Most of us will have bought a pumpkin or two for Halloween this year – but it would be a waste to use them just for one day. Instead of throwing them away, why not get creative?
If you’re short on ideas, a weather and climate change expert has several suggestions for what to do with your squashes after October 31.
Gemma (@theweatherpud) shares on TikTok: “Every year on Halloween, lots of pumpkins are just thrown away. So instead of doing that, I thought I’d share some ideas on how we can reuse our pumpkins this year.”
Cook them
Her first “obvious” suggestion is that pumpkins can be used in a variety of tasty ways in the kitchen – from pumpkin cakes, muffins to pancakes soups and purees – “the list is endless,” she says, as reported in the Mirror.
“You can also take the seeds from inside and roast them up and eat them as a snack – and you can also use those seeds to feed the birds outside.”
Turn them into birdfeeders
This leads Gemma to her next tip, which is to turn your pumpkin into a bird feeder. “Cut it in half and put some sticks through it, then you can hang it up outside and fill it with bird seed,” she suggests.
However, she cautions: “Please remember that when the pumpkins starts to rot, take them down. Compost them.”
Compost them
Next, Gemma suggests composting if possible. “If not you can donate them to local farms, zoos, animal shelters and community gardens where they can use them as compost material or for snacks for the animals,” she said.
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She continued: “But please don’t go and leave your leftover pumpkins in the local woodland areas because we’re really being urged by the Woodland Trust not to do this.”
Gemma explained that doing so can lead to animals such as hedgehogs becoming seriously ill. “Don’t do that – there’s loads of ways you can use your pumpkins,” she concluded.
“Also you can give your seeds to hamsters,” one TikTok user responded with another useful suggestion. Many people assume that it’s absolutely fine to leave their pumpkin outside, because as a fruit it’s biodegradable, but this is a misconception even if it’s a common one, with various charities imploring the public to dispose of their pumpkins carefully, because they can be a health hazard to some wildlife.
As Gemma mentioned, the Woodland Trust advises: “Pumpkins take a long time to break down and as they rot, they damage delicate woodland ecosystems, attract rats and can be fatal to animals like hedgehogs.”
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