NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. — A fifth-generation farming family in New Hanover County is already gearing up for fall, and they're excited about it.
Just a few weeks ago, Trask Family Farms welcomed summer with their first-ever sunflower maze. But they’ve already mowed it down in preparation for their fall corn maze
What You Need To Know
- The Trasks have been farming in North Carolina for five generations
- George Trask started Trask Family Farms two years ago on the same lands being farmed by his family since the early 1900s
- The Trasks are preparing for fall on the farm, which includes planting their annual corn maze, something that has helped their farm gain popularity in the area
George Trask has been working on a farm since he was a child. The Trasks have been farmers for five generations. Now, they’ve opened Trask Family Farms on some of that same land that was being farmed in the early 1900s.
It’s a 27-acre farm with a modern twist. They host family events to kick off summer and fall with their sunflower and corn mazes.
“What we’re really trying to do out here,” said Trask, “is create a super fun environment where you can see the beauty of nature.”
Although the farm’s sunflower maze was in bloom just a few weeks ago, they’ve already mowed it down.
“So you’re looking out on the 9.3 acres of just bare ground,” Trask said. “We’re getting ready to fill it up with a 9.3-acre corn maze.”
Preparing for the fall means more than just planting mazes.
Trask Family Farms has all sorts of produce to keep up with, like tomatoes, melons, peppers, pumpkins, and sweet corn — which their family has been growing for generations.
“Our favorite thing was always to plant sweet corn growing up so that we could give it out to friends and family when it came out and so that kind of dawned my love for what I do,” said Trask. “I want to continue that and I wanted to bring it out to more people so I decided that we’d open that place up and really give it a serious go.”
It’s Trask's second year of farming and he’s getting better every year thanks to the help he’s received from fellow farmers and lessons learned along the way. The most helpful lesson he said he’s learned is that timing is everything.
“Knowing when to plant and how much to plant is the biggest part about farming,” Trask said. “Right up there with knowing how to grow it and fertilize it.”
They plant their crops successionally, meaning they’re planted in intervals to allow for a constant harvest. It's something that’s extremely beneficial for a farm that relies on summer and fall plants.
“We just use what we made over the summer months. I don’t do a lot of winter crops, really none at all,” said Trask. “Our runtime is April to November and after that we shut down and really start working on where we’re going to be planting next year.”
Summer and fall events at the farm are equally important to the Trasks. Not only have they created new, loyal customers over the past two years, but they bring in money as well.
“We really love all the support we’ve gotten since we started; it’s really changed our lives. It’s changed my life for sure,” Trask said. “And what better way to end it than to host a month-long party out here doing a corn maze.”
For Trask, it’s that support that means everything and makes all the hard work worth it.
“When a lot of people show up for one of our events, or a lot of people show up on a Saturday and buy produce, it really makes it all worth it,” said Trask. “Seeing nice people with smiles on their faces enjoying what you grow and getting it where they can enjoy it is a pretty cool thing to watch. Especially for someone who hasn’t been doing it as long like I have, it’s changed me for the better.”
Thanks to the success of this year’s sunflower maze, the Trask’s will be expanding it next year to three mazes and will keep them open for two months instead of three weeks.
In addition to their corn maze this fall, Trask Family Farms will also have a pumpkin patch open where visitors can pick pumpkins right off the vine.
You can visit Trask Family Farms to pick up fresh, local produce and try some of their homemade goods, including homemade ice cream.