Autumn treats in store

They take months of loving care from the amateur gardener and have been the subject of secret formulas and intense rivalry prior to entry into local vegetable shows and Harvest Festivals but, in the commercial sense, their presence dominates supermarket forecourts to garden centre showpieces in the build-up to Halloween. Pumpkins, in fact and fiction, are big business. And more recently, other types of squash have started to show promise. David Shapley reports.