One Pumpkin Patch to Rule Them All

It’s pumpkin-picking season and, luckily for us, the best patch in town is right across the street. Every year from October 1 to 31, on a grassy knoll fronting Pineville-Matthews Road at Carmel Commons shopping center, Simpson’s pumpkin patch offers a variety of cucurbits. Simpson’s has sold pumpkins of all shapes and sizes at numerous sites throughout Charlotte since the 1950s. The stand across the street from Catholic opened in the 1980s.

The Simpson family runs the stand but does not actually grow the pumpkins. The pumpkins are grown in central Ohio by an Amish community and sold at auction. The pumpkins purchased are shipped down here and sold to the cucurbit enthusiasts of Charlotte. In addition to pumpkins, Simpson’s also sells different types of corn, gourds, and flowers for decorative and culinary purposes. The largest pumpkin Simpson’s had ever sold weighed in at 300 pounds, but the new champion, shown in the photo accompanying this article, could weigh up to 400 pounds.

The current heir of the Simpson legacy is Phil Simpson, who is putting the profits from his pumpkin business into expanding  his own farm. At the time of the interview conducted by the Chronicle, Mr. Simpson was not present at the stand; according to an employee, he was laying down fencing for the farm.

The patch’s placement directly across from CCHS makes buying pumpkins easy and convenient for families looking to set up jack-o-lanterns and other vegetative decorations. I personally have bought my pumpkins from Simpson’s all my years at CCHS, and I have never once been given a bad product. In fact, the pumpkins my family buys always last well into November and do not shrivel up or rot after being carved before Halloween night.

After pumpkin season has come to an end, Simpson’s ships the pumpkins to its family farm to feed the animals. A few weeks later, Simpson’s sets up a Christmas tree lot and sells trees in the same spot. 

Simpson’s Pumpkins has been a reliable source of autumnal embellishment for over seven decades and will continue to provide fun, rustic decorations that help set the mood for the months leading up to Christmas.

The patch's largest pumpkin do date, pictured above, could weigh up to 400 pounds.