You don’t need to carve a pumpkin to create some spectacularly festive pumpkins! Try these fun sticker packs to create your fall porch decor!

You’ll Need:
Pumpkins of various sizes (we have a bunch here at the farm)
3D Foam Sticker Kit
Face Sticker Kit

To Make:
Peel and stick! That’s it!

We look forward to seeing y’all here at the farm for loads of Fall fun!

Hot Cocoa With a Kick

Winters here in Tennessee can be chilly which makes the special ingredient in this hot cocoa so perfect! A touch of chili powder gives this traditional cold-weather beverage a  bit of kick!

You’ll need:
2 ½ cups milk
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon vanilla (pure or extract both work)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of nutmeg
Sugar to taste (optional)

To make:
Combine all ingredients into a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the chocolate is melted and nearly simmering. Stir frequently. Taste and add sugar, if necessary. 

Follow us on Pinterest for more tasty treat ideas!

Fall Blooms

What better way to celebrate fall than to take delight in it’s stunning blooms! The cool, crisp weather brings with it some of the most vibrant bouquets of the year.

Here at the farm, we offer a variety of flowers including zinnias, several varieties of celosia, gomphrena, hydrangeas, sunflowers, asparagus fern, gladiolas, and marigolds. With shades of crimson, gold, and bright orange, these flowers will make any space feel like fall.

Come on out to the farm and pick up a few bouquets! New to flower arranging? Visit our Pinterest page for inspiration!

DIY Halloween Costumes

Halloween is just around the corner! As parents, we’d love to find fun and creative costumes for our kids without spending a fortune.  Try these WICKEDLY easy DIY Halloween costumes! They’re ADORABLE and won’t break the bank!

Scarecrow
You’ll need:
Jeans
Plaid shirt
Face paint
Fabric scraps cut into squares
Hot glue gun/glue or safety pins
Large piece of brown felt for DIY hat

To create:
Sew, glue, or safety pin fabric scraps to jeans and and felt hat. Fake sunflowers can be glued to hat if you’re feelin’ fancy. Paint seems and patches on your little one’s face and you’re done!

Bee
You’ll need:
Yellow shirt
Black pants/leggings
White felt, large enough for a pair of wings
Black felt, cut into wide strips
Hot glue gun/glue or safety pins

To create:
Pin or glue black strips to yellow shirt to create ‘bee body’. Using the white felt, cut out a pair of wings. Pin or glue wings to back of shirt. If you want a more girlie bee, you can add a black tutu to your ensemble!

Minion
You’ll need:
Yellow shirt
Denim overalls
Yellow beanie
Felt (white, black, and grey)
Hot glue gun/glue or safety pins

To create:
Using black felt, cut a strip long enough to wrap around the beanie and glue it to the beanie. Cut out a circle of white felt and another circle of grey felt, cutting out the center to make a frame. Cut out a smaller black circle to create the eyeball. Glue the grey felt frame to the white felt. Glue the black circle to the middle to complete the trademark minion goggle head!

Visit us on Pinterest for more fun DIY ideas!

Fall Mum Care

Fall is the time for mums to show off their blooms! We offer several lovely colors to perfect for adding fall flair to your front porch. Here are a few tips for keeping your mums healthy throughout the season!

Water
Mums do well with continually moist (not soggy) soil. As long as they feel moist to the touch, you’re good to go.

Light
Unlike mums planted in a spring garden that need 6 hours of sunlight, fall potted mums need bright but indirect light. Keep them a few feet back from a south-facing window or anywhere in a bright location without direct sun. Mums begin to bloom in the fall when the nights are longer. To help them maintain their bloom cycle, keep plants away from street lamps (if outdoors) and close the curtains if they are near a window with bright lights outside.

Comfy Temperatures
Container mums like cooler temps, from 60 to 65 degrees, during the night. If you like to keep your home toasty at night, plants can be moved into a cooler space like a basement or garage. Be sure to move your outdoor potted mums indoors if an early frost is anticipated.

Pinching
Pinching the tips of mums to encourage bushy growth and blossoms is only necessary if you happen to have container mums during the summer before blooming begins. In that case, pinch off the tips of all new stems when they are 6 to 8 inches tall, but stop pinching by the end of June for fall blooming. If you plan to keep your mums only for the fall season, pinching isn’t necessary.

Come on out this fall and pick up some flowers and pumpkins for your seasonal decor!

Carving Pumpkins

Fall and Halloween are just around the corner! It’s almost time to decorate the house in fake spider webs (or simply leave the REAL ones up), pick out a spooky costume and carve some pumpkins! Here are a few tips for aMAZEing Jack O’ Lanterns.

Tip 1. Choose the right pumpkin.
The right pumpkin has a flat bottom so that it doesn’t roll all over the front porch. Select a fresh pumpkin with a solid stem and no bruising. We grow several varieties of carving pumpkins including Orange Sunrise, Kratos, Gladiator and Early King. We also grow some really great white carving varieties including Polar Bear and New Moon.

Tip 2: Cut at an angle.
Have you ever cut the top off your pumpkin only to have to drop into the sticky, gooey mess? Avoid this nonsense by cutting your lid off at an angle.

Tip 3: Have the right tools.
One of the best tools for cutting the lid off a pumpkin is a keyhole saw. The sharp teeth on this saw can easily slice through a pumpkin’s thick shell, and the flexible blade is awesome for making curved cuts. Other useful carving tools include hole cutters, wood gauges and a power drill. Melon ballers or ice cream scoops are perfect for getting all that goopy pulp out. 

Tip 4: Keep it fresh.
Nothing stinks more than spending oodles of time on a pumpkin only to have it rot away a few days later. To keep your carved masterpiece daisy fresh for Halloween, spread petroleum jelly on the cut edges. If it shrivels up, you can freshen it up by soaking it in cold water for up to 8 hours. 

Visit us on Pinterest for loads of fun carving ideas!

Come on out to the farm this Fall for heaps of fun on the farm!

Get Crafty!

Painting pumpkins instead of carving them has several perks. For one, painted pumpkins last way longer than carved ones do. You don’t have to worry about the kids hurting themselves with sharp objects. Also, you can be as creative as you want to be with glitter, stickers, or whatever else your inner Picasso craves!

Picking the Right Pumpkin
The perfect painting pumpkin has a smooth, even surface. Be sure to choose one without bruises, scratches, and lumps. We have Early Kings and Gladiators if you want BIG pumpkins. We also have Munchkins if you want tiny pumpkins for your tiny toddlers. If lumpy is what you’re going for, we have Warty Goblins which look really cool!

A Good Cleaning
To clean your pumpkin, you can use a damp cloth or paper towel to gently remove the dirt and grime. Avoid using items like rough kitchen scrubbers as these can damage your pumpkin’s skin. Use a soft cloth to thoroughly dry your pumpkin and be sure to keep the stem area dry. A wet stem or blossom (the bottom of your pumpkin) can cause your pumpkin to rot. 

Let Your Fancy Flow!
When it comes to pumpkin painting, the creative options endless! Stencils, markers and stickers are easy options for younger kids. 

Pumpkin Painting Tools
Acrylic paint is a great option for painting pumpkins as it dries quickly and allows you to paint over the first layer in a short time period. Go-to painting tools include cheap paint brushes, cotton swabs, sponges, and cotton balls.

Mom Tip: Put down a cheap vinyl table cloth or some newspapers to protect your furniture from paint spills.

Gussy ’em Up!
Make your pumpkin shine with fun embellishments like glitter, sequins, pom poms, or rhinestones. Add googly eyes to create faces! Incorporate glow-in-the-dark paint to make your pumpkin stand out at night!

Check out our Pinterest boards for creative inspiration!

We look forward to seeing you here at the farm for all of our Fall fun!