Pumpkins can be composted, donated to farms, fed to wildlife | Lawn & Garden
Halloween is a great time of the year, especially if you have kids. But the holiday can also cause a lot of waste.
Hold off before throwing that porch pumpkin into the trash along with Halloween candy wrappers. Those jack-o’-lanterns don’t have to end up in the local landfill.
Consider composting pumpkins in the garden, donating them to community gardens, farms or even a zoo, or simply leaving them as a snack for backyard wildlife.
Pumpkins for sale are displayed on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at a grocery store in Cross Lanes, W.Va.
Gardeners can add pumpkins to the compost pile after removing any remaining seeds and being sure to cut off decorative material such as glitter, paint, stickers and candle wax. Slice the pumpkin into smaller pieces, scatter and bury them into the pile. And don’t worry if the pumpkin has already started getting moldy — those microorganisms aid the composting process.
Pumpkins, other vegetable scraps and grass clippings in compost piles are high in nitrogen. Provide equal or higher amounts of carbon-based materials such as leaves, sawdust, wood chips or cardboard. Occasionally add water to the compost pile. Turning it over with a rake or pitchfork ensures that oxygen is mixed in.
Some community gardens accept pumpkins and other food scraps to add to their compost piles.
Or consider that pumpkin as a meal for a host of animals at a local farm, zoo or sanctuary. The group Pumpkins for Pigs has an interactive U.S. map of places that accept donations of uncarved, undecorated pumpkins.
Homeowners also may consider feeding the wildlife that hang out in their neighborhoods, especially when those old pumpkins are offered with other fruit. Salvaged pumpkin seeds are a tasty treat for a wide variety of birds such as cardinals, sparrows, finches and chickadees, including when mixed with other seeds such as sunflowers.
Photos: Pumpkins galore across the US
In this Oct. 29, 2022, photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Anirudh Rawat shows his pumpkin sculpture of a cat during the Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest staged in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key Largo, Fla. The subsea pre-Halloween event was organized by the Amoray Dive Resort.
A display of pumpkins prepared for Halloween welcomes visitors at the Denver Zoo on Oct. 18, 2022, in Denver.
Travis Gienger from Anoka, Minn., stands behind his winning pumpkin at the 49th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Oct. 10, 2022.
Elyse Gibson, 2, picks out a pumpkin during a Halloween event at Community Lake Park in Wallingford, Connecticut, on Oct. 21, 2022. Her mother, Miranda Gibson, brother Elias Gibson and father Joseph Gibson also attended the event.
Volunteers continue preparations at the Pumpkin House on Oct. 26, 2022, in Kenova, West Virginia.
Sarah Beth Baker, left, helps other volunteers position her 1,080-pound pumpkin at the Pumpkin House on Oct. 26, 2022, in Kenova, W.Va.
Pediatric doctor Courtney Crain competes during the Huntington Children’s Museum’s second annual Pumpkin Carving Contest on Oct. 25, 2022, at The Market in downtown Huntington, W.Va.
Volunteers Gail Nash, left, and Kate Nash carve pumpkins as preparations continue at the Pumpkin House on Oct. 26, 2022, in Kenova, W.Va.
Event manager Shelby Christensen looks over the entries of a pumpkin decoration contest submitted by employees of the Owensboro Convention Center in Owensboro, Ky., on Oct. 25, 2022.
Keagan Richardson grabs a handful of squash and other produce that has spoiled as he condenses the displays at Ricker Hill Orchards on Oct. 27, 2022, in Turner, Maine. He and other employees at the farm stand are beginning to prepare to gear up for the Christmas displays.
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