'Our Halloween pumpkin crop has completely failed'

Farmers running pumpkin patches across the East Midlands have said weather conditions have meant a poorer yield than last year ahead of Halloween.

The BBC spoke to a number of farmers across the region who report a mixed picture - with many who said the number of pumpkins was down or crops that had failed completely.

Farmers said a wet and cold spring during planting season was the main reason for the poor numbers.

Jo Belcher, whose family has run March House Farm in Great Dalby, Leicestershire, for four generations, said: "Normally at this time of year, there would be a sea of orange."

Ms Belcher said some of the seeds started to grow flowers and vines, with hope the pumpkins would arrive a little later than planned - but no fruits came.

This year has been the first in eight years in which no pumpkins have grown.

She said the seeds "went into hibernation" due to the chilly spring.

"It is the weather and the conditions that they've tried to grow in - we've had a whole crop failure," she said.

"Normally at this time of year, there would be a sea of orange with a field full of pumpkins, ready for everybody to enjoy for half-term, but unfortunately this year the fruits of our labour have not arrived."

Charlie Village - who runs Village Pumpkin Patch in Derbyshire - said it managed to avoid the "worst-case scenario", but "feared the worst" at the time of planting.

He said he was "surprised they have as many as they do", after "horrible weather" in the spring.

"The weather battered a lot of the plants when they went in the fields.

"We were 50% down on plants but the ones that have survived have done really well," he added.

Mr Village said farming in general in recent months had been "absolutely terrible" and margins on many crops were "tight".

Emma Curtis, director of Kirkby Pumpkin Patch - situated about 10 miles east of Leicester - said they were "significantly down" on pumpkins but planted a bigger area for this year.

"It's been a lot worse than last year - last year was very good but this year has been very small in comparison," she said.

"There's less pumpkins, a lot of them flowered late – it's been because of cold, wet weather.

"We're making it work, but it's not been a good year for growing at all."

She added the site had not scaled back the opening days for people to pick pumpkins, but it might do "depending on the upcoming weather".

"We definitely have pumpkins but last year we had so many because of the warm spring but this year, not so much," she added.

But it has been a different story for Nottinghamshire "Pick Your Own" Pumpkins, near Oxton.

Partner Mark Hodkinson said it had a "good crop", and were all set to open to the public for picking.

"The weather does play a massive part but it's also how you grow them," he said.

"Last year was a great crop of pumpkins but the weather at picking time was bad.

"We play roulette every year - the trouble is you can get a brilliant amount of pumpkins, and then the weather is awful when people come to pick them. It's swings and roundabouts."

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the times that people planted in the spring had been crucial this year, due to the wet weather conditions.

An NFU spokesman added: "Those who have been able to make the most of breaks in the extreme weather have been able to ensure there should not be shortages of pumpkins this Halloween.

"But pumpkin growers are experiencing similar problems to farmers growing food in various sectors, who are dealing with the impact of climate change, and it has been a challenging time for farmers and growers across the country.

"Other members growing pumpkins for shops and supermarkets will also be keeping a close eye on the impact of the weather on their farms as they look to harvest their crops."

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