Tonight’s the night for staff at Manor Farm Park as they mark the end of four months of hard work, planting and pruning getting pumpkins ready for Halloween.
Manor Farm Park and Woodlands in East Leake is one of the few places where pumpkins are grown organically from seed to harvest.
Jordan St Germain, chief operations officer, said each pumpkin takes around 90 to 120 days to reach maturity, depending on the variety and the weather.
“The whole process is a beautiful kind of chaos.”
Jordan St Germain, Manor Park and Farm
Sowing begins in late spring once the soil has warmed, and by early autumn the fields start to grow with colour, provided they’ve managed to dodge the worst of the slugs and the summer droughts.
Jordan added: “The whole process is a beautiful kind of chaos.”
Jordan said the hardest part is the uncertainty. A late frost, a dry spell, or a swarm of slugs can undo months of work. Without quick fixes and being 100 per cent organic, the process is slow and unpredictable.
“It’s a constant dance with nature and sometimes she leads.”
Over the years a distinct “pumpkin aesthetic” has emerged, from home decor trends to the broader “autumn core”. Pumpkins have become short for cosy, wholesome and nostalgic, an image opposite to the natural and organic chaos of the actual pumpkin fields.
The latest autumn craze… The pumpkin patch. From countryside fields to authentic farm experiences, people travel miles for the perfect selfie destination. What was once a simple harvest tradition has become a seasonal takeover and the ultimate backdrop for social media feeds.
But beneath the photos and pumpkin spice aesthetic, growers like Manor Park and Farm see something bigger.
“Pumpkins have turned into a trend not a crop. People forget the care, the seasonality, the soil. “We’re not just selling a vibe, we’re growing food, nurturing land and inviting people into that story.
“There’s a real push to be ‘Instagramable’. And while we want it to feel special, I never want to lose the honesty of the land, mud happens and so crooked pumpkins. That’s part of the charm.”
The tradition of carving root vegetables dates back hundreds of years in Ireland and part of Britain, long before pumpkins were common in Europe. Before pumpkins became the symbol of Halloween and the classic carving choice, people would carve turnips, swedes, squashes.
