OREGON, Ohio — Staff at Fleitz Pumpkin Farm has been working non-stop to make sure everything was ready to go for opening day.
When the family-owned farm first got started more than 30 years ago, one family member, Trisha Truman, explained they put pumpkins out on a table to sell.
Fast forward to today, she said they never expected it to grow this big.
The farm has 22 acres just for pumpkins alone. They also have hay rides, a maze and fresh donuts. Just about every fall activity and produce you could think of.
Truman said even though the season is only two months long, they work year-round getting the farm ready for this busy season.
"Seed orders go out in the winter and just updates and maintenance, things like that are going on," she said. "Then we plant the pumpkins, we hoe the pumpkins. We plant and hoe by hand, like individual planters and we're out there with hoes."
The farm is entirely run by family members and yes, just about every generation is helping out.
Truman said her favorite part is leading up to opening day when they start posting on social media and recognize names and can interact with long-time customers again. She said it's exciting to see old friends.
"All of our friends and family - everybody comes out. We get to see lots of faces we haven't seen for a while and really, the thing we love most is just our family time together," Truman said. "It's a time where we spend every day, 12 hours a day together and it just keeps us a really close family."
Fleitz Farm is open weekdays from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 7133 Seaman Rd. in Oregon.
If you can't make it out to the farm but want the hot commodity of famous Fleitz Farm donuts, you can order them online.