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After the Jack-o-lantern

Smash It Don't Trash It
Millions of children trick or treat on Halloween night each year in the U.S.  In preparation for them, many people decorate their porches and houses with all kinds of spooky things.  The most popular choice, whether it be friendly or scary, is likely to be the jack-o-lantern.

You can keep your old orange globe from heading to the landfill by adding it to the compost bin.  If you don't already have a compost pile/bin, why not start one now?  Yard trimmings and food residuals constitute 23% of the U.S. waste stream.  What a waste!  Used in our yards, that same organic matter can do a lot of good.  Enriching the soil naturally through composting helps your garden grow while keeping the planet healthy.

What Makes It Green?
Adding compost to your garden can increase drainage, suppress plant diseases and "bad" bugs, revitalize damaged/depleted soil, eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers, reduce the need for water and help plants grow to their fullest.

Using compost in your yard is good for the environment because compost can reduce the need for water, fertilizers, and pesticides.  Conserving water and cutting down on toxic chemicals in our soil and water system is always good for the planet.

Composting can also really make a difference in keeping the earth healthy because it diverts organic materials from landfills, which helps to avoid the production of methane and leachate.  That's good for the air that we all breathe.  Furthermore, cutting the amount of landfill mass will help our landfills last longer for items that can't be recycled or composted.

What You Can Do
  • Compost your old jack-o-lantern. Start by scraping out the "guts" - either toast the seeds for a healthy and tasty snack or add them to the compost pile. Add all of the "carved out" pieces. Next, in goes the used jack-o-lantern - cut it up into small pieces so it will break down faster.  Don't forget to take out any wax that may have melted inside as it's not good for composting.
  • Consider hosting a smashing party - invite your friends and neighbors to come over wearing some old clothes that they don't mind getting messy. Find a place in your yard that you don't mind getting gooey. Then drop, hit, smash and squish your old gourds into a mushy mess (perfect for the compost pile).
  • Add some leaves to your pile (you should have plenty in your yard right now). You need to add some "brown" items to mix with all of the "green" (or orange in this case) that you're adding to the compost pile.
  • While you are at it, you can add other fruit and vegetable cuttings, pasta, rice, bread, coffee grounds, tea bags, grass clippings, leaves and lightweight trimmings from the garden. In order to avoid potential bug and rodent problems don't compost meats, dairy products or oily foods.
  • To avoid nasty smells, stir your compost often to allow more air in. Also check to make sure too much moisture isn't building up in the bin.
  • If you don't already have a compost pile/bin, make your own in a hidden place in your yard. The EPA has complete instructions for two different approaches of creating your own.
  • Buy a commercially made composting bin. Check out your local gardening retail store or online - Composters.com has an extensive selection of the different types available.
didyouknow
The U.S. produced over 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins in 2008.  That's a lot of jack-o-lanterns potentially headed for a landfill.

handson
Our toasted pumpkin seeds turned out especially good this year.  I added a little garlic powder and paprika to the standard salt and pepper - yum!
 
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