The making of Pumpkin Week at Secretts
Every year, as summer softens and the first cool evenings arrive, the fields at Secretts begin to glow with the unmistakable orange of autumn. Pumpkin Week isn’t just a seasonal event here at our farm, it’s the result of decades of growing expertise, a dash of fate, and a whole lot of community spirit.
A British pumpkin story rooted in the land
Secretts has long been known as a proud British grower, cultivating around 200,000 pumpkins on our Milford farm each year. Pumpkins were part of the growing rhythm long before Pumpkin Week existed, grown for wholesale customers and the farm shop, tended with the same care and precision as every crop that passes through our hands.
But in 2009, everything changed.
The Accidental Beginning of a Surrey Pumpkin Tradition
Pumpkin Week was born from a moment of panic (and a spark of creativity). When a customer unexpectedly cancelled an order for 1,000 pumpkins, Nicola and Greg Secrett faced a field full of produce with nowhere to go. Instead of letting the pumpkins go to waste, they opened the gates and invited the local community to pick their own…for free.
The response was overwhelming. Families poured in, children ran through the fields, and the farm buzzed with excitement. That single weekend planted the seed for what would become one of Surrey’s most loved pumpkin‑picking events.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of visitors have walked our fields, each searching for their perfect pumpkin, whether it’s for carving, cooking, decorating, or simply celebrating the season.
How We Grow 200,000 Pumpkins a Year
Pumpkin growing at Secretts is a craft shaped by tradition, timing, and a little vintage machinery.
- February: The land is ploughed, preparing the fields for the season ahead.
- March: Seed beds are created, ready for planting.
- June: Seeds are planted using a 1960s planter, still faithfully doing its job after more than half a century. One person sits on the planter as it draws a furrow in the soil, dropping each seed by hand (spaced 60cm apart) for small varieties and 1 metre apart for larger pumpkins. It’s slow, careful work, but it’s part of what makes our fields so special.
Within one week, the first plants begin to show. By early autumn, the fields transform into a sea of colour.
The Pumpkins People Love Most
Across the patch, visitors will find a mix of shapes, sizes, and colours, but three varieties always steal the show:
- Racer: the most popular, known for its classic shape and vibrant orange colour.
- Polar Bear: striking white pumpkins that look incredible in autumn displays.
- Jill Be Little: tiny, charming pumpkins perfect for children and seasonal styling.
These varieties have become favourites for families, photographers, and pumpkin‑carving enthusiasts alike.
Why Pumpkin Week Matters
Pumpkin Week isn’t just about pumpkins. It’s about tradition, community, and the joy of choosing something grown with care. It’s about families returning year after year, children growing up with the event, and visitors discovering a real working farm behind the Instagram moments. We often have families who have visited us for 10 or 15 years on the go, their children have grown up in our patch!
It’s also about authenticity, something increasingly rare in the world of Halloween experiences. And lastly, it’s about supporting a British farm that grows every pumpkin on site, from seed to harvest.
If you’re popping a search into google for pumpkin picking in Surrey, the best pumpkin patch near Guildford, family pumpkin picking near me, or authentic Halloween activities in the UK, Pumpkin Week at Secretts is the place to be. With 200,000 homegrown pumpkins, stunning fields, and a story rooted in British farming heritage, it’s the ultimate autumn day out.
