Orange you glad you bought a pumpkin? These farmers say they're sold out

Pumpkin season has been booming for farmers in the St. John's area this fall, leaving customers who waited until the last minute scrambling to find just one signature pieceahead of Halloween on Saturday.

Jeremy Taylor, owner of Taylor's Waterside Gardens in Conception Bay South, told CBC News it's not unusual for him to sell out of pumpkins, but this year it happened far earlier than anticipated.He credits that to good weather in early October and people looking for things to do outdoors amid the coronavirus pandemic but early on, he wasn't sure he would be able to sell them all.

"Every year we have a lot of field trips come from schools," he said, butwith COVID regulations, there was just one field trip this year instead of the 1,800 or so students who come every year.

"Every one of those kids get a pumpkin, get a hot chocolate. So that's 1,800 pumpkins that weren't sold this year."

Taylor estimates his yearly harvest to be in between 4,000 to 5,000 pumpkins, and this year was no different.

But even without the steady flow of field trips to his farm, where the majority of his harvest is sold,his pumpkin patch has been picked clean once again.

WATCH: Cec Haire reports on how demand for pumpkins overtook supply:

It's the great pumpkin shortage

4 years ago

Duration 1:49

It's hard to find a pumpkin in the St. John's area. Cec Haire looks into why

"People got their kids involved in so many things, andmaybe this year things were scaled back in their activities and what they're able to do. So they made coming to a pumpkin patch more of an activity," Taylor said. "They really came and bought up [the pumpkins], andcame in droves, really. Car loads."

Striking helps

Tom Williams, owner of Gracie's Garden in the Goulds neighbourhood of St. John's, said his farm had lots of pumpkins until about two weeks ago. But, as of Tuesday, he's pretty much sold out.

Williams said the Dominion grocery store strike across the province may have helped local farmers sell pumpkins. Stores that would normally have piles of pumpkins arenow empty.

"We [sold] our5,000 pumpkins for sure. There's a few damaged ones left, but that's about all," Williams said.

Like Taylor, Williams said he was worried early on aboutCOVID-19 hanging over most businesses, including farms.

"ButI was proved wrong, which is always good," he said. "It is a little bit hard to say we have no pumpkins left. I'd like to have another 1,000 to go pick. I'd even pick them in the rain."

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