Recycle your Halloween Pumpkin
It’s a shame to let all those carved pumpkins from Halloween go to waste. You could re-use yours as a bird feeder. This is a great little project you can do with your kids and grandkids in the back garden.
What you need
· A pumpkin.
· If you cannot place it somewhere, hang it up using some string.
· Some good quality bird seed.
Making a Pumpkin Bird Feeder
Making a pumpkin bird feeder is quite simple.
· Remove the top of your pumpkin. If yours is looking a bit worn around the carvings, slice that off, leaving a bowl shape.
· Make sure the pumpkin is clean and not rotten.
· Run some twine underneath the pumpkin, cradling it, and suspend somewhere in your garden.
· Fill with good birdseed.
It won’t last forever
Remember that as soon as the pumpkin starts to look a little old and rotten, it’s time to throw it away, or better still, compost it.
Don’t feed the birds food that has gone rotten or mouldy.
You never know…. your pumpkin feeder may invite other fury friends to visit your garden such as squirrels.
What to do with pumpkin seeds
Birds love all kinds of seeds, pumpkin included, so you could save the seeds and put them in your feeder. Dry them out first by putting them in the oven at 180C/gas 4 for about ten minutes (get a grown up to help you with this). Once they’re cool, you could break them up a bit so it’s easier for little birds to get their beaks round them.
Give minibeasts a pumpkin feast
Pumpkin flesh is full of water and breaks down quickly in the soil so you could just chop your pumpkin into bits and bury it in your garden. The worms and insects will love it!
Just dig a hole about 25cm deep and pop it in. Remove the seeds first or you may be in for some surprise pumpkins in the spring! The minibeasts will chomp on it and then poo it out, making the soil more fertile for growing things next year.
