Drought expected to shrink English pumpkins ahead of Halloween

Mixed · 2Pumpkins on sale in England this Halloween are expected to be smaller than usual after a prolonged drought, and 2026 could prove the worst harvest on record. 1 2 Mixed · 2England has had a dry spell for most of 2026, and pumpkins, which are about 90% water, are particularly vulnerable to it. 1 2 Left · 1Guy Barter, chief horticulturalist at the Royal Horticultural Society, said pumpkins are on the small side this year unless heavily watered, and that the weather stretched their drought tolerance to the limit. 1

Mixed · 2Barter said later heat and drought stress made the fruits ripen earlier than usual, but that dry matter content and rind hardness are excellent, so the crop should store well, although commercial pumpkins become worthless the day after Halloween. 1 2 Left · 1Guy Singh-Watson, founder of organic veg box company Riverford, said it was unsurprising that pumpkins are smaller after such a hot, dry summer, and questioned the national obsession with giant carving pumpkins. 1 Mixed · 2Singh-Watson argued that growing a large, watery squash to throw away after Halloween is hard to justify because of its environmental cost and the waste it creates, and he is selling a box of small squashes, including crown prince, red onion, sweet lightning, futsu and stripetti, urging people to paint a face on a squash and then eat it. 1 2

Mixed · 2Both outlets note that pumpkins came from the Americas and reached Britain in the Tudor period, and that vegetable carving began in 17th-century Britain around the Celtic festival of Samhain, when turnips, celeriac and mangelwurzels were carved to ward off spirits. 1 2 Left · 1Ali Goding, garden manager at RHS Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire, said the garden grew pumpkins in a moisture-retaining compost cake, with fantastic results, and called it a good year because the extra heat helped flavour in a normally cool, damp northern site. 1