How to Sell Tickets for a Pumpkin Patch or Farm Open Day Online (UK Guide)

Selling tickets for a pumpkin patch or open day the old way usually means a Facebook post, a spreadsheet, and a paper list at the gate — with no real cap on how many people turn up at once. If you've ever had a car park overflow onto the verge at 2pm on a Saturday, you know why timed entry matters. Here's how to sell proper timed-entry tickets online, with a QR code that admits people at the gate, without needing a ticketing agency or a percentage-hungry third-party platform.

Step 1: Decide your dates and time slots

Set a start and end date for your event — up to 28 days — plus your opening and closing time each day. Choose how often visitors can arrive: every 15, 30 or 60 minutes works well for spreading a crowd through the day. Running a one-off event that all starts at the same time instead, like a small festival or a single evening event? Set the same opening and closing time and you'll get one single bookable sitting rather than a spread of slots. Mark any specific days within the window you're closed, too.

Step 2: Set capacity per slot

This is the bit a paper gate list can't do properly: cap how many people can enter in each time slot, and once it's full, it's full — buyers see it as unavailable and can't book past capacity. No more turning cars away at the gate because three times as many people showed up as you expected.

Step 3: Add your ticket types — and any extras

Add adult, child, concession, or whatever pricing structure suits your event, each with its own price. Free entry works too — set a ticket type to £0 and it books instantly with no payment step at all, handy for a free open day where you still want a cap on numbers.

Charging for something beyond admission — pick-your-own pumpkins, animal feed, a wagon ride — add it as its own ticket type and mark it as an add-on. It gets priced and booked in the same order as admission, but doesn't use up any of your gate capacity, so a family buying six extra pumpkins doesn't accidentally fill six of your admission spaces.

Step 4: Share your booking link

Once your campaign's approved, you get a public booking page to share however you like — social media, your mailing list, a poster with a QR code at the farm gate itself. It also shows up automatically as an "Event" tab on your storefront. Buyers pick a date, see what slots are left, choose their tickets, and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay — no app to download.

Step 5: Scan tickets at the gate

Every booking gets one QR code covering the whole party. Scan it with your phone or laptop camera, or plug in a cheap USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner — it works automatically, typing the scan straight in, no separate app or software needed. One scan admits everyone on that booking and marks it used, so it can't be reused.

A few practical tips

• Don't have your dates confirmed yet? Register interest first — share a link, collect emails, no payment involved — then set up the real ticket campaign once you've settled on dates.
• Weather backup plan — if you need to cancel the whole event, cancelling the campaign automatically refunds every booking that hasn't happened yet, so you're not chasing refunds manually.
• Price add-ons realistically — a pick-your-own pumpkin add-on priced too low relative to admission can encourage people to skip booking admission at all if your gate isn't strictly checking; keep admission as the clear "way in".
• One campaign at a time — this is built for short-run events (max 28 days), not a year-round attraction, so plan your next event once the current one's finished.