VANCOUVER — Back when the farmland at 701 NE 112th Ave., in Vancouver first took on the name Joe’s Place Farms, Joe Beaudoin and his wife, Gayle, sold produce out of their garage.
“We sold stuff out of our garage for about nine years,” Joe said. “People kept asking what else we were going to start growing. The first year I think we sold about $800 worth of produce out of our garage, then eight years later we sold about $59,000 worth out of our garage.”
Photos by Mike Schultz. Slideshow by Andi Schwartz. © ClarkCountyToday.com.
Eventually, Joe and Gayle decided to look for more land and equipment, and began growing even more produce to sell to the community. The Joe’s Place Farms that the Clark County community now knows was born.
In addition to all of the produce available at the farm, Clark County residents searching for some pumpkin patch fun this October can find plenty of pumpkins, mazes, hayrides, food, decorations and more at the pumpkin patch at Joe’s Place Farms.
“I think we had the first corn maze ever built,” Joe said. “We had one about 10 years before anyone else really even thought of doing it. We’ve been growing pumpkins for about 40 years. We had one of the first hay wagons. We actually used to grow the pumpkins across the street where the storage units are now, we used to have to walk the kids across the street to get their pumpkins.”
Continuing until Oct. 31, Joe’s pumpkin patch is open Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. These are also the hours for Corn Maze, Fort Maze and the Farm Store. Hayrides are available at Joe’s Mon.-Fri., 4-5:30 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; and Sun., 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Those who visit the pumpkin patch at Joe’s Place have access to the pumpkins, the Corn Maze and the Straw TeePee for free. The Fort Maze is $2 per person and hayrides are also $2 per person. Food is available for purchase and fall decorations, including pumpkins, Indian corn, straw bales, decorative squash and corn stalks, can be found around the farm.
Joe said the pumpkin patch has always been a popular aspect of the farm. So popular, in fact, that he said they haven’t had to advertise at all over the past 10 years.
“We’re limited in the amount of parking we have and such,” Joe said. “So, we don’t really advertise, we offer pretty basic pumpkin patch activities.”
Joe’s Place Farms Store carries a variety of fresh farm produce, homemade jams and jellies, fresh honey, pickled products, salsas, salad dressings and more. Some baked goods are also available, as is fudge and frozen fruit. Seasonal items available include freshly pressed, unfiltered apple cider, pumpkin carving tools, pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn and more.
Joe’s Place Farms is located at 701 NE 112th Ave., in Vancouver. Visit the Joe’s Place Farms website for more information or call the farm at (360) 892-3974.
