How to safely dispose of your pumpkin and why you shouldn’t leave it for wildlife

We’re in the last days of one of the best Halloween events in Essex for kids – our Haunted Halloween Festival comes to a spooky end this Sunday, and we hope everyone who has come down to make it such a huge success has had as much fun as we have. We’ve also loved seeing your photos online (thanks for the tags!) and can see some of you have turned your free pumpkin into some quite fangtastic masterpieces. But what will you do with your pumpkins once Halloween season is over? One thing we ask you NOT to do is dispose of it in any areas where you have local wildlife – contrary to popular belief, pumpkin, because it is not found naturally in the woodlands of the UK, can be harmful to British wildlife such as hedgehogs, deer, foxes and badgers. It can also spread diseases if several animals feed from the same pumpkin, which again is harmful to our furry and feathered friends.

Ways to safely dispose of your pumpkin

Roast Pumpkin Seeds

To roast pumpkin seeds and turn them into a delicious, healthy snack, first you will need to detangle them from the stringy guts and rinse well, and then lay them out on a flat sheet to dry. Once they’re moisture-free, toss them in some plant-based butter, sprinkle with some seasoning such as salt and then roast them for around 45 minutes at 300 degrees. Delish.

Make Pumpkin Stock

Homemade pumpkin stock makes the perfect base for hearty winter warmers such as pumpkin soup, chowders, or pumpkin risotto. First drag out all the insides and pop them into a big stock pot with any other veggies you have on hand, Onions, mushrooms, fennel, garlic, celery and carrots are always a winner! Add a bay leaf or two, sprinkle with some seasoning (salt and pepper), cover with water and then simmer for around an hour. Check and stir often! Once done, strain out the veggies (and whizz them up into a soup) and, voila, that tasty liquid is your stock. You can either use it straightaway, keep it in the fridge for a few days, or freeze it.

Create Compost

Don’t add your pumpkin to landfill this year but instead add it to your own garden! First, remove all the seeds (else they will germinate and grow in your compost) and use them for your roasted snack idea above, then chop your pumpkin into small bits and add it to the compost heap. This will release a lovely dose of nitrogen as it decomposes, but do make sure to also add to the pile something carbon-rich such as leaves, newspaper or wood ash.

Donate them to a local animal sanctuary (but check first!)

Some animals can happily eat pumpkin so why not get in touch with your local animal shelter to see if they can put any to use? We don’t need any here at Hopefield at the moment as we have leftovers from our event and our wonderful friends at House & Jackson Vets have been collecting some for us, but there are lots of amazing animal sanctuaries in Essex that would no doubt be grateful for a few.

Happy Halloween, everyone!