Yes, We’re Corny
Sentimental favorite Gisler Farms open again
The opening of Gisler Farms, on the corner of Newcomb Street and Olive Avenue in Porterville, must have been highly anticipated, because even before the opening time of 9 a.m. on Friday morning, cars and people were lined up ready to collect their bags of corn.
The line of cars had stretched nearly to the Veterans Memorial Building well before 9 a.m. rolled around, and the line of people was almost out to the street.
Gisler Farms, a family owned business, has been a staple in the community for more than three decades. Their sweet corn cobs are sought after by the community, even when it isn’t in season. This year, Gisler Farms is offering more than just corn. On Friday, they had several bins filled with golden and green zucchinis, and talk of tomatoes and string beans coming at a later date this season has been circulating.
“We just didn’t know with COVID how it was all going to transpire,” said Kim Gisler. “Luckily they started opening things back up. We are loaded with wipes, hand sanitizers, sprays, and we’re trying to make it as safe as possible for
our customers. With our zucchinis, we’re not letting customers touch them. We will pre-bag them that way there’s no germs from everybody else.”
With more than a dozen employees working to help opening day run smoothly, every hand under the Gisler Farms tents were busy. From checking the quality of the corn and bagging it, to taking customers money, to loading each customers purchase into their cars, there was plenty of work to go around.
With what seemed to be an endless amount of customers, Gisler shared her hopes for their 35th season.
“My son just turned 34 today, and we started this when he was just a week old, so this would be our 35th season,” said Gisler. “I hope that we have good weather, because the heat really is hard on the corn, not to mention on the employees. When we get those high temps, it definitely will effect how the corn is developing. You can start getting spaces down at the bottom and dry tips.”
But there were plenty of employees on quality control, checking each husk for the best cobs, before gently bagging them by the bakers dozen. Some customers were so excited to purchase their corn they were buying multiple bags. One customer even purchased more than a dozen bags of corn. It’s hard to resist purchasing multiple bags of the sweet corn with a price of just $7 per bakers dozen (13).
There should be no worries though, as there’s plenty of corn to go around. Gisler shared the sales will continue for nearly a month, and Gisler Farms will be open six days a week, Monday through Saturday.
“We appreciate everybody waiting in line,” said Gisler. “We have very good customers, ones that we’ve had for 35 years.”
Drive-thru and walkup services are available. Face coverings won’t be required but social distancing will be implemented. Those who are using drive-thru service need to enter on the westside from Olive Avenue.
To keep up with the latest news about Gisler Farms, follow them on Facebook and Instagram,
where they can be found by searching for “Gisler Sweet Corn.”