These Iowa Crops Ain’t Afraid of No Drought

Another reason to appreciate summer.

They get spiced in the fall, decorated at Halloween and eaten at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so this certainly helps explain why pumpkins are so popular for the last quarter of the year. It turns out they are basically drought-proof.

Farmers in Iowa are having a rough year, hurting due to warm weather and lack of rain. But unlike other crops that are negatively impacted by that, KCRG spoke to one farmer who says pumpkins thrive on those conditions.

Darrell Geisler is the proprietor of Geisler Farms in Bondurant, open weekends 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and says hot and dry weather is good for pumpkins.

Lack of rain is beneficial to pumpkins

Lack of rain helps with some soil-borne diseases pumpkins may have. While a full harvest of crucial crops may be a higher priority, in the long run, Geisler hopes that his thriving pumpkin crop can at least bring joy to families looking for something fun to enjoy this time of year, especially after having the pandemic keep them cooped up.

He told KCRG "they just can’t wait to get out and do something. We hope we can be there and help them obtain that little bit of freedom for a while."

Dean Colony of Colony's Pumpkin Patch in North Liberty concurs, further explaining that when it gets too wet, pumpkins are likely to rot away.

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How do you like them apples?

Meanwhile, the folks at Wilson's Apple Orchard & Farm in Iowa City say their crop is excelling, too. Wilson's has over 100 different types of apples ripe and ready to be picked now through October, according to KCRG. It's another (delicious) crop that thrives in Iowa heat and dry weather. According to a Google search, Wilson's hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.