1. Remove any non organic materials: Candles, aluminum foil, etc. These will not decompose.
2. Remove ALL pumpkin seeds: The seeds will not decompose. When you spread your compost over your gardens in the spring, you will have unwanted pumpkins growing in between your flower beds! You can't turn those into carriages, Fairy Godmother!
3. Break up the pumpkin, if desired: Most children would love to help break them up by smashing them. Just make sure they will help pick up all the pieces and put them in the compost pile.4. Cover the pumpkins in the compost pile: Like all green material, if you want to keep away bugs, then make sure to cover them with carbon-rich materials such as sawdust, paper, or all of those dried leaves you just raked up.
Here is a recipe you can use for all of the pumpkin seeds you took out of your jack-o-lanterns.
Soaked and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
4 c Water
1 T Salt
1-3 Tbs olive oil or melted coconut oil
Spices of your choice (see spice options below for ideas)
Directions:
Soak: Take your clean pumpkin seeds and place in a bowl.
Cover the seeds with warm water and a bit of salt. (Use as much water and salt ratios as needed to cover the seeds.) Let seeds sit
at room temperature for 24 hours.
Drain: Drain the water from the pumpkin seeds and allow the
seeds to dry on a baking sheet for a few hours. Alternatively you can just cook
your seeds for 5-10 minutes in a 300 degree oven before moving on to the
roasting part.
Roast: Toss seeds in oil and spices of your choice. Lay
seeds on a baking sheet in a thin layer. Roast seeds at 300 degrees for 20-30
minutes. Stir every 10 min.
Spice Options:
Cayenne and salt
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
Chili powder, lime zest and salt
Paprika, sage, thyme and salt
Try whatever you like!
~marisa
3 comments:
We always place our jack-o-lanterns out in the garden after Halloween. We watch them break down over a couple of months. I even had new shoots crop up where one was placed last year! I'd love for you to share this on the Maple Hill Hop!
Marisa, thanks for the tips on disposing of the Halloween pumpkin remains. Someone missed the pumpkin seeds in the yard waste I collected last fall. It produced some of the best pumpkins this year. Neighborhood yard waste is a great way to get garden mulch. I guess some times little surprises are included in the bags. :0)
Have a great pumpkin disposal day after Halloween.
These pictures are so cute. I had my family pictures taken in my back yard this year as well. My family has never looked so happy and at home.
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