Pumpkin enthusiasts from all over Washington and Idaho come to Siemers Farm every fall in eastern Washington. It’s one of the largest pumpkin and produce farms in the state.
Burt Westover owns the farm. “We usually get about 5,000 people a day on a Saturday or Sunday, and we do that from mid-September all the way until the last week in October,” he says.
Westover bought the farm in Mead from Byron Siemers three years ago and has carried on the tradition of growing thousands of pumpkins for their pick-your-own pumpkin patch.
“We put in 53,000 seeds by hand, and we end up with probably 350,000 pounds of pumpkin,” Westover says.
Their rich Loess soil allows them to grow produce without irrigation.
“We just put the seeds in the ground, and we walk away from it,” he says.
Besides pumpkins, they sell a variety of produce, including apples and squash. Plus, they have one of the largest corn mazes in the Inland Empire.
“We have a four-story castle in the middle of it,” Westover says. “The kids get to go through the maze and then the reward for going through is to go inside the castle.”
Westover says Siemers Farm also helps families create memories that last a lifetime.
“A lot of times I’ll take pictures for people out here, and there’ll be a family with their little baby and that’s the start of their transition,” he explains. “I’ll hear their story about how they came here when they were a kid, and now they’re bringing their kids. It’s a generational thing.”
