Britons to carve smaller pumpkins this Halloween after ‘worst harvest on record’

This year's harvest may prove to be the worst ever recorded, as growers found it near-impossible to keep their crops adequately watered.

Pumpkins, which consist of roughly 90 per cent water, are particularly vulnerable to such conditions.

Originally from the Americas, the vegetable first arrived on British shores during the Tudor era in the 16th century.

Guy Singh-Watson, who founded the organic vegetable box firm Riverford, told The Guardian: "After such an extraordinarily hot, dry summer, it's not surprising that Halloween pumpkins are smaller than usual as they are mostly water.

"But perhaps it's time we questioned our obsession with giant carving pumpkins in the first place."

The Royal Horticultural Society's chief horticulturalist, Guy Barter, confirmed this season has pushed even these relatively hardy plants beyond their limits.

He said: "Pumpkins are on the small side this year unless heavily watered. Such drought makes watering sufficiently very difficult to accomplish in practice. Pumpkins are relatively drought-tolerant, but this year the weather stretched their tolerance to the limit."

Mr Barter noted the later heat and moisture stress did cause the fruits to mature ahead of schedule.

He added: "Their dry matter content and rind hardness are both excellent so the crop should store well, although commercial pumpkins become worthless the day after Halloween.

"That's a pity as they make lovely soups until the new year when the much tastier winter squashes take over."

Some are now urging a return to older British customs rather than lamenting the lack of oversized orange gourds.

The tradition of carving vegetables at this time of year stretches back to 17th-century Britain, when people marked the Celtic festival of Samhain — a night when spirits were believed to walk the Earth.

In those days, it was root vegetables like turnips, celeriac and mangelwurzels that were fashioned into ghoulish faces, thought by some to repel malevolent spirits.

Mr Singh-Watson said: "I've enjoyed growing pumpkins before, they're a lovely crop, but the idea of growing something that's going to be thrown away has become increasingly difficult to justify.

"Growing any crop comes with an environmental cost, and generating a mountain of waste without feeding anyone makes little sense."

The Riverford founder has instead been cultivating a range of smaller, vibrant squash varieties — including crown prince, red onion, sweet lightning, futsu and stripetti — which he is offering in mixed boxes.

He said: "This time of the year should be a celebration of the wonderful abundance of seasonal vegetables that see us through autumn and winter.

"Squash come in an extraordinary variety of shapes, sizes and colours, and offer just as much decorative potential, with considerably more flavour. Let's paint a face on a squash instead and then eat it."

Meanwhile, some growers have been experimenting with inventive techniques to overcome the drought's effects.

Ali Goding, garden manager at RHS Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire, said: "Pumpkins struggle to grow in heavy clay soil during drought conditions, so the team at RHS garden Harlow Carr have trialled a new, novel way to grow pumpkins this year in a compost cake which helps retain moisture, humidity and warmth and the results have been fantastic while also benefiting wildlife."

She added: "Normally we are a bit cool, damp and too far north for them to develop a full flavour so the extra heat worked out well for us. A good year!"