Like so many of Love Local friends, farming is in the roots for Schulte Family Farm. Growing up on a family farm in Pandora, Ohio, Luke Schulte and his seven siblings all contributed at the farm, including at his family roadside markets. His wife Becky was raised on a row-crop grain farm not far from their current location in Cedarville, Ohio. It’s no surprise, then, that the couple with their three children, Ellie, Ben, and Ana, perform nearly all the work that goes into growing pumpkins and watermelon at Schulte Family Farm. This includes weeding, irrigating crops, and transplanting plants to fields. They even manage their own roadside wagon for farmside sales.

Ensuring top picks from the patch means leaning into their past experiences of being raised on farms but also taking chances and trusting the science behind soil and crop management (Luke is a full-time agronomist, after all). For example, in 2023 they started planting in standing cereal rye to protect the pumpkins. They were met with several unique challenges with this approach, but the end result was worth it with more attractive pumpkins that shine. 

Luke first came to me two years ago and we had a wonderful conversation. We went over the seeds and varieties to see what was a good fit for DLM—I had no idea there were so many beautiful variations! And once you see the myriad of colors, textures, shapes, and even stems, it's hard not to fall in love with Schulte Family Farm pumpkins. So, come play in our pumpkin patch because the greatest pumpkins have arrived at DLM!