Pumpkin patches of the Chilterns

The tradition of carving scary faces into vegetables to light the way for good spirits dates back to the Celts.

People would carve faces into turnips and place them near doors or in windows to scare away evil spirits and Stingy Jack.

The legend of Stingy Jack is based around a man who tricked the Devil into letting him go after trapping him several times. When Jack eventually died, Heaven didn’t want his soul either because of his sinful lifestyle, so he was forced to wander the Earth as a ghost. The Devil gave Jack a burning lump of coal in a carved-out turnip to light his way.

In modern times carving a pumpkin, rather than a turnip, has become a go-to activity for many families to keep the kids entertained at half term, and leaving a lit pumpkin outside the front door on hallowe’en itself signals that the house is happy to receive trick-or-treaters.

As the carving of pumpkins has become more popular, demand has risen; in tandem with the desire to support local farmers and producers, pumpkin patches spring up each autumn where members of the public can buy pumpkins and squashes (as well as take instagrammable photos and selfies, of course).

One such pumpkin patch operates from Christmas Tree Farm, Chesham, in the heart of the Chilterns. Jakki and Robert began selling pumpkins 12 years ago, expanding what was previously a hobby of theirs. The inherent unpredictability of the British weather added an element of risk to proceedings, as is faced by all our farmers, but their pumpkin farm is going strong over a decade on.

All the pumpkins are grown in their own fields, and harvesting is a family and friends affair, after which trailer loads of pumpkins, squashes and gourds of all shapes and sizes make their way the short distance to the pumpkin patch. Growing locally means that the pumpkins are fresher – at peak season they harvest daily (supermarket supplies tend to be harvested weeks or even months before) – and small-scale growers tend to use fewer pesticides and herbicides meaning the pumpkins are better for you and the environment.

For Jakki, its seeing the fruition of many months of hard work that gives her satisfaction; she loves “all the autumn colours, the obvious change of season in the nature all around the farm, and of course meeting and chatting with all of our customers and their families when they visit”.

Jakki and Robert would like to welcome you from 19 October until they run out of stock, so don’t delay.  Seasonal fancy dress is very welcome!

Pumpkin patches are popping up all over the Chilterns. See our map below for locations of more pumpkin patches, and do tag @chilternsnl in your photos if you visit any! We’d love to see them!