Gardens & Orchards Norm Lehne

We are proud to have the support of many of our students’ grandparents. Norm Lehne is grandfather to the Kroeker children. Alongside his recently deceased and beloved wife, Cinda, Norm has run a Garden Valley farm for 52 years (though he emphasized that he’s only 25).

Norm Lehne Garden and Orchards began in 1974, shortly after Norm returned from serving his country in the United States Air Force. Lehne’s father, Myron Lehne, suggested that Norm start a U-pick on a 3-acre walnut orchard that had suffered from the freeze of ’72, so Norm cleared the ground and began his business. He also went back to school at UCC to study everything he could that was related to farming, from accounting to welding. Norm and Cinda got enough money to live on, and after a short time his father said “Why don’t you try some u-pick peaches?”

Back then the best advertising was through the News Review, and Norm and Cinda advertised and were sometimes featured in the classifieds. The headline read “Salad Sprouts in Garden Valley” and word got out. The morning they were to open their u-pick peaches, the line of cars stretched clear out to the road. At that time they had no fences or gates, and as soon as they were open and people were picking, cars began to pull off to the side of the road and people ran across to get their boxes filled. One gentleman said that he had driven all the way from Day’s Creek, arriving at 8:05am, and all the peaches were already gone. Norm had opened at 8am! Soon, Lehne was tearing out 7-8 more acres of walnut orchards to plant more peaches. To this day, their peaches bring in customers from as far away as Brookings and Medford. Alongside his candy store corn, the 49ers peaches are his best seller.

But Norm grows much more than just peaches and corn. Thirty-two acres of Oregon’s world-famous hazelnuts are sold internationally. Watered by well, their u-pick gardens are full of produce that is cultivated with experience and care. The tomatoes are all carefully staked up so that tomatoes grow perfect without touching the ground. Peppers grow in rows as sweet as Mild Cubanelle or as spicy as Thai-Hot. Beans, cabbage, broccoli, beets, carrots, squashes, cucumbers, and more, all grown with the 50+ years of experience, and then some, if you consider that Norm is a second-generation farmer of his land.

You can also find apple, pear, and nectarine orchards. You just can’t find walnuts. No more walnuts! Of all their former orchards, Lehne farms only has one tree left. And in Norm’s words, “That’s one tree too many!” But when pressed, he even gives great advice on how to harvest walnuts.

A visit to Lehne farms (opens in a new tab) tells even more of the story. It is truly inspiring to see old trees still producing because of such care, and old farm equipment that continues to run because old-school farmers keep them alive and around. Norm farms along with his brother Ray and his son Glen, and has many grandchildren and friends working with him. Like Norm himself, the farm is truly fruitful in its old age. And Lehne is a big fan of Geneva. In his words:

Norm Lehne Garden and Orchards no longer advertises with a newspaper. Not yet an old dog, Lehne has learned quite a few new tricks, and among them is Mailchimp. If you want to catch the next u-pick peaches or get insider information on what’s happening at the farm, visit normlehnefarm.com (opens in a new tab) to sign up for email updates.