Photo by Alexandria Living Magazine
Nalls Produce displays pumpkins and gourds.
Pumpkin Hill, the free fall display at Nalls Produce in Franconia, opened for the season Saturday, Sept. 26, and runs daily through the first weekend in November.
The family-run produce stand and garden center on Beulah Street has hosted Pumpkin Hill for more than three decades, and for many families it’s an October ritual. The hillside fills with bins of pumpkins, from minis and classic carvers to colorful heirloom varieties, along with gourds, squash, cornstalks, straw bales and ornamental corn. Nalls says its fall stock comes from farms in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Kids can climb the pumpkin fort, crawl through tunnels and dig in the straw, and grown-ups can pose in front of the Pumpkin Wall, a backdrop of heirloom pumpkins made for fall photos. Seasonal treats include apple cider donuts, pumpkin donuts, kettle corn, pumpkin whoopie pies, apple butter, pumpkin butter and cider.
Nalls notes that wet weather sometimes means closing off the pumpkin climbing area.
Free, and it’s staying that way
Admission to Pumpkin Hill is free, and Nalls says it plans to keep it that way. That’s a big part of its charm, but it also means the business has no way of knowing how many people will show up on a given day.
Photo by Alexandria Living Magazine
Pumpkins and mums at Nalls Produce
“We are so grateful for the millions — OK, not really millions — of you that visit us each October,” Nalls wrote in a newsletter to customers ahead of opening day. “The truth is, though, that our shop was designed for the traffic we had in the 1980s. We have old buildings, angled parking, loose gravel, and small restrooms, though we make up for it in charm.”
The newsletter acknowledged that fall visitors don’t all want the same thing: “You might want donuts and piles of pumpkins and to let your kids play, but your neighbor might just want a tomato for their BLTs.”
Tips for a smoother visit
Come early for a quiet hour. The store opens at 9 a.m., but Pumpkin Hill doesn’t open until 10 a.m. That gives shoppers a calmer hour to pick up produce before the crowds arrive.
Use express parking for a quick stop. A few Express Parking spaces just past the restrooms are set aside for shoppers who need to get in and out.
Or come late. The last hour of the day tends to be slower: 6 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 5 to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Leave the dog at home. Nalls doesn’t allow dogs because chickens live on the property.
Apple season, too
Photo by Alexandria Living Magazine
Freshly picked apples at Nalls Produce.
Nalls also has locally grown apples in, including Ambrosia, Jonathan, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Smokehouse, Cortland, Fyrefly, Rosalee and Crimson Crisp.
A tip for porch pumpkins
To keep squirrels from snacking on your porch display, Nalls suggests spraying pumpkins with a mix of water, cayenne pepper and a little dish soap, and reapplying after rain or heavy dew.
Looking ahead to November, Nalls says information about ordering Thanksgiving turkeys will be out soon.
If you go
Where: Nalls Produce, 7310 Beulah St., Alexandria (Franconia)
Pumpkin Hill hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Store hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Admission: Free
Info: nallsproduce.com/fall or 703-971-4068
