A farm on the Essex coast is proving that pumpkins are not just for Halloween - after launching a retail range of seed and oil products.

Frinton Farms claims to be the only homegrown pumpkin seed oil producer in the UK.

The business is in its third year of growing Styrian pumpkins, a variety which produces "hulless" seeds without the hard coating of those inside traditional decorative varieties.

Some of the large edible seeds are sold as snacks or food ingredients, but most are pressed into oil, with the by-product milled into a protein supplement.

The pumpkin seed oil was awarded two stars at the 2023 Great Taste Awards - and now marketing has begun in earnest.

Eastern Daily Press: Pumpkin seed oil produced by Frinton Farms in EssexPumpkin seed oil produced by Frinton Farms in Essex (Image: Frinton Farms)

Sam Hart, farm manager and founder of Frinton Farms, said the venture started with a pick-your-own pumpkin patch about five years ago.

"At the end of the year we realised we still had hundreds of pumpkins stood on the field, and there is no market for ornamental pumpkins after Halloween, so it seemed such a waste for them to be rotting away," he said.

"We thought maybe we could harvest the seeds, and then we realised they are not like the pumpkin seeds you see in the shops - they have this woody hull over them, so we couldn't do anything without dehulling them.

"A lot that you see in supermarkets will be dehulled, rather than the hulless variety which we are growing. It is a variety from Austria, where pumpkin oil is popular."

Eastern Daily Press: Styrian pumpkins growing at Frinton Farms in EssexStyrian pumpkins growing at Frinton Farms in Essex (Image: Frinton Farms)

Most of the pumpkin products are sold direct via the farm's website, but some are sold through farm shops, delis and garden centres.

"We only started marketing properly recently, but we are seeing an increase in sales every month, and we are getting a lot of customers coming back for more, which proves in my mind that it is a good product," said Mr Hart.

"It has amazing health qualities for your skin and hair."

About 40 acres of the pumpkins are growing at Frinton-on-Sea this year as part of the farm's rotation.

All the pumpkin flesh which comes out of the back of the specialised harvesting machine in October will get chopped up and put back onto the field.

"We are getting a cracking crop of wheat after it so, with all the struggles growing oilseed rape, it is a cracking break crop, " said Mr Hart.