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What's Decomposing - Pumpkins

It's seems like every post I do lately is a "What's Decomposing" post. So far I've shown pictures of my compost bin with hot peppers, leaves, and 5 gallons of peanut oil in it. Who doesn't love pictures of compost?

With halloween now over and having grown that great 75 pounds pumpkin the question is, what should I do with it. Well since this is a "What's Decomposing" post I guess it's not a question at all. Pumpkins are a great "green" source for making compost. A lot of people cut the pumpkins up so that they compost quicker but I don't bother. These pumpkins will get soft soon enough on their own, without any help from me.

One problem that will definitely have is with pumpkin plant volunteers. My compost bin is going to become a pumpkin patch next spring. That means I'll have to turn the pile a few times until these volunteer pumpkin plants stop volunteering. As long as I turn the plants into the pile before they get too big, I'll be okay.

Turning a huge compost pile is not a fun task so I probably should have passed on these pumpkins. But when you're low on greens, you do what you have to do.

3 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
    I was wondering if the birds would eat the pumpkin seeds? I intend to scoop the seeds out and leave them for the birds if the squirrels don't get them first. Apparently zoos give them to elephants to eat whole. I saw a video where the elephant just picked one up and crunched it whole. They just love them...must be like candy with the sweetness.
    Anthony said...
    Giving the seeds to the birds is a great idea. I also know that some people like to roast and eat pumpkin seeds. I'm not one of those people. I don't even like pumpkin pie so into the bin they go.

    And you also reminded me that I need to pick up some bird seed for my feeders. Thanks!
    Anonymous said...
    In the past we used to roast the seeds and eat them as a snack. We didn't carve our pumpkin this year because there are hardly any kids trick or treating in our area. Only 3 kids came by. So I have a big whole pumpkin still in good shape on the front porch. When it starts to decompose I'll try giving the seeds to the birds.

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