Borchard Farms continues its family tradition of bringing pumpkins to the masses.

Tom Borchard looks over a sea of red bins filled to the brim with pumpkins, squash and gourds of all colors, neatly arranged by variety, on his Salinas property.

“Each one of these you see, I brought in myself,” he says.

As he explains the process – the seeds were planted in mid-March and grown in a hothouse before being transferred to the field, about a three-month undertaking – a young girl timidly walks by a large goose in a pen, telling Borchard she is scared of the bird.

“Elmer!” Borchard calls to the goose, who honks in reply, almost as if to say it’s not his fault the girl got scared.

Borchard Farms’ unique decades-long tradition of pumpkin patch-meets-corn maze-meets-bird exhibit continues this year, complete with facepainting and a newly established snack shack.

Borchard estimates there are easily 100,000 pumpkins, squash and gourds of all sizes on the property – in bins, stacked on a pyramid of hay, lining the pathways and even hanging from trees. Nearly all are grown on about 30 acres of the Salinas property, with a few varieties of smaller pumpkins, which thrive in hotter conditions, grown elsewhere.

There are about 25 different varieties of jack-o’-lantern-style orange pumpkins. Borchard says he orders the seeds from catalogs, and always tries new ones every year. Customers are also drawn to a variety of different squash, including Cinderella, fairytale and porcelain doll.

Near the entrance to the farm sit rows of Atlantic giants, the aptly named pumpkins Borchard estimates are roughly 500 pounds. Such pumpkins are important to the history of the farm.

In 1956, Borchard’s family moved from Newbury Park in Southern California to Salinas when his father, a cattle rancher, traded his property. For a time, the Salinas property was used for cattle, but with artichokes booming in nearby Castroville, the Borchards decided to switch over. They eventually settled on growing broccoli, romaine lettuce and brussels sprouts, which continue today.

While delivering produce to a market in Milpitas, Borchard noticed a giant pumpkin sticking out of a bin in a warehouse. He talked to his cousin, who was working for a seed company, about it. He sent Borchard some seeds for giant pumpkins to try them out.

Borchard says he planted a few of the seeds on a hill and didn’t do much with them. What came out of them, however, was a 150-pound pumpkin, and he’s been hooked ever since.

“Ever since I saw that giant pumpkin at that warehouse that day, I’ve been a pumpkin nut,” he says.

Borchard won the Half Moon Bay pumpkin competition six times, and began earning a name as a successful pumpkin grower. About 25 years ago, his wife Katherine encouraged him to open up their property to the public with a pumpkin patch.

“I went along with it, and here we are,” he says.

Borchard stopped competing once the pumpkins started getting more than 2,500 pounds, noting that he had enough to keep him busy with the commercial farm and the patch. He says he’s satisfied with giant pumpkins that weigh anywhere between 300-500 pounds (purchasing most of the seeds from Nova Scotia); anything over that and they become too unwieldy.

The seasonal pumpkin patch and farm remains a family-run business that draws customers from across California. On a Friday afternoon, Brendan Beirne says he drove up from Los Angeles for his annual trip to Borchard Farms to “grab my usuals.”

“They are the only guys that really do Atlantic giants, prizewinners and the big massive pumpkins,” he says.

Many businesses, including restaurants in Big Sur, also come to Borchard Farms to have their logos carved into pumpkins as they grow, which they use for displays during the fall season.

Borchard says the pumpkin operation keeps him active, and he rejects the notion of retirement – “If I turned into a couch potato, I probably wouldn’t be here very long,” he says. He’s now in his favorite time of the year.

“Even though it’s hard work, I love going out there and doing it,” he says.

BORCHARD FARMS, 142 Rodgers Road, Salinas. Open daily 11am-8pm through Oct. 31. 595-2426, borchardfarms.com.