In autumn at Patch 22 in Wadsworth, families can take hay and pony rides, feed farm animals and search for the perfect pumpkin.
Owners and brothers Dan and Sean Kelly are working hard to make it safe and fun during the pandemic.
“Fall is the big hurrah,” said Dan Kelly. “It’s never the same and this year is no exception. Farmers have had to find ways to adapt and change and to keep it going,” during the pandemic. “This year, we added some weekday hours to help space things out a bit,” he said. Pumpkins will be for sale, but kids can’t wander the pumpkin patch as they have in the past, and pony ride times are spaced out. Masks are required.
Business, however, is doing well, he said, because people want to get outside and enjoy the 22-acre farm.
Patch 22 has been in business for more than 40 years, starting in Prairie View by Dan and Sean’s parents, Linda and Mike Kelly, and then moving to Wadsworth in 1987.
It’s open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursdays; 3-7 p.m. Fridays; and 10 a.m-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31.
“The pony rides have always been our main attraction,” Kelly said. “We have a big pasture where parents lead the pony around in a field while their kids ride. That works out great this year because people want to be outside and where it’s not crowded.”
Visitors often ask if the ponies are full-grown. Kelly explains they’re not baby horses, but just a breed of horse that is small.
Fewer places exist for families to take pony rides than in the past, Kelly said.
“We have people right down the street who come and others who come from more than an hour away.”
“Kids have a connection with animals, they like being around live animals. That’s not as easy to do these days,” he said.
Kelly, his brother and full and part-time employees care for the approximately 30 ponies that live on the farm year-round either outdoors or in stables during inclement weather.
The family also farms 50,000 bales of hay each summer for sale or to feed the horses in winter.
“This was a great year for hay because of the dry weather,” Kelly said. Entry is $10 per car load, which includes the petting zoo and a walk around the farm. It’s $10 to ride a pony. No reservations are being taken, but people need to wait their turn when they come to the farm to maintain social distancing. Parents lead the ponies in a pasture for 20 minutes while their child rides.
“People also have been booking private times during the week,” Kelly added.
While waiting for a pony ride, people can walk around and pet the farm animals and look at the pumpkins and other fall décor, Kelly said.
Favorites are goats, pigs and sheep, he said. “They’re hungry and they come right up to people and they can feed them out of their hand. Everybody seems to love goats these days,” Kelly said, adding baby donkeys were born this summer, giving visitors a special treat.
Also on the farm are cows and rabbits. “People love bunnies,” Kelly said, adding “It’s a full-time job to take care of all the animals.”
For $3 per person, people also can also take hay rides, a trickier activity this year because of the social distancing requirement, he said. “We won’t be able to pack them in,” Kelly said.
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Each season, Patch 22 sells about five tons worth of pumpkins, he said. Some are planted on the property and others come from Wisconsin. “There’s lots of room to walk around and find the perfect pumpkin,” Kelly said. “A pumpkin with a nice bright color and a good stem will sell quickly,” he said.
Kelly’s 7-year-old-daughter and his nieces and nephews help on the farm as they can, he said, with hopes one of them will one day want to take over the business.
Kelly said he expects it will be busy through Halloween when Patch 22 closes its doors for the season.
The least crowded times to come are days when the weather isn’t that nice and on the new weekday hours, he said.
“If it gets too crowded, we’ll have to limit it for sure, but we haven’t gotten there yet,” Kelly said.
Patch 22 Farm
Where: 15900 Kelly Road, Wadsworth
When: 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Thursdays, 3-7 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31
Tickets: $10 per carload, $10 per person for pony rides; $3 per person for hay rides
Information: 847-336-0120, patch22.biz
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.