THIS Hallowe’en weekend is of course the time to show off your perfect pumpkins. Hollowed out, carved with a spooky face and illuminated by internal candlelight, we hope their eerie glow will ward off evil spirits and traveling packs of trick-or-treaters.

That is, if you thought ahead and sowed the seeds of your success promptly this spring.

Size, you see, matters with these things, and to produce back-breaking, barrow crushing whoppers fit for giant vegetable competitions it is important to start early, and even more importantly to grow the correct variety. Last year we got it right, growing ‘Hundredweight’ to at least that size. The seeds were sown on edge in pots under glass in late April. The resulting small plants were hardened off then planted on top of the compost heaps after all chance of frost had passed. As autumn approached, the golden boulders emerge from beneath the dense cover of leaves, and true to type, the enormous ‘fruits’ took two strong men to lift.

This year however, we only tracked down some seed of ‘Atlantic Giant,’ another renowned big grower, when it was almost too late. In the end though and true to form, they smothered our compost heaps in foliage, but this time only produced tiny golden nuggets. The pumpkins maxed-out at disappointingly diminutive ping-pong ball size, the ‘fruits‘ of our labour being most easily measured in ounces! Big factors in their poor performance this season were their slightly shaded planting position coupled with what became the most sunless summer on record, giving them little incentive to swell.

We did however have some success with one Jack-o’-Lantern; the small, but perfectly formed ‘Jack-be-Little.’ A more open, sunnier situation suited these well, and although they would each easily sit on the palm of your hand, they are the brightest orange colour and the very best ribbed and flattened shape. ‘Munchkin’ is a similar miniature and both are super as table decorations.

If you are looking for a record breaker though, you will have to do better than those miniature globes. About twenty-thousand times better in fact, as the world record stands at an amazing 782 kg or over three-quarters of a ton.

Chris Crowder is head gardener at Levens Hall chris.crowder@me.com

Jobs to do this week:

Sow some sweet peas now in pots and keep them in a cold frame over the worst of the winter, before planting out in spring. They will be up and away quicker than those started from seed next year.

Dig over any vacant areas in the vegetable plot. Winter frosts will help break down the largest clods of soil.

Reduce the height of bush roses, buddleias, lavateras and the like to prevent wind-rock, otherwise autumn gales can buffet them loose.