ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those who make Pumpkin Paradise LLC as part of their Halloween traditions will have to make some adjustments for this year.

Pumpkin Paradise owner Janet Weidner said the patch will be closed for the 2026 season.

“We're very disappointed to have to announce we won't be able to open Pumpkin Paradise for this season. Our pumpkin plants sprouted and produced leaves and blossoms, but by the middle of August we realized they weren't growing anymore, and most of them did not set on pumpkins,” Weidner said. “We think it was a combination of weather issues, and we also planted two weeks late because it kept raining around our area. Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal since pumpkins are a 90-day crop, but with how the weather ended up throughout the whole summer, that very well might have been a factor. We realized around the middle of August something wasn't right because usually around then, we're basically tripping over pumpkins in the patch and ultimately, we decided to not open.”

That decision was officially made recently, Weidner added.

“It was around the end of August when we officially decided to be closed for this season, and it was around the beginning of September when we made our announcement on our social media pages, which was really sad for us to have to do,” Weidner said. “And it's certainly turned into a story in the area because my posts got shared by many people and there was even a TV station that wanted to do an interview, but we decided to turn that down. We're farmers, so we know there are some years a crop works out and some years it doesn't, and this is actually only the second time we have had a crop failure since we opened in 2002.”

Ultimately, Weidner said emotions were a bit mixed regarding the decision.

“We were definitely sad, and it is a bummer we won't be able to open since we love this time of year. But in the grand scheme of everything, we're not discouraged. As we get more and more retired from farming, the pumpkin patch is most of what keeps us occupied, and it's always wonderful watching the pumpkins grow,” Weidner said. “We'd also had some new games and small attractions we were excited about, but we'll have to wait to premiere those next season, and we actually now have the time to make them REALLY awesome for everyone. We're disappointed but not discouraged, and we'll definitely be back in the patch next season. The people who wander through the patch and bring their families and talk to us, they're the best part of what we do. I love watching families wander through the patch and have fun with the games and everything else, and I love the school trips that come through because watching the children run around is always fun.”

While this season did not end up going quite to plan, Weidner said she and her husband, Steve, are already making some plans for spooktacular fun in 2027.

“One new thing we tried this year that we were really excited about was our cover crop of rye, which is used to make straw, and we were really happy with that because it looked really neat and also helped with weed control,” Weidner said. “We're also thinking of changing the configuration of some things, like our maze, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we do in that regard. Again, we're disappointed but not discouraged about how this season ended up, and we'll definitely be back for 2027. We can't wait to have everyone back at the patch and enjoying all the games and activities next year.”