Driving home yesterday evening I saw lots of fabulous Halloween displays and people chatting to each other as they escorted their costumed children on a Trick or Treat tour. It reminded me of the positive aspects and community potential of Halloween, which can trace its roots back to the ancient Celtic Festival of Samhain
You get
a lot of negative stories around Halloween and the odd horror film, plus it is one of the many things
that has been over-commercialised. So many shops sell a ridiculous amount of
what can mostly described as plastic junk – Halloween crackers anyone?
One of
the main features of this festival is the carved pumpkin, or Jack-O-Lantern.
It is a great fun activity and some of the creations are outstanding.
However,
in the UK alone we send around 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins to landfill each year, which is undoubtedly one of the scariest things about Halloween and completely unnecessary,
as there are plenty of pumpkin possibilities:
You can eat them
What
you don’t want to do is to try and eat a pumpkin that has been sat outdoors for
a few days, often in the wet and attracting the interest of the local
cats.
However,
there are plenty of recipes for the pulp and seeds you scrape out when you do
your carving including roasted
pumpkin seeds; pumpkin,
pancetta and sage soup; pumpkin tray
bake cake and Thai
Pumpkin Curry.
They help to make great compost
As the
pumpkin is about 90% water it will break down really well and be a useful addition to your garden compost. For a bit of anger management therapy you can bash
them around a bit before putting them in the compost, as this will help the
process.
You don’t
want to put the seeds in the compost bin or you will end up with lots of little
plants, but there are plenty of uses for pumpkin seeds.
Birds like pumpkin seeds
Dry them out first. This will take about ten minutes in the oven at 180C/Gas 4. Obviously don’t add any seasoning; we’re not talking MasterChef
here. They can go outside on their own or be mixed in with your other bird food, breaking some of them up for the smaller birds.
Many animals like pumpkins as
well
Squirrels
love pumpkins and so do lots of other wildlife including hedgehogs, deer and
rabbits.
You can just leave it at the bottom of the garden or take it into a woodland area, just not with a lamp or candle still inside, or you will give the local wildlife and walkers a bit of a shock.
If you live near a zoo or wildlife animal rescue
centre, it may be worth contacting them to see if they can make use of your old
Jack-O-Lantern.
Squirrels
love pumpkins and so do lots of other wildlife including hedgehogs, deer and
rabbits.You can just leave it at the bottom of the garden or take it into a woodland area, just not with a lamp or candle still inside, or you will give the local wildlife and walkers a bit of a shock.
If you live near a zoo or wildlife animal rescue
centre, it may be worth contacting them to see if they can make use of your old
Jack-O-Lantern.
You can bury it
Not in a post-Halloween grand funeral kind of way, but rather as a great way to feed the worms and insects.
Cut your pumpkin into pieces and bury it about 25cm deep. Because of its high water content and the soil it will break down beautifully.
The wee beasties will eat it, process it and poo it, which is great for the garden!
Cut your pumpkin into pieces and bury it about 25cm deep. Because of its high water content and the soil it will break down beautifully.
The wee beasties will eat it, process it and poo it, which is great for the garden!
Just don’t throw it in a
bin where it goes to landfill
At
least make sure your old pumpkin goes into your green bin to be composted.
This is a lovely seasonal veg which is also very versatile. It is lots of fun to grow yourselves if you can, and there is certainly a bit of a competition every year at my allotments - this year I thought one was about to turn into Cinderalla's coach!
If you don't have the time, space or inclination to grow your own then look out for local pumpkin picking events or take the opportunity to visit your local farm shop.
