A field of sunflowers gently swaying in the breeze, the excited yells of a family lost in the corn, stacks of vibrant and varied pumpkins. It seems like no matter where you are in the country, pumpkin patches offer a nostalgic and familiar fall feeling, and Huddie’s Harvest is no different.
Located in the Arcata Bottoms at 3364 Foster Ave, Huddie’s Harvest is a mere ten-minute drive from the Humboldt State campus and even less if you live downtown.
Jeff Mason waits at the front stand with an infectious grin. He’s the co-owner of Huddie’s Harvest and helped convert it from a dairy farm with his mother in March of 2020. This is their second autumn as Huddie’s Harvest, and Mason says that they have already expanded their harvest considerably.
“From last year to this year, I doubled the number of pumpkins I planted,” said Mason.
They also have a three-acre corn maze that Mason says he might have made a little too difficult this year. He sent his twelve-year-old cousin through the maze and said it took her thirty minutes. Surprisingly enough, Mason wasn’t kidding. The maze took me around half an hour as well and I had to enlist the help of a lost couple in order to find my way out.
When it comes to pumpkin varieties, Mason says they have fifteen different types of pumpkins this year.
“Big, small, green, white, yellow, everything,” said Mason.
Prices of the pumpkins range by size instead of weight and generally fall between $3 to $7. However, there is a special deal going on currently where pumpkins can be found for free. Hidden in the patch there are several different pumpkins marked with cookie cutters. These pumpkins are either marked with a heart, star, or apple. Any pumpkin found with these markings is free.
Pumpkins and corn aren’t the only features at the Harvest this year. Mason has teamed up with the Arcata FFA floral design class.
“I worked out a deal with Arcata FFA floral design class and they designed some bouquets for me, and I have those for sale as a fundraiser for them,” said Mason.
Huddie’s Harvest offers a friendly and laid-back atmosphere. While they are lacking food options currently, they still make for a relaxing refuge from the oncoming stress of midterms and our political climate.
Huddie’s Harvest is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
