The pumpkins are ready for picking at sites across North and East Yorkshire.
Among them, the well-known Spilmans at Church Farm, Sessay, south of Thirsk, is promising new attractions for this year.
The Spilman family has been farming there since 1941, when Tom’s grandfather bought the farm.
The farm began growing pumpkins eight years ago as a means of diversification.
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It began with an initial 10,000 pumpkins, but such was demand, the harvest has grown to 125,000 pumpkins over more than 30 acres.
Tom said: “We wanted to make some more money and saw and opportunity.”
Now, pumpkins are a vital part of the farm business, which also has asparagus, strawberries, arable crops, plus sheep and cattle.
Overall, the farm offers 30 different varieties of various shapes and sizes, some perfect for soup and roasting, others ideal for carving or just looking pretty.
They come in orange, green, yellow, blue, warty, stripey, plus there are gourds and squashes.
Tom said: “We have two varieties that are very good for eating- rouge de temps and a blue variety the name I am not sure of. The rest can be eaten but are not as sweet.”
Spilmans opened its Pumpkin Festival last weekend. It will take place every weekend this month and from October 25 to October 31.
Tom said: “There loads of activitiesL a Wizfords Academy of Witches and wizards, skelebones disco, bale mountain, tractor and trailer rides, barrel train, spooky walk, giant pipe rollin, marshmallow toasting, corn cannon, pumpkin slingshot, BB gun range.”
In addition, the farm also offers wood fired pizzas, a café and street food.
New this year is the marshmallow toasting, a bb machine gun range, the academy of witches and wizards, plus the Skelebones fancy dress disco.
Whilst the weather for Friday and Saturday is forecast to be fine, rain is predicted Sunday.
Tom said: “Harvest has been average the cold and wet weather in June and July was very unhelpful.
Either way, he urges pumpkin pickers to go to his www.spilmans.co.uk and book, saying tickets are selling out fast.
And if you fancy a second pumpkin patch after Spilmans, nearby is Yorkshire Pumpkins at Lodge Farm, Cundall Yorkshire Pumpkins - PYO Pumpkin Patch.
Run by Rob and Jen Barker, it has been offering pumpkins since 2018, with 30,000 pumpkins in 35 varieties.
Other pumpkin picking patches open for business include: The Balloon Tree, Stamford Bridge Road, Gate Helmsley (ww.theballoontree.co.uk); Castle Howard (www.caslehoward.co.uk); Stockeld Park, near Wetherby (www.stockeldpark.co.uk); William’s Den, Castle Farm, Wold Hill (www.williamsden.co.uk); Piglets Adventure Park Pumpkin Festival, Towthorpe Grange, Towthorpe Moor Lane, Towthorpe (www.pigletsadventurefarm.com); Humble Bee’s Pumkin Patch, Humble Bee Farm, Flixton, Scarborough (www.humblebeefarm.co.uk); Kemps Farm, Barton-Le-Street, Malton (www.kemps.farm); Pop Up Patch, Sutton-in-the-Forest; Halloween Spooktacular at Monk Park Farm, Monk Park Farm Visitor Attraction, Green Ln, Thirsk (www.monkparkfarm.co.uk), Bert’s Barrow Farm, Hillam (www.bertsbarrow.co.uk)
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