Tis’ the Season of the Pumpkin
Tis’ the season for pumpkins to shine; spicing up your latte, baked in a pie, placed strategically as a decoration, or celebrating the spooky season as a Jack O’Lantern.
Missoula’s Pumpkin Events:
Turner Farms Pumpkin Patch: Small, organic family farm open to the public for pumpkin picking, live music, food, and face painting.
Skeleton Skedaddle & Pumpkin Plod: Fun run for all ages with Run Wild Missoula. Costumes highly recommended. Plod finishers receive a personal pumpkin.
Pumpkin Party: Garden City Harvest is hosting a pumpkin picking and carving event with produce sale and fresh apple cider.
After all the excitement, what do you do with the leftovers; pumpkin scraps and decaying decorations?
Add it to Missoula’s Compost!
Divert organic material from the landfill and add rich nutrient value during the fall season all in one step. Pumpkins are a biennial member of the squash family, meaning they take two years to grow from seed to fruition. They are composed mostly of water and fiber. In compost, they are a great source of nitrogen and moisture. If you don’t roast your pumpkin seeds (or you burn them), add those to the compost as well. Seeds are rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals; all of which will be absorbed into compost soil, ready to fuel spring growth.
Pumpkin Scraps: All pumpkin scraps from baking or carving can be composted. Throw them right in the green bin!
Jack O’Lanterns: Before adding to the green bin, remove candles, scrape out any spilled wax, and make sure any stickers, ribbons, or glitter is removed. Then put Jack to work! Have him start building up Missoula’s soil for spring.
Painted Pumpkins: Paints like Natural Earth Paint or Eco Art and Craft paint can be composted safely. Many other paints are made with toxic materials, plastics, and harmful metals. Just to be safe, we recommend scraping any paint off the surfaces before composting.
Fun Tip: Have fun smashing old pumpkins before adding them to your compost bin. It will make more room for additional compost in the bin and relieve stress!
Keep prepping that spring soil before winter kicks in. For any composting question be sure to ask at info@missoulcompost.com or visit our website.
Thanks for all your great work!
