It’s that time of year when tourists head to the mountains to see the changing leaves. Some may even come home with a pumpkin from one of the many pumpkin patches in western North Carolina.
According to the USDA, the state produced about 45 million pounds of pumpkins last year. But like other parts of the mountains, many pumpkin patches are still trying to recover after Hurricane Helene a year ago.
Cassandra Bare co-owns Harvest Farm in Valle Crucis in Watauga County. She joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry.
Marshall Terry: How long have you been growing pumpkins?
Cassandra Bare: We've been growing pumpkins for the last 12 years.
Terry: What did your pumpkin crop look like this time last year, right after Helene? How much damage did you suffer?
Bare: We lost all of the pumpkin crop. I had a friend of mine call me jokingly that said, ‘I'll pay you for pumpkins later.’ The pumpkins were laying in his living room. Several of our pumpkins washed down the river and then we also suffered significant damage at some of our other farms where we keep our extra pumpkins and lost those.
We had tried to save several before the heavy rains came and got them to what we thought was safe ground, but it turns out what you thought was safe ground during Helene wasn't safe, and it took those pumpkins too.
Terry: What did you have to do over the past year to recover since you lost all of your crop?
Bare: At the pumpkin farm that people will come to visit, there in Valle Crucis, we had to go through and rebuild all of the deer fence that's there. We had to get debris cleaned out of the field and a lot of sediment and parts of people's decks and parts of the town park had washed into the field. All that had to be removed and cleaned up before we could even start planning to plant pumpkins. We also had to rebuild back some greenhouses before we could plant the transplants to have a flower farm you pick this year.
Terry: How’s it going so far this year? Are folks coming out to pick pumpkins?
Bare: We have had such a tremendous support from our community and from our neighbors. We are so thankful for everyone's help and generosity that they have brought our way. So many people want to come out to the farm and say, ‘Hey, we're glad you're back.’ That just puts a smile on all of our faces and it's such a blessing.
Terry: Are you back to where you were before Helene, or is there still more recovery ahead for you and the farm?
Bare: We're maybe getting close to halfway back. Several things are just going to take a long time to put back. Pumpkins are a crop that you can grow in one year, but several other things that we grow take many years. We lost all that work.
Terry: What are some of those other crops that you can’t put back as quickly as pumpkins?
Bare: We also grow Christmas trees and shrubbery. We suffered a lot of damage with those crops. A Christmas tree crop, a lot of that takes eight years to come to harvest. Shrubbery, several of those crops are anywhere from four to six years.
Whenever you lose crops that you have that much time and money invested in, it takes a lot of hard work and time to recover from them.
Terry: One thing we've heard from other leaders and businesses in the mountains is that people are still unsure whether it's safe and accessible to visit that part of the state, even a year later, after Helene. How are you trying to get the word out about that?
Bare: It's absolutely safe to come and visit, and you can get around the roads now, and things are much more normal. Are all the roads paved? No, they're not all paved. Several of the repairs have been made, and the fall scenery is looking beautiful this year. It's a fun place to come and visit and have a nice weekend and enjoy yourself.
