Preparing for apple orchard, pumpkin patch season

BEAVER CREEK, M.N. (KELO) — Blackshire Farms founder Sean McFarland owns several orchards. His newest one is here in Beaver Creek, Minnesota where he grows apples and pumpkins.

“We have planted hundreds and hundreds of trees. We planted that orchard. We planted a new shelter built up the hill,” McFarland said.

He says these new apple trees will take around six years to grow. But back home at his main orchard, McFarland said he’s seeing his apple trees struggle with fire blight from too much rain.

“It comes in and it infects the new growing shoots or the flowers. And it runs so fast through the tree and kills it so fast that what’s left is the leaves are still on the branch, but everything turns black like it just got burnt,” McFarland said.

While apples have needed a bit more TLC this season, McFarland is optimistic his pumpkins will be ready for harvest mid-September.

“We need enough rain to support growth and not too much that we don’t get flooded out. As we move into the fall season after the pumpkins have finished growing and matured, we actually go through and we’ll cut these several acres of pumpkins will cut every stem and then we’ll stand every pumpkin upright,” McFarland said.

Once the orchard and pumpkin patch open, Blackshire Farms hopes they can also show off their new cidery, where many of their healthy apples will go.

“We’re hoping with the opening of the pumpkin patch that people will be able to come up and tour it and see what an amazing venue it is and start booking some events with us,” Events Coordinator Emily Rensink said.

McFarland said the weather will still play a role in the final weeks before harvest but that he is looking forward to welcoming visitors to the cidery and pumpkin patch.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.