A special thanks to everyone who participated and came out for the Giant Pumpkin Drop on Saturday! We raised money with our awareness building “Smash Out Cancer” campaign for the Starke County and Marshall County Cancer Associations. We are also excited about the donations collected for the Community Services of Starke County Food Pantry Program!

Check out photos from the pumpkin drop.

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Special thanks to Jayme Goetz, www.photographybyjayme.com/ for capturing the event in photos and on video!

For the pumpkin drop, Custom Tower Service provided the crane. The operator was Jay Stone.

The food collected for Community Services of Starke County, Food Pantry was 325 pounds.

The money collected for Community Services of Starke County, Food Pantry was $725.00.

Jack Bell auctioned off the right to pull the rope for the pumpkin drop on the Ford Escort and raised $525.00 (of the $725 total) that went to Starke County Community Services. The successful bidder was Bennett Farms.

The Smashing out Cancer collected $120.00 to be evenly divided between Starke County Relay for Life, and Marshall County Cancer Society.

We’re pleased that so many children have entered our Fall Coloring Contest so far. If you haven’t entered yet, there’s still time. Bring your entry in to our Fall Decorations barn by October 31st for your chance to win a Christmas tree!

Get all of the details on our Fall Coloring Contest page.

Awesome tractors, lots of fun! Thanks to all who participated! Check out the photos from the Wheel Horse trail ride.

Our cruise in was a vintage car extravaganza! We really enjoyed the day with all of the participants who rolled into Hensler’s with their classic cars. There were so many beautifully restored cars, and as a result, a lot of winners!

Here are the results:

Special Interest
Larry Evans
Michigan City, IN with his1948 Willy’s Jeepster Convertible

Best Paint
Tim Egger
Walkerton, IN

Best Interior
O H Noble
Hamlet, IN with a 1972 Chevy Nova

Best Engine
Scot & Zach Bortell
Knox, IN with their 1968 Dodge Dart

Best of Show
Chase Barkley
Knox, IN

Oooh! Aah! Aaaah-some. Hensler’s third annual Giant Pumpkin contest wasn’t a disappointment. Entries came from Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio. The winner was Jeff Zoellner from Clayton, OH who brought the winning 1,198 lb. pumpkin. Second place winner was Sam Durst of Sidney, OH with a pumpkin weighing 1,076 lbs.

Local grower Phyllis Howard of Grovertown, IN joined the 1,000 lb. club by bringing a pumpkin weighing 1,001.5 lbs. Fourth place was John Barenie of Griffith, IN with his 962 lb. pumpkin. In sixth place, Alan Kopp of Genoa City, WI brought a 860.5 lb. pumpkin.

Click here to see the full list of winners and participants.

Photos from the 2010 Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off

In addition, this year featured other large vegetables. Tom Beachy, Fort Wayne, IN brought an 87 inch long gourd which earned a first place and also a 2.2 lb. tomato which placed first. Steve Haberman of Warsaw had a first place award with a 12 1/2 inch sunflower head.

Other awards included a 1st place for Jeff Zoellner, of Clayton, OH for his 82.5 lb. field pumpkin. Also winning a 1st place was Roger Howard, Grovertown, IN with a watermelon weighing 116.5 lbs.

The fall weather at Hensler’s Fall Fest was agreeable and attendance was up for this third annual weigh-in. Fall Fest continues through October with horse-pulled wagon rides to the pumpkin patch, fire pit rentals, and fall decorations including pumpkins, gourds, mums, asters, straw and corn stalks.

We like to amp up the ambiance of our farm during Fall Fest with a little fall decorating. This year we’ve relied on the talent we have here at Hensler’s to add some new creative displays. We like to combine the rustic farm atmosphere and hand-crafted items to create something unique. Check out our covered wagons, rustic pumpkin displays and little witch’s fun house.

Sharpen the knives, make some sketches and and get ready to put a few glowing gourds out on the front porch. That’s right, Halloween is on its way and that can only mean one thing: it’s pumpkin carving time!

Fortunately, we can supply you with the pumpkins. Take a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch or choose a pretty pre-picked pumpkin during Hensler’s Fall Fest. We have the raw materials you need, so rely on your creativity to carve up a few truly terrifying jack o’lanterns.

Need a little pumpkin carving inspiration? No problem! Check out this gourd gallery:

Check out our photos from the Marshall County Blueberry Festival. We entered our Fall Fest float and were awarded the President’s and Judge’s awards for the second year in a row!

We also took some video footage of our entry. You can see it here.

We were asked to decorate the amphitheater again this year in Centennial Park for the Blueberry Festival!

The left side of the amphitheater features our fall display: flowers, pumpkins, and hand crafted figures. The center column is graced with an 11′ sunflower. The grasses add motion as they catch any available breeze. The pumpkins add brightness. The red mums hint at the coming fall season.

The Pilgrim and the Indian character and all the display will return to Hensler Nursery at the conclusion of the Blueberry Festival and become part of the Fall Fest where it’s Fall! All Over the Place! Like all of our decorations, they are carefully crafted and painted by our local crafter, Donna Stanley, who always imparts a whimsical flair to her creations.

The 1106# pumpkin is the winner from the Indiana State Fair. It is on loan to Hensler’s and is part of the decor’ at the Amphitheater.