Gardeners across Ireland are harvesting their prize pumpkins ready for carving as the annual autumn festivities begin!
The old Irish tradition of pumpkin carving has become an art form in recent years, and now is just the right time to harvest your own fruits, as they’ve grown as big as they’re going to get. Bring them indoors somewhere warm and dry to ‘cure’ (harden the skins) ready for hollowing them out and carving with your favourite designs. If you haven’t grown your own this year, drop by the garden centre here in Athlone where we’re selling ready-grown whoppers for you to take home!
If you need some inspiration there are pumpkin-related events happening all over the country where you can have a practice and see the experts at work! The annual Pumpkinfest event at Castle Ward in Co. Down is a good place to start: held on 21-22 October, you can scoop out and carve your own pumpkin as well as entering the scarecrow competition and listening to Grimms fairy tales in the mansion house. There’s more pumpkin carving for the kids the following weekend, at Powerscourt Gardens in Co. Wicklow (a great excuse to take a look around these lovely gardens in their autumn finery, too); and there are whole pumpkin patches to visit and admire at Ladyrath Lane in Co. Meath, Tinahely Farm in Co. Wicklow and Ballycross Apple Farm in Co. Wexford.
It’s enormous fun to grow your own pumpkins, and something anyone can do even without much garden space. Pick up your pumpkin seeds today from the garden centre and you’ll find all sizes from huge record-breaking whoppers like ‘Atlantic Giant’ down to compact varieties such as ‘Baby Bear’, perfectly happy in a large container. Sow next spring from April, ready to carve your own Hallowe’en lantern next year!
