UK heatwave wipes out this year’s pumpkin picking season

Why the UK heatwave has hit pumpkin farms so hard

This has been a notable harvest for Suffolk farmer Andrew King, who usually grows 10,000 pumpkins, compared to this year's yield where he managed just 25.

King is one of dozens of UK growers scaling back pumpkin picking this autumn, but a run of heatwaves and months of drought crushed this year's crop.

Wales and most of England spent parts of the summer in official drought, with dry grounds stopping many pumpkin plants from growing full size.

The drought followed weeks of speculation about whether a September heatwave was on the way.

"Most years, I'm growing 10,000 pumpkins. This year, I've gotten 25," King says.

"It is just that bad," he adds. "We could just see the pumpkins dying."

Laura Brady runs Wonky Parsnip Farm, based in Faversham, Kent.

She has cancelled pumpkin picking there entirely this year, saying: "We're not even going to open up this year, and it's really gutting because pumpkin picking is our favourite thing to do."

What next for UK pumpkin farms

Brady says the drought has made her rethink more than pumpkins.

"We will try again next year, but with these droughts, it's definitely made us think about what we're going to do in the future, not just with pumpkins, but across the whole farm," she added.

According to the Independent, farms across the country are facing similar losses this autumn.

Heatwaves and a long summer drought killed pumpkin crops before they could be picked. Farmers such as Andrew King and Laura Brady lost almost their entire harvest.