Waldoch Farms in Lino Lakes has been busy with guests taking the hay ride to the field where pumpkins are grown. But the drought earlier in the year created challenges for the crop.
“It’s the driest year I have had since I started farming with my mother, Mary,” said Doug Joyer. “She can remember that ’87 was a pretty bad year. What I’ve noticed with pumpkins is that it’s taken a lot longer to ripen.”
Joyer says he was able to irrigate other crops like peppers, tomatoes and green beans. But the acreage needed for pumpkins and corn is just too big and it takes too much water. So to insure there are enough pumpkins, they turned to a grower in Iowa where rain was more plentiful.
“He has different weather than we do. So he had a great year with pumpkins so we still have a lot of good quality pumpkins.”
In 2020, only the pumpkin patch was open here due to the pandemic. But this year the full fall celebration is on. That means hayrides, pedal cars, the corn maze and more are in full operation again.
“It’s so nice to host people in an outside environment,” said Joyer.
For the first graders from Woodcrest Baptist Academy, it was a fun day to look for the perfect pumpkin.
“Medium size, a good size for me to carry, and nice and clean,” said one first grader.
Waldoch Farms is open six days a week now through Halloween.
