Lots of new at Greene Fields Farm

By Editor | October 2, 2024 |

By Carmen Ensinger

Now in its ninth year, Greene Fields Farm, located between Carrollton and Greenfield, continues to expand, adding something new year every year.
This year, they not only added a new building for folks to eat in, but they also added a tram to take folks to the back of the pumpkin patch so they can work their way forward, exploring the many different varieties of pumpkins.
Greene Field Farm is owned by Regan and Christie Joehl and located between Carrollton and Greenfield. They offer a pumpkin patch with more than 160 varieties of pumpkins, an apple orchard which offers 15 different varieties of apples, and of course, their mums.
Regan Joehl said they noticed last year that they needed more seating for those enjoying the food they served on sight.
“We have pretty much tripled the size of our seating area,” Joehl said. “Last year we were seeing that there wasn’t enough room for everyone to sit down and eat. So, over the winter, we built a really nice building that has a lot more seating. Over the past three weeks, we have watched people enjoy themselves so it has been a really nice addition.”
Opening Day for Greene Fields Farm was Friday, Sept. 6, during Greene County Days.
“We had a really good opening weekend,” Joehl said. “In fact, it was our best one yet – the weather really cooperated. We had nice, cool weather and with a lot of new things, people really came to check it out.”
Just last week, they received their new tram to ferry guests out to the far ends of the pumpkin patch.
“We had this tram, or hay ride wagon specially built for us and it was just delivered a little over a week ago,” Joehl said. “Our patch has gotten so big that we know a lot of people maybe can’t walk the whole thing or don’t want to or maybe just want the experience of a hay ride. So, we are going to give that option to everyone on Saturday and Sunday for the rest of the season.”
There is a small fee of $4 to ride the tram.
“We thought it would work really nice if you ride it out there and pick your way back,” Joehl said. “We will be able to haul people’s wagons out there and back too so you can pick up your big load of pumpkins and rather than hike in the half mile to the front, you can get on the tram and we will take you and your wagon up front. It should be a pretty neat addition and experience for people.”
The tram was specially built, just for Greene Field Farm.
“It was built by Stultz Manufacturing out in Pennsylvania,” Joehl said. “They are some Mennonite folks who have been building wagons for quite a while. The neat thing about this one is they redesigned the whole thing so it is only about eight inches to a foot off the ground so it is really accessible. There are no stairs you have to climb so it is really accessible for people with mobility issues.”
There are also some new food options this year.
“In addition to our pork chops and pork burgers we had last year, we added a brat this year that comes from my son Caleb’s Berkshire hogs that he grew on the farm,” Joehl said. “Parks processed those for us and one of the big new things this year is our apple donuts. We are one of the few places in the area who do them. So far they have been a big hit along with our kettle corn, sliced caramel apples and cider slushies.”
They also have something special just for the kids this year.
“We have a special kid’s meal which consists of a pork burger, apple sauce and apple cider,” Joehl said. “The neat thing for the kids is that the cider comes in these little plastic apple shaped containers with a lid on them. The kids have been excited about them because they can take home a little memento.”
For those who like flowers, they have a huge area planted in zinnias.
“We have grown zinnias the past couple of years, but this year we did a three-acre field of them and they have done really well,” Joehl said. “They are just gorgeous right now so you can cut zinnias to take home or just wander through and enjoy them.”
In case anyone is wondering just how big Greene Fields Farm is, Joehl said it consists of around 50 acres. Thirty of those acres are planted in pumpkins and two in apples. Those two acres contain 800 apple trees.
Joehl wanted to stress that everything is U-pick.
“Everything we have here is U-pick,” he said. “We don’t pre-pick and sell them because we really want people to have that experience of going out and picking them.”
However, they do pick their apples to go into the apple pies for sale.
“We partnered with Amy Pembrook at The Sweeter Side to make apple pies for us this year,” Joehl said. “We are averaging about 50 pies a week. They are frozen and come with instructions so all you have to do is put them in the oven.”