What started with a couple of thousand pumpkins has grown into five acres of crops, a Haunted Trail around Balgone Lakes and a team of around 30 people on event days. We visited Balgone Estate three days before opening after a difficult growing season.
Three days before Balgone Pumpkins opens to the public, the estate is still in the final push to get everything ready.
It is a windy October day, although the paths around Balgone Lakes are dry. Halloween figures are dotted through the woods, witches stand beside the water and parts of the Haunted Trail are still being finished. At the Crooked Cauldron beside the lake, the marshmallow stop is being completed ahead of the first visitors arriving on Friday.
Close to the entrance, the pumpkin fields are ready.
We caught up with Alex Humphreys, General Manager at Balgone Estate, to find out how an event that began with a few thousand pumpkins has developed over seven years.
From a small patch to five acres
Balgone first opened its pumpkin patch in 2020.
The first crop was only a couple of thousand pumpkins, much of the work was done by hand and the Halloween trail was considerably smaller.
“We went into it without any real expectations,” Alex told us. “We thought we’d try it and see how it went.”
“It was really well received in that first year, and that made us want to do it again and make it better.”
Seven years later, Balgone grows pumpkins and squashes across around five acres, split between different parts of the farm.
Frost, weeds and a difficult growing season
This year has not been straightforward.
An early frost struck after planting, leaving the young plants vulnerable. With the crop already under stress, the team could not take the mechanical weeder through the field without risking further damage.
The weeds then got ahead of them.
“We got hit by frost after planting, which was a bit of a headache,” Alex said. “Because the pumpkins were so fragile after the frost, we couldn’t get the weeder through the crop, and then the weeds got away from us.”
Balgone has since invested in new infrastructure, including a borehole. Alex hopes next year they can return to growing their full crop of around 70,000 pumpkins.
For this October, more work has gone into the experience surrounding the patch.
Building the Haunted Trail
The pumpkin patch sits close to the entrance, while the Haunted Trail continues for around 1.8km through woodland and around Balgone Lakes.
A graveyard, spider tunnel, witches and lakeside marshmallow stop are spread throughout the route, with parts of the trail built and developed on the estate itself.
“The graveyard is always a good one,” Alex said. “I enjoy making the different things as well. Every year we try to build one big new structure.”
Walking the route three days before opening, some sections look ready for visitors while elsewhere the final jobs are still being worked through.
Alongside the pumpkin patch and Haunted Trail, there is face painting, a food village, the Lakeside Cabin, Herd café and Balgone’s own farm-to-fork BBQ.
Halloween, while the farm keeps going
Balgone does not stop being a working farm when pumpkin season arrives.
Around five people work full-time across the farm, with three or four particularly focused on preparing the event during the final couple of weeks.
“We all work on the farm, so you’re jumping between jobs,” Alex said. “At the moment we’re focusing on pumpkins while also drilling the winter crops.”
Once the gates open, around 30 people can be involved in running the event on busy days.
The farm itself remains part of what visitors see. Pigs are kept on the estate and information around the pumpkin patch explains more about how the crop is grown and the wider farming year.
“There’s an agricultural side to it as well,” Alex said. “It’s great for children to get out onto a farm and understand a little bit more about where things come from.”
Then the gates open
Months of growing and weeks of preparation do not necessarily lead to a calm first morning.
“The first day always has a few teething issues,” Alex said. “Someone breaks something or something doesn’t quite work, so there’s usually a bit of toing and froing while you find your feet.”
The weather brings another variable.
The paths were dry when we visited, but an outdoor October event spread across fields, woodland and lakeside paths can change quickly with the conditions.
“The weather plays a massive role,” Alex said. “If it’s very wet, that changes things completely.”
Once visitors arrive, attention turns to everything from keeping the café and BBQ stocked to running the different parts of the event.
“It can be fairly chaotic, but once everything is up and running it’s really nice to see the place come alive.”
Beyond pumpkins
Pumpkins are one of Balgone’s two major seasonal events alongside the summer Sunflower Trail, but there are plans to do more.
“There are tons of plans,” Alex said. “We’re always looking at how we can build on things and improve them.”
Alex said Balgone is looking at smaller pop-ups, dinners and other experiences beyond the pumpkin and sunflower events.
For now, the focus is on Friday morning.
What began in 2020 with a couple of thousand pumpkins now takes five acres of growing, weeks of preparation and around 30 people to run on its busiest days.
After frost, weeds and a difficult season in the fields, only the final jobs remain before the first visitors arrive.