The National Trust has confirmed a bumper harvest at many of its gardens, with fruit and vegetable crops also ripening and ready for harvest weeks earlier than usual.
Despite the UK experiencing the hottest summer on record with drought conditions recorded in many places, gardeners are reporting an unusually abundant year for orchard fruit and pumpkins, thought to be the result of a combination of weather factors including last year’s wet conditions, the warm and dry spring and plenty of sun.
This is in stark contrast to last year when wet weather reduced fruit harvests and increased slug and snail activity resulting in pumpkin and squash crops being decimated with Kingston Lacy in Dorset managing to save only half of its usual crop.
Commenting on this year’s harvest, Rebecca Bevan, the National Trust’s Plant Health and Sustainability Consultant, says: “Climate change has brought us some very challenging growing conditions over recent years with extremes of wet and dry weather and many storms.
“It’s heartening however that sometimes the conditions lead to good outcomes and certainly fruit harvests are a success story for 2025.
“This year’s apple and other tree fruit harvests – including much of the abundance in hedgerows – is likely due to the wet conditions last year which meant trees were in good health when they began to make their flower buds in late summer. This was followed by a dry and sunny spring resulting in abundant flowers being pollinated by insects and forming fruit. Lots of sun over the summer was then ideal for ripening the fruit.
“Last year’s wet weather also recharged ground water levels, resulting in the soil staying moister for longer in many areas which probably helped plants like pumpkins get established despite the lack of rain.”
At Buckland Abbey near Plymouth in Devon the apple harvest is also running ahead of schedule, while the kitchen garden is overflowing with squash and pumpkins. Head Gardener Sam Brown commented: “We have about 50 per cent more squash and pumpkins than usual. We’d normally harvest them in mid-October but are about to start now – around six weeks earlier. There are 20 varieties this year, alongside apples that we’ve been picking since August.”
At Arlington Court in North Devon, a combination of mild spring and so many pollinators about, the apple trees have done really well this year. “From just two of our many espaliers we picked over 60 kilos of Devonshire Quarrenden, the best crop we’ve ever had from them. Alongside varieties like Newton Wonder and Veitch’s Perfection, it’s been a great harvest to give to the tea-room, where the apples have gone into compotes, scones, crumbles and more.", said Hannah Phillips, Senior Gardener.
At Killerton near Exeter, 2025 has been a bumper year for all the trees in the orchards. With plums, apples and pears fairing particularly well. It was a great year for blossom, with little frosts, rain or wind allowing for more fruit to set. The apples and pears have matured maybe 2-3 weeks earlier than we would normally expect, and the team have had to bring apple picking and pressing forward by a week, so there are apples to produce our estate apple juice and cider.
Top tips from National Trust experts for caring for apples and pumpkins on the lead up to Halloween
-Pick and handle apples gently to avoid bruising. Check apples have no blemishes and are dry before storing
-Small quantities of apples can be stored in the salad tray in a fridge. To store large quantities of apples, ideally wrap your fruit in paper (newspaper is fine) and then keep it cool. An unheated garage is a good place. Check your apples once a week and remove any with decay or mould, to stop it spreading
-Some National Trust places, store their apples in traditional wooden racks. But you can use crates – just make sure fruit isn’t touching and has good airflow
-If storing your apples is tricky, consider making juice or stewing the fruit with sugar and freezing them for use in crumbles or pies. Alternatively put slices of apple into a low oven and dehydrate them to make apple crisps
-You can’t control the weather, but looking after your apple tree/s will maximise chances of a good harvest. In winter, prune out diseased/dying/crossing branches and aim to create an open ‘goblet’ shape that lets the air and sunlight in. Removing straggly new growth in summer will encourage blossom.
-Choose an apple variety bred for your local conditions. Your local fruit nursery, fruit group or local National Trust property can help.
-Pumpkins should be picked with a bit of stalk attached and then placed in a dry, well-ventilated place like a greenhouse or sunny windowsill to dry out for a couple of weeks to help them ‘cure’. After this they are ready to be stored almost anywhere until Halloween or beyond.