As Halloween approaches it’s not just worries about ghosts and goblins that have folks on edge. There is a pumpkin shortage on the Vineyard, with Island farms and nurseries reporting their stock to be nearly depleted.

The cause, they say, are the three D’s: Demand, Drought and Deer.

Simon Athearn, chief executive officer of Morning Glory Farm, said they sold out of this year’s crop of pumpkins so quickly they had to bring in four additional bins, grown by one of their partners in the Boston area. The additional pumpkins sold out so fast that even their off-Island partner is now out of stock.

“They said they don’t have any and don’t think they’ll get any more,” Mr. Athearn said.

Mr. Athearn said the drought during the summer months required his staff to pump as much water as they could to their crops. The increased irrigation was going along fine, he continued, “but when the forests dry up and there’s no food left for the deer, they start pressuring our fences. Once they found out what’s behind them they told their friends and they just kept coming back every night.”

“We did what we could to keep them protected and we got maybe a 40 per cent crop this year,” he added.

Less water also meant smaller pumpkins. “They ripened early but were smaller because water was hard to come by.”

Jardin Mahoney in Oak Bluffs orders its pumpkins from off-Island and also reported selling out quickly. Debbie DiPietro, a Jardin Mahoney employee, said they ordered the usual amount of pumpkins this year and were sold out after two or three weeks.

At Vineyard Gardens, nursery manager Laura Hale said their pumpkin supply was depleted by the end of Columbus Day weekend. “After that weekend, that was it for large pumpkins,” Ms. Hale said.

Ghost Island Farm is also out of pumpkins despite a bountiful harvest at the West Tisbury farm. “We had the best pumpkin year we’ve ever had and we’re all sold out,” said Rusty Gordon, co-owner of the farm.

But it’s not just the Halloween tradition that will suffer this season due to the decline in the Jack-o-lantern population. Mr. Athearn said Morning Glory Farm normally gives their excess pumpkins to their cattle and hogs.

“Cattle love them, it’s funny to see them eating them with their big teeth,” he said. “They have to chew them, which is not a natural cow movement.”