Now that Halloween is officially over and your carved pumpkin slowly begins to droop and decompose, why not get creative and use that pumpkin in some unexpected ways? We’ve got a few ideas for putting it to good use:
- Compost it! Pumpkins are 90% water, which means they easily and quickly break down. This makes them a great addition to your compost pile. Just be sure to remove the the seeds first to avoid a pumpkin patch from growing in your compost. If you don’t have a compost, check around and ask people if they’d like to use it for their garden or pigs 🙂
- Leave Seeds for the Animals. Large birds and small mammals will eat pumpkin seeds if you offer them in your yard. Collect seeds from your pumpkins, before composting them, and let the seeds dry. Don’t add salt or seasoning. Put the seeds on a flat surface, tray, shallow bowl, or mix in with existing bird seed.
- Feed the Beasts! Lots of backyard animals love pumpkin. Simply toss your pumpkin in the backyard, or cut it up into pieces and watch the creatures come crawling.
- Toss it. Literally, see how far you can throw it. Invite people and make it a friendly competition….It’s a great way to relieve some stress and have some fun with your friends…just be sure to pick up the pieces after you throw them, or even better, toss it somewhere the animals will eat it 🙂
- Plant the Seeds. If you have room in your yard, you can save seeds for a harvest of pumpkins next year.
This article was adapted from the National Wildlife Foundation. To learn more, check out http://blog.nwf.org/2014/10/how-to-recycle-halloween-pumpkins-for-wildlife/
