Pumpkins are essential when celebrating Halloween. However, once October 31st comes, are you thinking what to do with pumpkins after Halloween is over? We’ve got some great ideas to make the most out of these special gourds and ensure nothing goes to waste!
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Pumpkin Bird Feeder
After Halloween, pumpkins can be a used to care for wildlife visiting your garden. The bowl shape at the base of your pumpkin provides an ideal way to feed birds. Your feathered friends from the garden will love having a place to perch and enjoy their favourite seeds.
How To Make A Pumpkin Bird Feeder
Simply cut the top off an uncarved pumpkin and then fill with bird seed. Place strong string or some twine through holes in the pumpkin. Then hang or place your pumpkin in a garden location easy for birds to access.
Using A Pumpkin For Animal feed
Leftover pumpkins can provide the perfect dishes for animals because most wildlife can eat them. So, don’t throw your pumpkin away, squirrels, foxes and badgers will all enjoy this Autumn snack. Particularly, as food can be harder for them to find during the colder months.
How To Make A Pumpkin Animal Feeder
It’s easy to make your pumpkin into animal snacks. First, remove the side of your pumpkin, but leave a small bit at the bottom to form a trough. Then, chop up the inside into a pumpkin puree and leave outside in your garden. It will make a lovely autumnal garden feature. Plus, children will have lots of fun being able to watch different wildlife pop their heads in to eat!
Compost Your Pumpkin
Tons of pumpkins are thrown away after Halloween, contributing to shocking statistics for annual food waste. Hubbub, an organisation campaigning for the environment, carried out a recent pumpkin survey. It was estimated in the UK that the amount of pumpkins thrown away could have made a bowl of pumpkin soup for everybody in the country!
To avoid wasting your pumpkin, you can put your family Jack O’Lantern onto the compost heap or in your compost bin. Pumpkins can provide a nutrient-rich compost material for your garden, but make sure you chop it up first to help the composting process.
Donate Pumpkins
Now that you no longer have use for them, you can give your pumpkins to farms as animal feed. It’s a good idea to check first, though, to see if nearby farms are happy to accept your pumpkin donations. Local community gardens and allotments are also other places that may benefit from being able to use your old pumpkin. They can put it on their compost pile and use it as fertiliser for their plants!
Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkins can be used to create a variety of healthy meals and tasty snacks. They have high nutritional credentials because a pumpkin is a good source of vitamins A and C, plus iron and riboflavin.
You might be wondering which part of the pumpkin I can eat. Well, good news! You can eat all of a pumpkin apart from the stalk. So, let’s take a look at what you can cook up…
How To Make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are a delicious snack that are great on their own or sprinkled onto your morning cereal or porridge for a healthy boost to your breakfast.
The recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds is easy to follow – even if you are a cooking beginner! First, remove all the seeds from your pumpkin and any stringy bits. Then, wash and dry them thoroughly. Next, place the seeds on a baking tray with a sprinkle of olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes at 180C fan/Gas 6 and watch to make sure they start to turn brown. Serve by adding a little sea salt or sweet paprika seasoning, depending on your preference.
How To Make Pumpkin Soup
You can easily make a batch of pumpkin soup by adding ingredients that can be found in most kitchen fridges and cupboards. A comforting and warming meal for chilly Autumn days!
Firstly, remove the pumpkin flesh from the inside and chop it into chunks. Next, gently heat in a pan with chopped onions and a tbsp of olive oil. Then, once the pumpkin chunks have softened and browned, add 700ml of chicken or vegetable stock. Bring all your ingredients to the boil before finishing off your soup by adding 150ml of double cream. If you prefer an extra-fine consistency for your soup, you might like to use a sieve or hand blender before serving.
Grow Your Own Pumpkins
Why not plan your own pumpkin patch for next Autumn?
If you have the space in your garden or have your own allotment, you can use the seeds from leftover pumpkins to grow your own. After all, the rest of the pumpkin can be composted to help feed your garden, so your pumpkin patch should be off to a brilliant start!
We hope you have found lots of ideas for what to do with your pumpkin after Halloween.
Once Halloween is over, it’s good idea to start planning for Bonfire Night. Find a bonfire near you here.
Are you starting to think about Christmas gifts? Find a Christmas Market Near You.
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