PETALUMA, Calif. - This weekend, plenty of pumpkin patches premiere in California and across the nation. KTVU had the pleasure of pursuing them from Petaluma to Napa.

Some pumpkin history

The backstory:

Mesoamericans from Mexico and Central America have cultivated gourds and pumpkins for 10,000 years. In the 1800s, Irish immigrants taught Americans how to carve them just like they did with turnips in Ireland.

Popular pumpkin patches

William Wilcox's Stanly Lane Pumpkin Patch, now in its 44th year, is the North Bay’s first pumpkin patch to open this year. Come Saturday, many more will open around the state.

Shady Lane is a simple, quaint, old-school patch designed for families with little kids, school children and school field trips. "We're more about nice scenery and photos and the

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