The Panther Branch Pumpkin Patch gets in the planting mood this time of the spooky season, with Halloween getting closer and closer each day.

With one of the most festive holidays quickly approaching, Panther Branch, owned by the Phillips Family in East Limestone, begins to harvest their vast assortment of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.

Many of the pumpkins that decorate the farm, entertain the kids, and are available for purchase are grown by the Phillips themselves, but many of the Pumpkins also come from their connections in Cullman, due to the high demand Panther Branch sees during the fall and through Halloween.

The pumpkins serve many purposes for such a high demand – many are used as jack-o-lanterns, many are turned into delicious treats, and others simply sit on porch steps.

The variety of things to do with pumpkins is mirrored by the variety of pumpkins available at Panther Branch.

“It’s just a 20-acre little farm that we just grow pumpkins and have a fish pond, a couple barns and things like that,” Barry Phillips said. “We can’t grow enough pumpkins for the demand. I wish we could, but we just don’t have enough land. So, we are friends with a family out of Cullman that grows 30,000 pumpkins, so he sends some up here. They will send us some different kinds we don’t grow here.”

Pumpkins and hay are most prominent on the farm, which works very well for a group that hosts a pumpkin patch and hay rides during the fall months, beginning in October.

Panther Branch, in addition to the pumpkin patch and hay rides, provides a playground for the kids.

Additionally, the profits they make during the October opening of their pumpkin patch goes towards their “Pumpkins 4 Punkins” initiative to help families looking to adopt domestically or internationally.