Rainy spring means no sweet corn for Sugar Grove Pumpkin Farm

Our family’s farm, Sugar Grove Pumpkin Farm, looks a little different this year. No sweet corn – we can hardly believe it.

Sugar Grove Pumpkin Farm

While the rainy spring may have been frustrating for many of us due to canceled sporting events, muddy lawns and flooded ditches, it was absolutely devastating for farmers. Without a break from the rain, we weren’t able to get one of our most important crops planted – sweet corn.

Sweet corn is definitely a staple for the produce side of Sugar Grove Pumpkin Farms’ sales. We have success with different garden vegetables every year, but people come to us every summer specifically for sweet corn. We typically try to plant 6-7 rounds of sweet corn from April 15 to June 15 so we have ears maturing throughout the summertime. With the right amount of rain and heat, we normally see sweet corn ready mid-July and enjoy it through the end of August.

This year, we were able to get one round planted on April 20, then it snowed and the never-ending rain followed. We weren’t able to get fertilizer in the fields because of the water-logged soil. Before we knew it, we were on the fast track to June with no reprieve in sight. We simply couldn’t catch the right windows, having to ultimately make the decision that we were out of time for sweet corn and garden veggies. Even the little bit that we did get planted wasn’t able to survive the flooded fields.

So, we won’t be able to supply the super sweet bicolored sweet corn or bonus veggie cart our customers have been accustomed to finding at Sugar Grove Pumpkin Farm this time of year. We’ve seen increased traffic checking our farm because they know sweet corn should be ready soon, but we won’t have anything to set out for customers this year. Unfortunately, Mother Nature won this round, which is incredibly disappointing but as farmers we know this is one of the risks each season. Now, it’s time to focus on what we can do going forward and prioritize what’s best for our farm and our customers this year: pumpkins!

Our ideal “must be planted by” deadline for pumpkins is approximately June 6. We thankfully got the seeds planted by June 8, and we are planning to be open September 11.

With a spring like this, we are just thankful to have gotten anything planted. Luckily, our local customers are incredibly understanding, forgiving and willing to return for subsequent seasons to find what they are looking for. And, for that, we are beyond grateful.