The Borchards have been farming in the Salinas Valley since 1956. Ed and Margaret Borchard sold their Camarillo ranch to Bob Hope and moved their family up north where they settled in Salinas. By the mid 70’s Ed Borchard & Sons was farming over 1,000 acres of artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, and lettuce. Artichokes were their primary crop.
Tom (one of Ed’s 5 sons) discovered a unique hobby 50 years ago of growing giant pumpkins. Quickly the hobby became a passion of his. After a few years of mastering the trade, he set his sights on competing in the annual Half Moon Bay Giant Pumpkin Weigh off.
Although his pumpkin patch sits in the coastal climate of Castroville, Tom managed to win the contest 6 times during the 1980’s. His heaviest pumpkin tipped the scales at over 1,000 lbs. His pumpkin passion didn’t stop there. Tom started toying around with different varieties of pumpkins, squash and gourds. He started growing more than his yard could handle so he would give away to friends and family along with a couple of local produce stands and grocery stores.
It didn’t take long for people to catch on and the demand for Tom’s “giant” pumpkins increased each year. Still pretty much just a pumpkin growing hobby at this point, in 1995 Tom met and married Katherine. Katherine was the Monterey County Chief Deputy Ag Commissioner and also directed and chaired numerous ag-related programs, including Ag Education, the Monterey County Fair, Taste of the Valley and Ag Against Hunger. With her 25 years of experience in agriculture, along with her passion for community service, she recognized an opportunity to bring Tom’s unique hobby and beautiful farm to local elementary schools, non-profit charities and the entire community; “Borchard Farms Giant Pumpkins and Squash” was born.
For 3 decades now, Tom and Katherine have opened up their home to the community and it has become an intimate tradition for generations of families in the Salinas Valley.