I believe this is the farm girl in me. I know exactly how much it costs to grow corn and pumpkins, and when I see the price tags on these items at nationwide chain stores, I'm astounded. We use four cornstalk bundles to decorate our front porch. Most places sell these for $10 to $15 a bundle. Now considering the four bundles we need don't probably hold an entire bushel of corn (which settled on Friday at $5.63 on the Chicago Board of Trade), I can't see why I should pay $40 when the farm would have only received $5.63 for them. Luckily our home is surrounded by corn fields, which are owned by friendly neighbors who allow us to borrow a few stalks every year. While I'd be willing to give them the $5.63 they are kind enough to let us have them for free.
I'm cheap with pumpkins, too. For $2 I could have purchased a seed packet from the store and planted a bunch of pumpkins in my garden (which I don't have, but could if I wanted to). Sure they take some tending to over the summer, but really how much does that amount to during the growing season? Luckily we've found a nearby dairy farm that sells some pumpkins at a reasonable rate. We purchased these six pumpkins for $15. When I stopped at the supermarket on my way home, that's how much they were charging for just one of my pumpkins (and it was half rotted). Outrageous if you ask me!
Now don't get me wrong. There are some fabulous agri-tourism spots to go buy cornstalks and pumpkins. Their prices are higher than what I prefer to pay, but then again they aren't just selling cornstalks and pumpkins. They are selling a great fall experience. With that it takes additional labor and other needs that must be recouped in those prices. Therefore when I want that experience I will grit my teeth, open my wallet and pay more than what I'd like, but I'll also know I walked away with more than just some cornstalks and pumpkins. I'll have great memories spent with family and friends.
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