Pimp your pumpkin if it’s too small to carve, drought-hit farmers say

Image caption, Georgia Tame, at Bells's Pumpkin Patch, Lincolnshire, where dry weather has led to smaller pumpkins

East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire rural affairs correspondentPublished16 minutes agoHalloween fans are being encouraged to "pimp" their pumpkins if they are too small to carve following the summer drought.

Free paints, plastic teeth and glitter are being offered at one popular event in Lincolnshire, to make smaller gourds more appealing.

In East Yorkshire, meanwhile, growers said constant watering had "saved" their crop from shrivelling, but at a financial cost.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) said smaller squashes represented a "valuable opportunity" to help young Halloween fans understand the role of weather in growing crops.

July 2026 was the driest for England and Wales since records began 190 years ago, according to Met Office data.

Scarce rainfall coupled with extreme temperatures meant pumpkins had not developed "as big as we would have liked", according to Tim Mcleod-Rice, from Bell's Pumpkin Patch, near Boston, Linconshire.

Mcleod-Rice said it was a case of "spot the pumpkin" in some parts of their 40-acre plot, which was planted with pumpkins for their annual Halloween event.

However, based on current ticket sales, size appears not to matter to visitors, with the attraction expecting 25,000 to attend.

Image caption, School pupils decorated these "munchkin" pumpkins at Bell's Pumpkin Patch

Mcleod-Rice said the "pimp your pumpkin" tent was proving particularly popular.

Staff have painted pumpkins as clowns, monsters and even Punch and Judy to give families crafting ideas.

Georgia Tame, a member of staff at the event, said it was proving to be "fun, magical and a real family occasion".

A pumpkin cannon game is another way the landowners are making use of the smaller fruits.

A drought was declared in Lincolnshire on 13 August and farmer Andrew Mottram said thousands of pumpkins in one of his fields were "about a third of the size that they should be".

The Coleby grower said it represented a loss of "probably ten thousand pounds" in pick-your-own income, which was "very frustraring".

Image caption, Andrew Mottram with one of his largest pumpkins. His farm has diversified with a maze and woodland walk to attract visitors

However, Mottram said there were still thousands of pumpkins ready for picking, because his family "spread the risk" across multiple fields and those on lower ground had received more water.

A woodland walk, maize maze and café are among other ways that Mottram's family have diversified their event to entice visitors.

Not all growers have seen their crops shrivel, but saving them can be costly, reducing profits.

Josh Wilson said an irrigation system "unique to pumpkins" saved his crop of 50,000 from shrivelling in East Yorkshire.

"The drought and the heat have been really challenging," admitted Wilson, who runs Scalby Grange Pick Your Own, in Gilberdyke.

Josh and his father, Pat Wilson, buried "trickle tape" with the pumpkin seeds, a system that feeds a constant supply of hydration.

"We're on mains water," explained Josh, "so it costs us quite a lot".

Stephen Shields, a spokesperson for the NFU, admitted that while individual fruits might be smaller than usual, "there should still be plenty of British pumpkins available for carving and including in meal ideas this Halloween".

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire or Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

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