St Helens fifth-generation farmer Richard Rainford has answered the question everyone keeps asking: the sunflower field at Rainford's Christmas Tree Land will not open this year. The 65-year-old farmer, who has been selling trees at Catchdale Moss Farm in Eccleston since leaving school over 40 years ago, shared the news on social media.
Crop rotation halts sunflower field
The family-run business, known as Merseyside's only home-grown Christmas tree farm, sells thousands of trees each winter and hosts year-round events. However, the popular summertime sunflower attraction is taking a break. In a social media post, the team explained: “We’ve had lots of people asking, so we wanted to let everyone know that we won’t be opening a sunflower field this year. As a working farm, we rotate our crops to keep our soil healthy and productive. It’s an important part of sustainable farming, even if it does mean taking a break from some of our favourite flowers every now and then.”
Pumpkin Festival confirmed for autumn
Despite the sunflower cancellation, the farm confirmed its Pumpkin Festival “is still very much going ahead.” From Saturday, September 26, guests can enjoy the venue’s café, photo opportunities, autumn family fun, and thousands of pumpkins to pick. The team added: “We know many of you love our sunflower fields as much as we do, and we can’t wait to possibly welcome them back in the future. Thank you for understanding and for continuing to support our family farm. We’ll be sharing lots of pumpkin updates over the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our page… autumn is just around the corner.”
Free entry, pay for pumpkins
Entry to the festival is free, with visitors paying only for the pumpkins they choose and any optional activities. After the festival, the farm will return to selling Christmas trees. When the ECHO last spoke to Richard, the business offered home-grown Fraser Fir, Nordmann Fir, and Norway Spruce.
70,000 trees and early sales
Richard said more than 70,000 trees now line the forests at Catchdale Moss Farm, with sales often starting from November 1. This year, he noted he had “never sold Christmas trees so early,” with the first sale on November 1. He told the ECHO: “On the farm we have approximately 70,000 to 80,000 trees growing, anything from one year old to 15 years old at present. We have had a huge increase in business this year. Families are coming generation after generation but we’ve also had hundreds of new customers this time which is fantastic.”
Supplying landmarks and charities
Over the years, Rainford’s Christmas Tree Land has supplied trees for Lime Street Station (for Zoe's Place), Willowbrook Hospice in Prescot, local councils, and Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall.
