Looking to get lost in a giant Alabama corn maze or pick your own pumpkin? Here's the place

AUTAUGAVILLE — If you're looking spend a lazy day in the country getting lost, picking pumpkins and getting plenty of fresh air, Southern Pumpkin Co. has you covered.

Located just west of Autaugaville, the operation is the brainchild of Matt Graham, of Diebel Nursery, and Drew Wendland of Autauga Farming Company. The six-acre pumpkin patch and 10-acre corn maze is on land that wasn't being used on the nursery, which grows varieties of crepe myrtle trees for the wholesale market.

"We wanted to come up with something to use the land," Graham said. "With everything going on this year, this is a great way to get families out and have fun."

And if you're worried about crowds in this age of the coronavirus, steps have been taken.

"We had some ideas we just didn't use because we felt we couldn't keep those things sanitized," Graham said, using a corn kernel pit for youngsters to play in as an example. "There's plenty of room to social distance, it's the country."

It's a healthy hike from the pumpkin patch to the corn maze, so there's a hay ride to transport guests around the property.

Visitors need to carve out about two hours to take everything in. There will also be hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue sandwiches and drinks for sale. Picnic tables are sprinkled across the property. There's also a petting zoo with goats and chickens, a bouncy house and games such as cornhole, checkers and tic-tac-toe stationed across the property. And naturally, the pieces for the checkers and tic-tac-toe are small pumpkins. 

The pumpkin patch has 20 varieties, covering all shapes, sizes, colors and appearances. You can pick your own squash, or browse the "store" set up under the pecan trees for the pre-picked offerings. Prices are $1 to $20 each depending on size.

Wendland planted the corn maze, using a little high tech gadgetry. The tractor followed a GPS map to lay out the rows. The centerpiece of the maze is a large pumpkin. Again, natch.

"I've walked the maze several times and it usually takes my about 20 minutes," Wendland said. "And I know where to go. So you can spend 45 minutes or an hour in the maze finding your way around."

There's also a junior maze just off to the side that's geared toward children. 

"We didn't know if people would want to take a 2-year-old through the big maze," Wendland said.  "If you want to, that's fine, but we have the smaller maze as an option."

When the patch and maze open Friday it's the culmination of months of work.

"This quickly developed into a family operation," Graham said. "Everybody pitched in and came up with ideas."

The men know about growing things, but pumpkins are a new crop. They are learning as they go. For instance, some varieties are better suited for the Alabama climate.

"I've told everyone, I've never worked so hard in my life on six acres," Wendland said. "When you really don't know anything, everything is an emergency. Our biggest job has been keeping the pumpkins alive."

So, for the past several weeks there have been flurries of photos emailed to Auburn University and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to get advice and direction from the experts.

There was a little nervousness Thursday morning as the work increased for a Friday noon opening. Signs still needed to be put up. The to do list was growing.

Through the process Graham had a nursery to run and Wendland's farm work never waned.

"We have about 26 hours to go," Wendland said about 10 a.m. Thursday. "Come out here tomorrow and it'll look a lot more like a pumpkin patch."

If you go

What: Southern Pumpkin Company.

Where: 233 County Road 133, Autaugaville. Located about two miles off Highway 14.

When: Open Fridays through Sundays through Nov. 1.

Fridays: Noon to 6 p.m.

Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sundays: Noon to 6 p.m.

Price: $6 for the pumpkin patch and $6 for all access which includes the corn maze and hay ride. Children under 3 get in free.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at [email protected].