The secret ingredient for the record-breaking crop? Heaps and heaps of elephant and rhino poo.<\/p> Realising the potential of the dung was a fortunate accident, says Larry Bush, the Zoo\u2019s Managing Director, explaining that the idea first sprouted when their elephants were given pumpkins as part of an enrichment program.<\/p> \u201cMuch to the team\u2019s surprise, a patch of pumpkins began growing from the poo heap left by the elephants. <\/p> “That unexpected, but welcome, discovery led to the intentional cultivation of pumpkins, and now it\u2019s one of the zoo\u2019s most-loved seasonal activities.\u201d<\/p> \u201cMuch to the team\u2019s surprise, a patch of pumpkins began growing from the poo heap left by the elephants.”<\/p><\/blockquote> Since that lightbulb moment, the team have been cultivating large numbers of pumpkins every year, and 2024 is no different; more than 2,500 pumpkin plants have taken root in the nutrient-rich compost made from the resident elephants and rhinos. <\/p> \u201cThe combination of a mild, wet summer and the natural fertiliser from our animals has led to one of our best harvests yet,\u201d Bush explains, with 6,000 pumpkins set to showcase at the annual Pumpkinfest. <\/p> It’s not just the number of pumpkins that’s impressive, but the variety, too.<\/p> \u201cThis year, we have everything from\u00a0honey bear pumpkins to textured warty goblins, with plenty of other varieties in between. There really is a pumpkin for everyone!\u201d<\/p> Pumpkinfest runs from 1st<\/sup>\u00a0of October to 3rd November. Visitors can purchase pumpkins from the Farm Shop or pick them directly from a family friendly, wheelchair-accessible pumpkin patch.<\/p> To find out more, visit the Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm website<\/a>.<\/p> More stories from the British countryside<\/strong><\/p> 6,000 pumpkins were harvested from the unusual growing medium… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":40097,"template":"","categories":[1,27],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/09\/secret-ingredient-helps-somerset-pumpkin-growers-produce-record-breaking-crop.jpg",2560,1713,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/09\/secret-ingredient-helps-somerset-pumpkin-growers-produce-record-breaking-crop-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/09\/secret-ingredient-helps-somerset-pumpkin-growers-produce-record-breaking-crop-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/09\/secret-ingredient-helps-somerset-pumpkin-growers-produce-record-breaking-crop-768x514.jpg",768,514,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/09\/secret-ingredient-helps-somerset-pumpkin-growers-produce-record-breaking-crop-1024x685.jpg",800,535,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/09\/secret-ingredient-helps-somerset-pumpkin-growers-produce-record-breaking-crop-1536x1028.jpg",1536,1028,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/09\/secret-ingredient-helps-somerset-pumpkin-growers-produce-record-breaking-crop-2048x1370.jpg",2048,1370,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"6,000 pumpkins were harvested from the unusual growing medium...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/40096"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"African](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/09\/African-elephant-Janu-squashes-giant-pumpkins-Noahs-Ark-Zoo-Farm.jpeg\")
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