Today is Hop tu Naa and entrepreneurial farmers have helped families to celebrate with good Manx produce.

It was big business for Richard Speight at Kella Farm in Sulby.

It was the second year that he’s sold pick-your-own pumpkins and turnips.

‘We wanted to try to give people a good experience,’ he said. ‘The support from the community was amazing.’

Last year they planted about 550. This year it was 3,500.

People went to the farm to collect pumpkins and the more traditional turnips, which they had to pull from the ground.

They priced them at around about cost price and sold out in two days.

The weather helped because it was mild and dry.

He said when he looked over the field that there were rarely fewer than 70 people there.

When he sold out, Richard referred people to Big Foot Sunflowers and Pumpkins in Ballabeg.

It was a roaring success there too.

Zoe Hampton, who runs the venture, had decorated the field with a Hop tu Naa theme.

She planted about 1,000 pumpkins there.

‘It was hard work this year,’ said Zoe. ‘At the beginning of June there was no rain and pumpkins need a lot of water.’

Later there was too much rain so the field was muddy.

But it didn’t deter many.

‘People came and took the pumpkins that they wanted,’ she said.

The planted more than the traditional orange pumpkins. Also planted ghost (white) and yellow ones.

Until reasonably recently, turnips (or, for the Manx, moots) were used to create lanterns for Hop tu Naa on October 31.

Children would go house to house and sing the Hop tu Naa song, which varied depending upon which part of the island you live.

Then they would be given money or sweets.

These days, Hop tu Naa is more influenced by the American version of Halloween where pumpkins are used.

‘Pumpkins are so much easier to carve,’ said Zoe.

Richard agreed but he was pleased to see a lot of people plumping for the traditional moot, which he said were also used in Yorkshire, where he grew up as a boy.

Richard is expanding the vegetable business at Kella Farm.

He is currently supplying seasonal vegetables to local restaurants including the Victory Cafe at the foot of Snaefell, the Hutch in Ramsey, the Black Dog Oven in Peel and the Guardhouse in Jurby.

He has plans to grow the business with more produce soon.