A north-east pumpkin patch has celebrated its “best growing season to date” after a summer of sun.
Udny Pumpkins is one of Scotland’s most northerly pumpkin patches, and has this year enjoyed its most successful growing season with more than 5,000 pumpkins ready to harvest.
Opening for its fifth year, thousands of people will visit the field next month to pick out their Halloween pumpkin.
Growing pumpkins in Scotland can be challenging
Pumpkins traditionally grow in sunny climates, as a result, growing them in the north of Scotland can be challenging.
Owner Jenny Fyall said: “That really warm sunny climate you get in certain parts of America is ideal for pumpkins. They like dry conditions, they don’t like too much wind and they absolutely hate growing in boggy ground that’s wet.
“Occasionally, we get perfect conditions in the north of Scotland but it’s quite unusual because obviously we do get our fair share of rain and wind and wet conditions.
“My place is actually in quite a windy spot, we’ve got a few wind turbines around us so it’s not the easiest environment to grow them in.”
This year the pumpkins have thrived and Mrs Fyall believes this is because of warm weather at the beginning of summer when the plants first went out in the field.
The sunny spell we recently enjoyed in the north-east has also helped them ripen and go orange earlier than usual.
Mrs Fyall said: “It’s just the weather, the weather Gods have been in my favour this year which is so nice. I normally have a bit of a panic all through the growing season because it can be a bit stressful growing pumpkins this far north.”
Visiting the pumpkin patch
Udny Pumpkins is a ticketed event allowing people to roam around the field picking their Halloween pumpkin.
Not all the pumpkins on the patch are orange, Mrs Fyall has grown white ones, green coloured ones and even blue pumpkins in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The patch is also home to animals that people can interact with when they visit, including bottle-fed sheep who enjoy being petted and baby chicks.
Mrs Fyall said that this year more local businesses will be involved in the patch, such as a candlemaker selling pumpkin-spiced candles and a florist arranging flower displays in pumpkins.
There is a bee hive next to the field and the producers will be selling pumpkin patch honey.
A local photographer will also be doing photoshoots of people enjoying picking their Halloween pumpkin.
Mrs Fyall added: “The idea is people just get to sort of roam around and see the animals and it’s meant to be a really nice wholesome experience to enjoy.”