Don’t toss that pumpkin! Ways to reuse jack-o’-lanterns

Happy Halloween! And in the gardening world, this is pumpkin’s big day, when the humble vegetable becomes the center of national attention – usually with its innards cut out.

Jack-o’-lanterns have been an American tradition since the first Irish immigrants. They brought to this continent the legend of “Stinky Jack,” forced to wander the night carrying a lantern made of a carved-out turnip. These early Irish-Americans soon discovered a pumpkin (native to their new land) was a lot easier to carve than a turnip; hence, the jack-o’-lanterns we know today.

Just as traditional is the habit of discarding those used pumpkins the day after Halloween.

Instead of tossing, try recycling that pumpkin. Here are some ideas:

* If the pumpkin flesh is still fresh, it can be cooked and consumed. But that’s a big “if.” Make sure there’s no sign of spoilage and that the cut pumpkin wasn’t sitting out for more than a few hours. The cut surfaces of a pumpkin are quick to grow mold and other pathogens.

Before cooking, cut off exposed surfaces and any areas blackened by candles. Boil, steam or roast until pumpkin flesh is fork tender, then process pumpkin as desired. The soft pumpkin puree can be used in a wide variety of sweet and savory dishes. (One note: Carving pumpkins tend not to make good pies; they contain too much moisture.)

* Feed the pumpkin to animals. Pumpkins can be eaten by cattle, pigs, goats and other livestock. Zoos feed pumpkins to their animals, too. (Sacramento Zoo accepts whole pumpkins for animal enrichment activities.)

* Feed the pumpkin to wildlife. Turn the pumpkin pieces into bird feeders. Open up the squash to expose more interior surface area and spread with bird seed. Then, set out for the birds to peck away.

* Feed it to the microbes. Compost the pumpkin. Minus any decorations, put the pumpkin in your green waste bin or your own compost pile. (Or your worm bin!)  Cut it up in 2-inch chunks to speed its decomposition.