| |
CORN MAZES GROWING IN MOUNTAIN STATE
Native Americans called it "maize." But today, you might call it "maze."
This fall, Romney, Milton , Moorefield and Harper's Ferry are home to one of the harvest season's latest crazes - corn mazes.
A corn maze starts out like any other corn field, according John Arnold, III, who operates his family's farm near Romney and is the creator of a maze based on the new West Virginia quarter.
The design was laid out on graph paper and transferred to the field with a measuring wheel. Cutting the initial shape took he and his father about a week, and regular mowing throughout the summer kept the paths clear.
At nearly 1,200 feet in circumference, the maze covers over four acres and takes visitors about an hour to work their way through. After it closes October 30, the corn will be cut and used as feed for the family's 100 cattle.
"We plant just like any other cornfield - when it gets around knee-high we lay it out and mow it," Arnold said of his maze, the second the family has constructed.
Arnold said, at present, the maze primarily serves as a marketing tool for the farm's other produce. "We've always grown pumpkins and sweet corn. We grow 15 acres of sweet corn and have grown as many as 20 acres of pumpkins. We thought the maze would be a good way to get people to the farm to buy pumpkins or Indian corn - people like that stuff for fall decorations," he said. The farm also has a "pick-your-own" garden and a bed and breakfast in a farmhouse that dates to 1770.
"We've got a lot of labor in it and, this time of year, we're tied up every weekend [operating the maze]," he said. "It's not our primary enterprise, but in a few years, who knows."
Arnold said the maze has attracted about 100 people so far, but he expects crowds to increase. "October is the big month for corn mazes," he said. "We've got lots of school and 4-H groups lined up." Like most corn mazes, Arnold Farms offers hay rides, bonfires and refreshments to visitors. For more information, call 304-822-3603, or visit www.lhway.com/arnoldfarm .
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant,
animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory
and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The
Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials
in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the
longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more
information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
|
