Morningsun Herb Farm has sold herbs and lavender on Pleasants Valley Road since 1995. This October it opened its first pumpkin patch on a field it leased next to the nursery, and the patch is set up differently from the older ones around Vacaville. Most Saturdays on its calendar ask you to build, bake or make something. On three of those dates, the fees from the main event go to a local nonprofit. The patch runs weekends only, October 3 through November 1.
Here is the full October lineup, with what each date asks of you.
| Date | Event | What you bring or do | Where the money goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10 | Great Scarecrow Showdown | A team of up to six and scarecrow materials | $10 team entry fee to Paws For Life Canine Rescue |
| Oct 17 | Great Pie-Off | One homemade pie per category | $2 tasting slices to Vaca FISH |
| Oct 24–25 | Succulent & Dried Flower Pumpkin Workshop | Sign up, then build a planted centerpiece | Workshop registration |
| Oct 31 | Halloween and Trebuchet Contest | Costumes, plus a small fee per pumpkin launched | Solano/Contra Costa Food Bank |
A nursery trying something new on the field next door
The farm says this is new territory. On its event page, Morningsun writes that it "leased the field next to the nursery" and has been growing pumpkins and fall flowers there. It calls the work "a learning experience." This is also the first year its staff painted and built the kid zone themselves. Rosemary Loveall-Sale wrote in the farm's October 1 newsletter that "since it is the first time we are hosting the event I know there are many questions." Days before opening, the crew was still finishing signs and harvesting through an unexpected run of summer heat.
Morningsun says it carries more than 1,100 culinary, medicinal and landscaping herb species and specializes in lavender. The Reporter's 2015 profile, written for the farm's 20th anniversary, names Rose Loveall-Sale and Dan Sale as owners. It traces the business back to Rose wanting to grow more than four kinds of plants on her family's three-acre property. A nursery built on plant variety now has a field of pumpkins and cut flowers. The newsletter describes butterflies, bees and dragonflies working the flower rows this month, and calls the field worth walking "even if you don't plan to cut any."
October 10 builds the décor for the rest of the month
The scarecrow contest anchors the season, and its timing matters. Finished scarecrows stay in the main pumpkin patch walkway for the rest of the month. Everyone who visits after October 10 walks past the work of the teams who entered. Morningsun is having residents build the décor visitors will see for three weekends.
The rules are tighter than a typical yard-display contest:
- Adult and youth divisions, with up to six builders per team
- Check-in at 9 a.m., building from 10 to 11:30 a.m., judging at 11:30
- Final assembly has to happen on-site during the 90-minute build window, with a 30-minute extension possible if the schedule allows
- Prizes of $200 for first, $100 for second, $50 for third and $150 for People's Choice
- A $10 registration fee per team, donated to Paws For Life Canine Rescue
The farm asks teams to register early but has not posted a deadline. If a family, office or club is thinking about entering, the registration page is the place to check this week.
The pie, the centerpiece and the trebuchet follow the same pattern
The Great Pie-Off on October 17 is free to enter. Adults and youth can each bring one pie in each of three categories. Crusts have to be homemade, packaged filling is not allowed, and every pie needs a label with a full ingredient list. Drop-off is at 9 a.m. and awards are at 11 a.m. After the ribbons go out, slices of every entry are offered for a $2 donation, and all of it goes to Vaca FISH. The farm notes that October 17 is Sweetest Day, which it describes as a day for acts of charity and kindness.
The October 24 and 25 workshop turns a pumpkin into a living centerpiece of succulents, dried flowers and moss. When the season ends, the arrangement can be planted in a garden, which suits a nursery. Kids 12 and under can help an adult for free.
Halloween closes the season. Staff and volunteers hand out treats, and the farm's donkeys dress up for photos. Morningsun has also built a medieval-style catapult. Visitors pay a small fee per pumpkin and try to land it in a "Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater" target, with all proceeds going to the Solano/Contra Costa Food Bank. The farm hasn't listed Halloween hours, so check before you plan around downtown's free trick-or-treat stroll. That runs 4 to 6 p.m. on Merchant, Main and Parker streets.
What opening weekend set up, and what to confirm for later weekends
The October 1 newsletter covers the logistics for opening weekend, October 3 and 4. The farm hasn't said whether these details carry over to every later weekend, so treat them as a starting point:
- Hours. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with parking opening 15 minutes early.
- Entry. $10 per car, covering everyone inside. Cash is preferred, and cards should work if the technology cooperates.
- Parking. The main lot is south of the nursery toward the freeway, on a dirt road beside a walnut orchard, marked with a large banner. Overflow is across the street, past a neighbor's goats behind a 10,000-volt electric fence.
- Where not to park. Not on the road shoulder, and not in the nursery lot, which stays open for plant shoppers. The newsletter notes that the Sheriff and CHP will not be pleased with roadside parking.
- Dogs. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome.
- Footing. The field is a working farm, with uneven ground, irrigation lines and gopher holes. Sign the waiver at check-in, and bring a cart if you plan to haul pumpkins.
Opening weekend also had food vendors: Tacos El Maguey and Gaspanchos Los Autenticos on Saturday, and The Stoners Pit barbecue with kettle corn on Sunday. It added toddler bumper cars and a fire engine bounce house for the first weekend only. The farm says the Great Pumpkin Play Patch for kids runs every weekend, with extras on opening weekend.
How a two-day patch fits among the established ones
Vacaville already has pumpkin options, and they cover different needs. Cool Patch Pumpkins, just up the road, is open daily September 19 through October 31 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It has hayrides, a giant corn bath, a hay castle and a famously large corn maze. Larry's Produce in Suisun Valley has been running since 1986. It grows more than 40 pumpkin varieties on the farm, and entry and activities are currently free. It's open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Wednesday during the season. In town, Sweet Pea's Boutique at 891 Alamo Drive runs an organic patch that its own page says starts September 30 each year. Visit Vacaville's fall guide notes it has a scarecrow contest too.
Morningsun is open two days a week against Cool Patch's seven, so it fits a set Saturday or Sunday plan rather than a weeknight stop. It also fits with its neighbors on Pleasants Valley Road. Soul Food Farm sits at 6046 Pleasants Valley Road, and its 2026 farmstand season runs May through December. The stand plans to sell farm eggs, flowers, olive oil, jams, fresh produce and other local goods, and it has picnic tables in its olive orchard. Its regular hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays are set aside for workshops and special events, so Saturday is the one day the patch and the farmstand both keep regular hours. That Saturday overlap includes the scarecrow and pie mornings.
Morningsun also has a pie source of its own nearby. Dolly Farms, a small organic farm between Vacaville and Dixon, is selling seasonal pumpkin, chocolate caramel pecan, apple caramel and spiced apple pies this fall, with Friday and Saturday pickup from 4 to 6 p.m. On October 24, the same Saturday as the first workshop day, Nut Tree Plaza holds its free Halloween Festival from noon to 3 p.m.
Farms like Morningsun and Soul Food Farm are part of what draws people out to Pleasants Valley in the first place. At Loney and Worley Team, we work with owners of small farms, orchards and acreage across Solano County. If an October weekend out there has you wondering what your own Vacaville-area property or parcel is worth, get your free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
