3 ways to use your leftover pumpkin after Halloween – and why you should never leave it out for wildlife to eat

IN the week of Halloween 2023, Google searches for ‘leftover pumpkin’ roseate by 244.8%.

Indicating that radical were looking for ways to usage pumpkin leftovers, alternatively than conscionable propulsion them out.

So if you've bought and carved your pumpkin already - don't bin it erstwhile November 1 hits.

Graham Smith MCIHort from LBS Horticulture, spoke exclusively to Fabulous astir however you tin reuse your pumpkin aft Halloween.

Make a fertiliser

Graham said: “Making fertiliser with leftover pumpkins aft Halloween is simply a large mode to minimise household waste.

"Like galore different homemade fertilisers, pumpkins are affluent successful nutrients that volition payment adjacent season’s plants.

"Pumpkins incorporate vitamin A, which tin assistance to support plants against diseases and pests. They besides incorporate Beta Carotene, which is an indispensable nutrient for photosynthesis."

How to marque a pumpkin into fertiliser

1. Remove seeds. 
2. Break the pumpkin into smaller pieces.
3. Dig a spread wherever you volition beryllium planting outpouring blooms adjacent season, and past spot the pumpkin pieces wrong of it.
4. Cover the spread backmost up with ungraded to forestall pests reaching the pumpkin arsenic it decomposes.

Graham warns that attraction needs to beryllium taken erstwhile utilizing leftover pumpkins successful the garden, arsenic they pull rodents and different pests that could origin damage.

“Pumpkins tin beryllium charismatic to rodents and different pests that whitethorn sojourn your plot and harm plants," helium said.

To combat this, you should guarantee that the pumpkin is hidden successful the ungraded alternatively of scattering the leftover pumpkin pieces connected the ground.

Burying the pumpkin successful your plot ungraded volition besides let the ungraded bacteria to velocity up the decomposition and merchandise the nutrients.

Can you marque a liquid fertiliser?

"Pumpkin tin beryllium utilized to marque a liquid fertiliser for flowering and fruiting plants to fortify plants and amended their taste," the adept said.

How to marque a liquid fertiliser

1. Mash up the pumpkin and harvester it with sweetener successful a 1:1 ratio, e.g. for each kilogram of pumpkin usage a kilogram of sugar.
2. Mash the pumpkin and sweetener together, and past determination the substance into a jug oregon different container, and screen it loosely.
3. Allow the substance to ferment for astatine slightest 7 to 10 days, but it whitethorn request longer if the upwind is cooler.
4. After the substance has fermented, drain the liquid, arsenic this is what tin beryllium utilized arsenic fertiliser.

To usage the fertiliser, adhd astir a tablespoonful of the substance to a gallon of water, and this tin beryllium sprayed straight onto the foliage of plants oregon arsenic a ungraded drench. 

Make a vertebrate feeder

After carving your pumpkin, you tin usage the seeds to provender birds but you request to hole them archetypal by washing them and drying.

The adept said: "You tin velocity up the drying process by placing the tray of seeds into the oven connected a lukewarm setting.

"Once the seeds are dried, they tin beryllium stored successful the freezer until you are acceptable to usage them to provender the birds."

Then, erstwhile Halloween is over, usage the pumpkin and marque a vertebrate feeder.

Graham said: "Cut disconnected the apical of the pumpkin to crook it into a bowl, past adhd vertebrate seed.

"Hang this up with twine to make a vertebrate feeder that tin beryllium composted erstwhile birds person finished with it."

Grow your ain pumpkin adjacent twelvemonth

"You tin usage the seeds from caller pumpkins to turn your own," the adept suggested.

1. Clean immoderate leftover pulp from the seeds and rinse them successful acold water.
2. Allow the seeds to aerial adust connected a insubstantial towel.
3. They tin past beryllium planted erstwhile they are adust oregon stored successful an envelope until you are acceptable to works them - the biggest seeds basal a amended accidental of flowering.
4. Ideally, pumpkin seeds should beryllium planted successful May oregon June for an October harvest.

Donate your pumpkin

Check if immoderate section farms oregon zoos are accepting donations of leftover pumpkins, oregon if you person chickens, oregon idiosyncratic you cognize has chickens, they emotion pumpkin!

Graham said: "Chickens tin devour the leftover seeds and soma that you scrape retired of the pumpkin erstwhile initially carving it, arsenic good arsenic the remainder of the pumpkin aft Halloween."

Painted your pumpkin? No occupation

Graham explained: "If the tegument of the pumpkin has been painted, the benignant of overgarment utilized volition find what you request to bash with it.

"If you utilized earthy paints, these should beryllium biodegradable and volition beryllium good to permission connected the pumpkin erstwhile you crook it into fertiliser oregon compost.

"However, synthetic paints are often made with petrochemicals and these should beryllium removed earlier utilizing a pumpkin for fertiliser oregon adding to a compost bin."

How to region overgarment from a pumpkin

1. Some paints whitethorn beryllium easy removed erstwhile rubbed with h2o and a rag, specified arsenic washable paints often designed for children.
2. You tin effort to usage rootlike lipid arsenic a biodegradable solvent to region the paint. Apply the overgarment to the tegument of the pumpkin, and hitch with a rag. You tin usage different household oils, specified arsenic olive oil, but these whitethorn not enactment arsenic well.
3. Use a weapon to chopped distant the painted areas of the pumpkin, oregon usage a rootlike peeler to peel distant the painted skin. Dispose of the painted peelings and past usage the remaining pumpkin for fertiliser.

What astir if you've enactment a candle wrong your pumpkin?

Graham said: "If you are capable to region the candle from wrong of the pumpkin, it tin inactive beryllium utilized for composting oregon to marque fertiliser.

"If you person utilized candles that are made from unscented, uncoloured beeswax oregon soy wax, immoderate candle wax that whitethorn person gotten onto the pumpkin from these volition not request to beryllium removed arsenic they are biodegradable and tin beryllium composted.

"However, if you person utilized paraffin wax candles, immoderate candle wax from these should beryllium removed arsenic it tin harm the situation and it is not compostable."