Sean and Marcella’s journey of launching a vibrant pumpkin patch started unexpectedly, but has turned into a vibrant part of the community and a proud chapter in their farm’s story. Keep reading to learn more about how their pumpkin patch came to be!
From Zucchini to Pumpkins
When Sean and Marcella planted their first zucchini plants on their Beaver Creek farm in 2017, Sean had been growing the prolific veggie for more than a decade, selling the summer squash across Sioux Falls, Brookings and even Omaha. Restaurants and grocery stores valued the freshness of his product, and the quality made the price of buying from him comparable to or better than buying from farms in California and having days-old produce shipped in. Sean knew he could pick up his squash business where he’d left it when he himself moved from SD to farm in California, but he had no desire to sell squash long-term. He had his heart set on developing craft hard cider, made in the traditional style of open fermentation, and using specific cider apple blends to achieve the taste, texture, and qualities he admired in French-style ciders. But crop land needs ground cover to choke out undesirable plants, and Sean wanted to do work that mattered to him, to spend his time with the land.
So, he began selling zucchini again. When the local pumpkin patch announced that it would be closing after that season, Marcella suggested that they take on the tradition and offer a free, authentic farm experience to the area. Sean groaned…he was trying to get away from squash, not make it part of his operation. But they gave it a shot, planting more than 30 varieties of heirloom pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, and winter squash.
Pumpkins, People, and Plenty of Fun
Since then, they’ve welcomed thousands of guests to their pumpkin patch, have added their own honey and apple cider vinegar to their farm store, and have donated pumpkins and winter squash to schools, churches, daycares and independent living facilities across southwest Minnesota and Eastern South Dakota. Last year, students at Hayward Elementary School in Sioux Fall painted “goofy gourds,” rather than standard mini pumpkins. The odd shapes and textures were a big hit with the kids. Adults, too, have fun with the unique colors, patterns, and sizes available at the patch.
In 2024, with the acquisition of land for the new cider production facility space, the pumpkin patch moved from the farm to the new property down the road. Gophers ate every seed that was planted in early June, giving Sean just enough time to re-seed in flats, sprout plants in the greenhouse and transplant the seedlings two weeks later. In 2025, to avoid the same problem, Sean started in flats and transplanted two-week-old seedlings to their new rows in early June. This year’s patch will open in mid-September, and will feature more than 40 varieties, including crowd favorites Black Futsu and Galeux d’Eysines, and a new addition, One Too Many.