ANTHONY, New Mexico (KTSM) – Fall is underway and pumpkins have returned to the borderland.
Pumpkins at La Union Maze in Anthony, New Mexico have been growing to sizes not seen in a while, some are even 100lbs heavy.
“These ones are more less our variety that tends to weigh the most, we will save some of the biggest ones, for our very last weekend of the season, and we will drill them put water in them and then take them up to a crane and drop them, in front of the crowd and it’s called our pumpkin smash.”
Office Manager and farmer’s daughter at La Union Maze Karoline Sondgeroth says the farm has been growing over two dozen varieties of pumpkins, with a variety of styles for decorating, eating and baking.
“We got lucky, fortunately it helped the pumpkins more than it hurt them. As you can tell, we got quite an abundance, water really helped them grow as big as they are,” Sondgeroth said.
Adding, each pumpkin is 60¢ a pound. Plus, the wagon ride to the pumpkin patch is already included, as for the little decorative ones, they are one dollar each.
Sondgeroth suggests to come prepared as you will be cutting your own pumpkin straight off from the vein.
“We definitely recommend wearing shoes, that you are willing to get a little dusty, maybe a little muddy depending on the weather, definitely bug repellent, if you are wanting to come during that sunset hour. A hat for the sun, some sunscreen and some water, maybe some gloves, the vines on the pumpkins can have a little bit of splinter on there, so if you got some gloves, some garden shear, you’re going to be all set to go.”
Even though the borderland has been hitting the high temps.
“You know people still want to come out, they still want to get their pumpkins, even though it is hot outside. I think the idea of coming to the maze kind of makes it feel a little bit more like fall season, despite the heat.”
With 23 years in the business, La Union was recognized in 2018, as the top 25 mazes in the country. For this year, they have an alien space theme to represent the 70th year anniversary of the Roswell incident.
“There’s crop circles, and those crop circles always tend to make it a little bit extra challenging cause you don’t know if you are walking in the same circle or if it’s a new circle and so you tend to get a little bit confused.”
Challenging indeed, I even got lost.
“We do have employees in there, that are called corn crops and they are there to find you and help you out if you get lost.”
They even provide a QR code to scan with your phone before entering the maze, helping customers not to get lost since most do.
If you’re looking forward to picking out a pumpkin at La Union Maze or just trying to find your way back from the alien theme corn maze, they are open Fridays 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For tickets and information click here.
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