Pumpkin picking has grown massively over the last few years and has become a proper family tradition for many of us around Wales. There are hundreds of patches all around the country, so I’m here at Clearwell farm finding out all about how this everyday working farm becomes a Halloween wonderland every year.
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00:00 So this is our display barn and we've got a smoking dragon at the back, we've got a few witches and a couple of ghosts hanging around, a spider's web, make sure you don't get caught in the spider's web, and it's just pretty for people to look at.
00:16 And if it rains they can just come straight to the barn and get one.
00:19 Pumpkin picking has quickly become a Halloween staple for many people, with hundreds of pumpkin patches dotted all around the country.
00:26 A few years ago it was a novelty and something you'd usually associate with our friends across the pond, but now pumpkin patches are well and truly here to stay.
00:34 Ah fantastic, this is our fourth year running a pumpkin patch here at Clearwell Farm.
00:40 Great, it was nice to see some old faces when we started last weekend and plenty of newcomers coming.
00:47 Families were here picking up their pumpkin with their children, they were having great fun.
00:53 It's maybe an American idea, I think it's kind of taken over from bonfire night really.
00:59 But yeah, families love it and I think Halloween, the autumn, they put displays outside their houses, I think this is going to be quite a very big thing in the future.
01:11 David's farm for most of the year focuses on wheat and oats, but through spooky season you can't move for pumpkins.
01:17 He says across the UK you might see less than usual because of the weather, but he planned well in advance to make sure to keep up with the massive demand.
01:25 Generally there's not as many pumpkins in the UK because of the way the weather's been this year, I think.
01:31 Oh we've got more, but I anticipated the very, very dry weather early in the spring and I understood from some neighbours that they hadn't drilled as many, so we put a few extra in.
01:43 I don't know, I'm sure we'll have enough to go around for all our customers.
01:47 We've got 80 wheelbarrows and on a good day every wheelbarrow will be out.
01:52 Farming's altered dramatically in my working life.
01:56 We used to grow vegetables to supply to the corner shops of Cardiff.
02:01 And nowadays it's about families coming out here to enjoy the countryside.
02:07 We love to see them. We've got the pumpkin patch now, we then go on to Christmas trees and most summers we'll do a maize and sunflower patch.
02:18 Pumpkin picking is a great tradition that's growing here in the UK every autumn, with hundreds of thousands of pumpkins taken home every year.
02:25 And what's a better way to spend some time out with the kids out in the back day?
02:29 Oh it's lovely to see the people, yes. It gives us something to look forward to in the autumn.
02:35 Familiar faces coming back every year, the children growing up.
02:40 It's great to see them all.
02:43 We have all sorts of people turn up, but please, please, when it's a wet day, remember your wellies.
02:50 David couldn't quite put a number on how many pumpkins he thinks he's got here at Clearwell Farm, but just take a look.
02:57 There must be thousands, ready to be picked and carved, ready for Halloween.
03:01 James Peat, Watkins Local TV, Clearwell Farm.
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