Give ’em pumpkin to talk about this Halloween in the South Downs!
October 10, 2022
Would you like to pick your own special pumpkin this Halloween?
The South Downs National Park has number of huge pumpkin patches that offer an enchanting experience for all the family this autumn.
Sompting Pumpkins will be opening their field gates at Halewick Lane, offering crafts, tractor rides, local food and drink, and over 70,000 amazing pumpkins of all shapes, varieties and sizes.
At the end of October, any unsold pumpkins will be donated to local soup kitchens, used as animal feed or broken down to use on fields at the farm to increase soil fertility ready for growing more crops and pumpkins in the months ahead.
Caroline Harriott, a tenant farmer who grows pumpkins, said: “Conservation and environmental impact are taken very seriously at our Lychpole site where sustainable farming underpins everything we do.”
Sompting Estate has installed a borehole that supplies most of the farm’s water and planted large areas of wildflowers to attract bumble bees, other insects and wild birds. There are also fallow areas that encourage rare birds, such as the once almost extinct grey partridge.
Meanwhile, Rogate Pumpkin Patch returns for 2022, with pumpkin-themed outdoor events and spooky experiences such as Merlin’s Wood and Dracula’s Estate.
Poynings Pumpkin Patch, near Brighton, will also be offering opportunities to pick your own pumpkin.