LOVELAND, Ohio — It is officially fall — and the festivities are just getting started.
Loveland’s Blooms and Berries Farm Market grows their pumpkins in a 12-acre field. Owner Jeff Probst said pumpkins do best with dry weather, so there was a concern with how much rain the area got in August.
Probst said a disease will form on pumpkin leaves in excessively wet conditions. If it happens early enough in the season, it can wipe out an entire crop of pumpkins.
"We’ve been kind of on edge all summer long," Probst said about the rainy conditions. "Ultimately, the crop looks amazing. We’ve been fortunate. It’s not always like that every year."
He said the dry weather came at the perfect time.
"The best thing is when our team is out here in the field picking. When it dries up like this, it's just so much easier than working in that mud and muck all the time," Probst said.
Blooms and Berries' 'Fall on the Farm' is in full swing and Probst said they’ve had a strong start to the season. They are open every day for pumpkin picking, hayrides, corn mazes and more.
Over on the west side, Burwinkel Farms has been a Tri-State staple for 100 years. The Burwinkel family is gearing up for their opening weekend of fall fun, but said rain was also a challenge for them this summer — especially with their corn.
"It was difficult as a farmer to have all this rain come all at once, and then you’d have two weeks of no rain," Karen Burwinkel said. "The crops don’t like that. They like it to be more spread out every five days or so."
Mother Nature hasn’t been the only challenge. Local farmers are also feeling the impact of inflation.
"It’s been a rocky ride, it’s scary," Probst said.
Karen Burwinkel agreed.
"We’ve absolutely felt the impact," Burwinkel said. "A lot of the things we grow have cost about three times as much to grow this year.”
Blooms and Berries pumpkins will cost the same price this season, as they were last year.
"We’ve been trying really hard," Probst said. "We’ve been very fortunate. I think we’re buffered by a really good crop, so we were able to do that."
For more information on Blooms and Berries' Fall on the Farm, click here.
Burwinkel Farms has also vamped up what they do in the fall to offset those high costs.
“Instead of just selling pumpkins, we’ve created a place where people can come visit and spend hours having fun and that’s just priceless.”
Activities at Burwinkel Farms this fall include:
- 2 corn mazes
- Skid maze
- Sunflower fields
- Pick-your-own pumpkin patch
- Halloween scavenger hunt
- Animals to visit
- "Red, White, & Blue" maze
- Duck races
- Corn pool
- Picture opportunities & more!
Burwinkel costs $10 per person if guests want a hayride. If they'd rather walk, it costs $6. Ages 2 and under are free. Tickets are still available for their fundraising event next weekend, "Sips in Sunflowers, Sunset Hayride."
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