Pumpkins

PYO PUMPKINS

WILL RETURN 2024

Vouchers are £3.00 per person plus 50p admin, (adults and children aged 2 and over). This allows access to the pumpkin fields for photo opportunities to admire the spectacle of acres of beautiful pumpkins ( unless as they are sold) and a 20 % discount off the price of pumpkins that you pick ( normally £1.20 per kg .. only 96p per kg with the online voucher) £2.00 per kg  for Squashes , these are the smaller more decorative “pumpkins”

The more you pick the more you save ! 

Our maize maze at Cookham will be open during pumpkin season, and you will be able to purchase tickets at the farm shop or online 

No dogs allowed into the farm, with the exception of guide dogs.

 

GROWING INFORMATION

We plant the pumpkins and squash in Mid May , directly into a prepared seedbed. They are planted about 1.5 cm deep and 0.8 m apart . Germination takes about a week to 10 days, depending on the weather, and then they grow at quite a pace and start flowering in July , lots of male flowers show above the crop canopy , this attracts the bees in to pollinate the female flowers which tend to be at ground level . It is these female flowers that produce the pumpkins for you to “Pick Your Own” from the fields in October.

 PUMPKIN FACTS

  • The name pumpkin comes from the Greek word ‘pepon’, meaning ‘large melon’.
  • The word ‘pumpkin’ showed up for the first time in the fairy tale Cinderella 
  • Scientifically speaking, pumpkins are a fruit (they contain seeds) but when it comes to cooking, they are often referred to as a vegetable.
  • The world’s heaviest pumpkin weighed over 2,600 pounds and was grown in Germany
  • Each pumpkin has about 500 seeds 
  • There are more than 45 different varieties of pumpkin
  • Pumpkins are 90% water, which makes them a low-calorie food

Asparagus

Strawberries

Cherries

Blackcurrants

Raspberries

Peas and Beans

Plums

Apples

Sweetcorn

Pumpkins

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COOKING AND EATING

To prepare your pumpkin, remove stem if required and cut the pumpkin in half from top to bottom. Remove the seeds and stringy bits , making sure to keep the seeds for toasting later, if desired. 

Pumpkins are mainly water so, although you can boil or steam them, this would only increase their moisture content which would mean less flavour. The best way to cook pumpkin is to place both halves cut side on an aluminium foil tray and place in the oven for for around an hour or until soft. This can then be used for soups, pies, muffins or cakes. Another way to cook is to fry the pumpkin and put into pasta and stir-fry dishes.