PEI·NewWith Halloween just over a month away, some P.E.I. pumpkin farmers are worried this summer’s dry conditions will cast a shadow over their harvests.Irrigation systems not feasible for most producers, so there’ll be fewer big pumpkinsRyan McKellop · CBC News · Posted: Sep 09, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 34 minutes agoGreg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, says the dry conditions seen across P.E.I. are causing pumpkins to not reach their full size this season. The pumpkin he is holding, a new variety, would usually weigh between six and seven pounds more. (Raphael Caron/CBC)With Halloween just over a month away, some P.E.I. pumpkin farmers are worried this summer’s dry conditions will cast a shadow over their harvests.”Pumpkins, I’d say we’re down at least probably 30 per cent [in] size,” said Greg MacKenzie, owner of MacKenzie Produce in Stratford. “So the great big jack-o’-lanterns that everybody’s waiting for are going to be in limited supply this year.”MacKenzie has postponed his harvest for about a week, in the hope that more rain will come.”We’re concerned. We’ve been pushing it off, but now our fall harvest is gonna happen in the next 30 days, and if we don’t get rain, we won’t have a harvest,” he said.’Just try and roll with it’While buying an irrigation system could help with yields during dry years, MacKenzie said it’s a large investment that would ultimately bring costs up for customers.Pumpkins at MacKenzie Produce in Stratford are smaller this year, with Greg MacKenzie saying they’re down at least 30 per cent in size this season as a result of the dry conditions in P.E.I. this summer. (Raphael Caron/CBC)”If we can keep maintaining, we’ll try,” he said. “You’re going to get a bad year and you have to just try and roll with it and hope better for next year.”MacKenzie said summer’s lack of rain means he needs to reconsider where he’ll sell his pumpkins this year.”We probably won’t be doing much export this year, we’ll try to take care of our local customers,” he said. MacKenzie Produce has 115 acres of mixed vegetables, with between six to eight acres of pumpkins and squashes. The farmer said the drought-like conditions have affected all of his crops.’Don’t wait till the last minute [to buy pumpkins] this year, because we’ve sold out every year and we’re definitely going to sell out this year,’ MacKenzie warned. (Anjuli Patil/CBC)And he isn’t the only pumpkin farmer feeling the heat this summer. Suzanne Pater, co-owner of Pater’s Pumpkins, said there is a shortage of pumpkins in her patch, too.”From what we can tell, we’re down about 50 to 75 per cent on the larger varieties of pumpkins, and about 30 to 40 per cent on the smaller varieties of smaller pumpkins and gourds.”She said that she’s already made some plans for the next season, but, like MacKenzie, Pater said an irrigation system isn’t feasible.”We’re not a commercial operation so we wouldn’t get into any irrigation,” she said. “We’re going to try more cow manure next year and hope that’ll give enough nutrients to the soil to, you know, help us in these type of conditions.”Pater plans to open up the pumpkin patch later this week, with smaller pumpkins in stock.Despite the lower supply, she said pumpkin prices will not be increased to compensate.”We’re not going to be raising the prices because we don’t have the product. We want to keep our… prices the same as we did last year.”ABOUT THE AUTHORRyan McKellop is a graduate of the Holland College Journalism program and a web writer at CBC P.E.I.With files from Raphael Caron
‘If we don’t get rain, we won’t have a harvest’: P.E.I. pumpkin farmers worry as fall nears
