that Marlow’s Pumpkin Patch, 14003 N. Harmony Lane in Opdyke, is today, with 30 varieties of pumpkins, gourds, mums, squash, straw, Indian corn, and corn stalks for sale. Marlow’s also offers a barn haunted house maze, an outdoor corn maze, an adventure farm featuring a playground and petting zoo and a pirate ship hayride.
Marlow said everything featured at the pumpkin patch is made by him or someone in his family.
“It’s kind of a family thing,” he said.
Funds from the pumpkin patch are going towards a college education for Tim and Tracy Marlow’s five daughters, Emily, Erica, Ellie, 10, Elicia, 4, and Emerie, 3.
The Marlow family lives and operates the pumpkin patch on their 40 acres, which includes about 25 acres of land for farming the pumpkins and gourds, Tim Marlow said.
“Everything is home grown,” said Mark Marlow, Tim Marlow’s father.
The pumpkin patch sees five thousand to six thousand customers a season due to the hay rides and other activities favored by schools taking field trips, Mark Marlow said.
“Schools from all over southern Illinois come here,” he said.
The pirate ship hayride meanders through woods and planted fields on the Marlow’s land, and is decorated by wooden painted figures as well as a crashed airplane complete with skeletons in the cockpit.
“We just put out decorations for the kids to see, but it’s nothing too scary,” Tim Marlow said. “We kind of cater to the grade schoolers and pre-school age kids.”
The pumpkin patch is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. The pumpkin patch will be open through October 30.
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