Jason carves out a nice little earner with Halloween pumpkins

NAMES such as "mars", "rocket" and "racer" probably conjure images of sports cars.

But they are actually just some of the variety of pumpkin grown in East Yorkshire.

And with Halloween fast approaching, thoughts have turned to witch costumes and the family tradition of carving a scary face into the fruit.

East Yorkshire grower Jason Butler said: "When we were little, I remember getting a pumpkin to carve at Halloween.

"We'd cut the little triangle eyes and stick on a carrot nose.

"We'd love dressing up and going out to trick or treat."

Jason, 31, started selling pumpkins on his parents' smallholding near Driffield in 2010.

Now Lesley, Mike and Jason are into their third Halloween crop.

This year's count will be about 3,000.

The Butler family sell five different types of pumpkin.

They grow pie star, mars, rocket, racer and a white variety which they have dubbed "snowman".

Jason, who works as an engineer, said: "There are lots of varieties but these are the ones we decided to grow.

"The most popular is probably the rockets and the racers – they are the best ones for carving.

"Racer is the more traditional, rounder type of pumpkin and rocket one of the smaller ones that is usually eaten – it is the baby version of a pumpkin.

"They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and even different colours – some are a bit green whereas others are the bright orange you'd imagine."

The family sell pumpkins from Homeland Farm in Bewholme.

The pumpkins are grown on the 60-acre site and sold at the front of the property.

Jason said: "We started doing them three years ago, just because we thought they were a bit different and wanted to try growing something out of the ordinary.

"We've gone from there and increased the numbers year on year.

"We tried them and it went all right.

"They actually aren't that hard to grow.

"We start them in little pots in April and move them outside to plant in May.

"Then we look after them throughout the summer months and then start to sell them at Halloween time."

Although the tradition of carving a pumpkin on All Hallow's Eve is often associated with American families, Jason says it is becoming bigger news in Britain.

He said: "It is massive in America, but, over here, it is catching on.

"And obviously, it isn't just for carving, but at this time of year they are great for making winter soups."

It is thought the tradition of carving a pumpkin, or a Jack-O-Lantern, may have origins in the myth of Stingy Jack.

Legend has it he was a thief who was denied entry to heaven, so engineered a pact with the devil to spare his soul from hell.

His fate was to roam the earth with only a hot coal from hell to light his way.

He placed it in a carved-out turnip and became known as the Jack Of The Lantern.

But it isn't just the Halloween tradition that pumpkins are used for.

Jason said: "People love carving the scary faces in Halloween but I do know one lady who used them as a colourful feature at a wedding.

"We supply a lot to farmers' markets and restaurants. They're very tasty."

The Butler family sell their pumpkins at Homeland Farm, Catfoss Road, Bewholme near Driffield. Call 07890 346717 for details.