Sacramento Digs Gardening: 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.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

Halloween pumpkin squash holiday seasonal vegetable traditions compost worm bin October fall Sacramento gardening

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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