COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. — Galloway Farm's Maze Craze hasn't even opened for it's 11th season yet, but Alma Galloway has been hard at work since last November getting everything ready for this year.
What You Need To Know
For the past 11 years Galloway Farms has created 15 acres of corn maze
They work all year long to be able to host the one month fall tradition
The maze generally takes a little over an hour to complete
Alma Galloway stands guard at her gate all fall, welcoming visitors to her farm and corn maze. As soon as the season is over, however, she's back to work getting ready to make the next year even better. She and her husband started the corn maze in 2011 as a way to bring in some extra money and have a little fun with visitors.
“It's not as lucrative as people think,” Galloway said. “The small American farmer has a really rough time making it and that's why so many small family farms do turn to things like a corn maze, or a u-pick strawberry field, or a u-pick pumpkin patch or whatever they may have that they can monetize on.”
But she quickly discovered a passion for combining education and agriculture and soon quit her lifelong career to be able to focus on the maze and farming.
“People think 'Oh well she's lucky, she only works in October and she's done,' but I quit a full time job of 25 years to concentrate on this and yes, I work really hard for the 12 weeks that we're open, but I also work very hard the rest of the year,” she said.
By the time fall rolls around, Galloway knows the maze like the back of her hand. Twice a week she's out mowing the 11 acre maze or working to clear paths that may have become blocked by fallen stalks in rain or wind.
Over the years, she's gotten quite good at spotting signs of trouble and finding ways to avoid it. Being on the coast, weather is one of the biggest threats to the maze, but pests can wipe out her entire field in a matter of days.
“I start scouting when these plants are just a foot and a half to two feet tall, and I start scouting for the larvae of the sugar cane aphid,” Galloway said. “I know it's going to be here, I just never know when it's going to come.”
She just hopes people appreciate all the quirks of farm life as much as she does because the one thing she doesn't do all year round is change the integrity of the experience – there's no carnival or fair atmosphere to be found here.
“I would say come when it's cool, bring ya some bug spray, good walking shoes and just plan on staying. It's gonna take a while,” Galloway said.
To buy tickets or find more information on this year's maze, click here.