Told by: Jay Green & Rachel Lawrence

In 2001, at age eight, Jay had a dream to begin his pumpkin patch. With the help of his parents and sister, Jay began growing a few acres of pumpkins. Over the years he has dedicated countless hours to researching, growing, and narrowing down the best pumpkin, gourd, and squash varieties. Jay grew up in Kirksey, Kentucky where he sold his pumpkins at the Downtown Murray Farmers Market each Saturday.

Nineteen years later, in the Fall of 2020, Jay met me, Rachel, through some mutual friends. While my life was consumed with teaching and showing horses, Jay’s life was consumed with his new job and the pumpkin patch. BUT, God’s timing is always perfect and with our whole hearts, we know He brought the two of us together.

I knew little about farming and nothing about growing pumpkins. During the beginning months of our relationship, Jay would surprise me by leaving pumpkins and sunflowers on my front porch. As our relationship grew so did my love for the pumpkin patch and the pumpkin farmer - boy, I didn’t expect that!

In 2021, I jumped into learning the ways of the pumpkin patch. Together we prepared, planted, cared for, picked, filled the yard, and took pumpkins to the Farmer's Market. The beauty of fall at the pumpkin patch and the joy of helping customers pick out their pumpkins at the Farmers Market filled my heart with pure happiness.

Jay and I have spent many hours talking about our dream for our small town. God has been unbelievably faithful in both of our lives and we want nothing more than to encourage others to know Him. We are eager to watch God’s plans for our future unfold and create many more memories with our community. We hope to see you at the Pumpkin Patch this fall!