The pumpkin can be traced back to Celtic festivals marking the end of summer, when it was used to frighten off evil spirits. Even when the festival was taken to the US some 1,000 years later by Irish colonists, it was banned up until 1880 on religious grounds. Today, Trick or Treat owes its origins to giving food to the poor on All Saints’ Day.
Pumpkins are edible, but in the main have become a decorative part of celebrations on October 31 and running over to Guy Fawkes’ night on November 5, with supermarket displays now taking on a theatrical touch.
Displays to attract children, supported by witches’ hats, broomsticks and bats, special carvings, painting and stencilling sets - even greetings cards - become centre pieces in fresh produce departments and store foyers every October.
And there is plenty of choice. Varieties range from mini fruit, such as Wee Be Little and Munchkin, to Sumo and Atlantic Giant, which need to be moved by a forklift. Sizes in between are the most popular, weighing between two and 10kg, which have evocative names such as Pik-a-Pie, Jack O’Lantern and Ghostrider.
The shape can be round, conical, smooth or ribbed. Hues vary from pale yellow to luminous orange to a deep, burnt amber.
Novelties include white varieties such as Full Moon and Snowman, as well as fruit with red speckled veins, called One Too Many, which looks like a bloodshot eye.
The additional introduction of the most edible varieties, such as Becky and Small Sugar, reflects how the sector continues to segment to provide even wider customer choice. The variations seem endless.
Growing conditions this year appear to have been mixed, although in the main they are a vast improvement on last year, when there were instances when fruit was difficult to colour, even when stored under cover after picking.
Yields were also low. Pumpkin acreage is not defined in tonnes like other crops, but by the number of fruits per acre, which can vary between 2,000 and 5,000.
“Last year was at the lower end of the scale,” says Christian Maltby, farm manager at Barfoots of Botley, which grows around 100 acres across Hampshire, Sussex and on the Isle of Wight.
This year, as Barfoots’ crop is being harvested, the ridged medium-sized range Racer has shown great improvement. Planting began in mid-May and, despite an uneven summer, the high light levels along the South Coast have again proved to be an asset. Some crops have had to be washed in the field, but overall quality and shape is good.
At Barfoots’ offices at Sefter Farm, plans are already being finalised with its retail customers for supporting point-of-sale material, which will be used to individually enhance fruit, as well as the dump bins used on island sites and even in supermarket foyers as the celebration day approaches.
“Sales are still expanding, but production is moving more and more into the hands of specialists,” says Maltby.
“Things are back on course after last season,” agrees Stuart Gibson of Kevley Marketing, which grows some 450a near Wisbech.
This scale of production is a reflection of how demand has expanded. Several producers are really in the big league with field harvesting and washing equipment on the scale of that associated with the US.
Similarly, nearby Oakley Farms began its involvement 20 years ago and now has 300a. Steve Whitworth, sales manager, says yields are average but there is a far better feeling in the industry following last year, while sales are continuing to grow.
To some extent, the jury still seems to be out on choice of variety. “The majority of the industry continues to favour Harvest Moon,” says Whitworth.
But according to Mark Thompson, a director of Dan MacKelden Ltd, there was a seed crop failure of the variety in the US this season. “We have had to use alternatives with which we are less familiar,” he says. “The hope is now that the crop will colour up in store by the end of October.”
On the same side of the vegetable patch, pumpkins and squash are close cousins, with the increased interest in edible varieties reflecting the changing tastes of UK consumers. Less than a generation ago, squash of any sort was hard, if not impossible to find.
Today, butternut in particular is available year round, either in its pristine state looking like a mellow gold light bulb, pre-packed in halves, or sold prepared and diced. Retailers have even hinted that it is taking the place of the marrow.
From late summer through to winter, the choice has grown to include more and more shapes, colours, sizes and tastes. Squashes are certainly now on the British menu, with the potential to provide an almost limitless range.
Some idea of the potential can be seen at this time of year at Surrey-based specialist Tozer Seeds in Cobham, where between 40 to 60 potential varieties or newly adapted strains are annually assessed. Its breeding programme on butternut squash is still regarded as the yardstick by retailers, and is already making a commercial impact.
“Historically, butternut was supplied from the US,” explains Dr Jaime Claxton, who is responsible for research that has taken years of careful screening of traditional varieties.
But as demand increased, it created the opportunity from Mediterranean countries to see an export potential, while today imports are from sources as diverse as Argentina, South Africa, Greece, Brazil and Egypt.
“We were initially looking for a unique hybrid that would adapt to our different weather conditions, was not sensitive to temperature change during pollination and would ripen on a compact plant earlier than butternuts grown here from US seed,” says Claxton. “Then it had to fulfil the criteria of having a small-sized seed cavity to maximise the amount of flesh, have the instantly recognisable light bulb shape with no variations, and the contrasting light beige skin and intense orange flesh. After that, of course, it had to taste good.”
The crop is grown in modules in May, before planting out around the end of the month when frosts have passed. Harvesting of sun-ripened fruit, because the leaves wither, takes place in August. Even naturally cured, it can be stored until March, creating virtually an eight-month season.
Because of climatic conditions, production was previously concentrated in the south of England. But two years ago, Tozer introduced varieties that could mature earlier and be successfully grown in the major agricultural hinterland across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
“Our Butternut Hunter and Butternut Harrier have enjoyed unprecedented seed sales,” confirms Jim Juby, crop specialist at Tozer. “At one stage, we simply ran out. This season, English squash has been on sale in Morrisons since August.”
A sense of the expansion is evident listening to Stuart Melton, a partner in CR Melton & Sons, which farms near King’s Lynn. “We only began to grow butternut and Harlequin squash two years ago,” he reveals, but increasing consumer interest has given the company the confidence to plant 140a.
And the momentum continues, both with selections from across the Atlantic and the development of a seed export trade back to East Coast growers, for whom squashes and pumpkins are as commonplace as 100a plots of cabbages or cauliflower.
Tozer has set the US industry alight with its bush varieties, which allow for a greater density of planting that is easier to control, ripens faster and sustains less damage during harvesting. Tozer American has now been set up in California, to produce and distribute fruit.
“US supermarkets have even changed their specifications in line with UK requirements,” adds Juby. “Instead of selling seeds by the kilo, we are now getting orders by the pallet load.”
The two-way traffic continues, with new, sweeter varieties selected in the US by associate breeder Rupp Seeds making their appearance last year at Tozer’s open days and already creating great interest.
“Most squashes have a brix reading of around nine to 10 per cent, but newcomers can be as high as 16 per cent. Apart from their taste, they are less fibrous and suitable for both the fresh and processed markets,” reports Juby.
With some 750 known varieties, it is not surprising that many others are becoming available. Some need what Juby calls “60 days of Mediterranean sunshine” from germination to harvesting, and these tend to have softer skins.
The spaghetti squash, so named because of the manner in which the flesh shreds when cooked, first became commercially available from Israel some 20 years ago.
Green Ribbed acorn squashes live up to their name and have firmer, light orange flesh. The Gem is no bigger than a tennis ball, while the mottled brown, yellow and green Harlequin, Festival and Celebration look positively psychedelic.
Kabocha is best known on the other side of the world. Its golden orange flesh, high in protein as well as vitamins, and flavour reminiscent of chestnuts has led it to be regarded as a gourmet product in Japan, where it originated; it was then developed in Australia and New Zealand. The dry texture makes it ideal for roasting or as a thickening agent.
Interest was initially centred on the dark green-skinned variety, which has lighter green stripping, but more recently the availability of a medium-sized bright red-orange strain, which is being grown by Barfoots this year, is showing promise.
Then for something completely different, there is the aptly named Turks’ Turban, which nature has designed like a cottage loaf and is also popular as a table decoration.
But ahead of them all and regarded by gourmets as something special is Crown Prince, which defies the usual colour pattern as it is a smoky grey-blue, with orange flesh.
According to Ralph Upton of CR Upton, Crown Prince is the best of all, and he should know. His displays grown in his walled garden, greenhouse and nearby field in the West Sussex village of Slinfold have earned him the name locally of “Mr Pumpkin”. His roadside displays have been a dazzling mass of shapes and colours for over 35 years, comprising more than 55 varieties grown from 15,000 seeds.
The commercial downside is that the variety tends to be large, weighing in at around six to eight kilos, and is often even too substantial for the catering trade.
But Juby says that progress is being made. “The aim is to ultimately produce a fruit weighing between one and 1.5kg, which can find room on the retail shelf and become more customer friendly,” he says. “And there is already a more tailored variation called Confection going through the trial stage.”
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