Tom Breathnach: How an East Cork farm saved Halloween

"It’s an excellent enterprise and for those of us who still haven’t managed to grow-our-own this year, Joe’s Farm offers the next best thing"

Joe's Farm

“You could be in Upstate New York,” says I, looking across a rolling valley of East Cork farmland blotted with orange pumpkin bursts. “Well that’s almost where the idea came from!” replies Joe Burns, who along with his wife Sandra run their vegetable farm and crisp factory just beyond the village of Killeagh. 

It was on a family visit to his sister living in Boston some autumns ago when Joe and Sandra were invited to go on the very New England pursuit of Fall apple-picking. “We couldn’t believe it was so popular over there,” he adds, “so we thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could do something like that on our own farm?”.