Nov 3, 2023 - News
3 alternatives in New Orleans to throwing away your pumpkins
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Compost NOW provides bats and hammers to smash pumpkins at its event Saturday. Photo: Courtesy of Compost NOW
Don't throw away your Halloween pumpkins. Instead, feed a goat or make the soil better.
Driving the news: Metro New Orleans has drop-off options for pumpkin composting.
- The New Orleans Public Library also is hosting a pumpkin-smashing event on Saturday.
Pumpkin smashing: The library has partnered with Compost NOW to collect pumpkins from 11am to 1pm at the Rosa Keller branch.
- Carved and uncarved pumpkins are accepted.
- You can also use the provided baseball bats and hammers to smash the pumpkins.
- The pumpkins and their guts will be taken to Schmelly's Dirt Farm for composting.
Feed an animal: Laughing Buddha Nursery in Metairie collects pumpkins to feed the animals at Local Cooling Farms, owner Kate Estrade tells Axios.
- Unpainted pumpkins can be dropped off in the parking lot bins at Laughing Buddha through January.
- Carved and uncarved pumpkins are accepted.
- The pumpkins are fed primarily to the goats, which have babies in December, Estrade says. The pigs, chickens and cattle also eat the gourds.
- If you are on the North Shore, you can drop off pumpkins at the farm in Bogalusa.
Backyard compost: You can compost them in your yard if you have space.
- Remove the candles, wax and any decorations. Scoop out the seeds if you don't want baby pumpkins to grow.
- Smash the pumpkin or cut it into pieces. Put the pieces on the dirt and then cover them with leaves.
Go deeper:
- Photos: Celeb Halloween costumes with New Orleans flair
- Photos of Halloween decorations around New Orleans
- 7 spooky bars and restaurants in the French Quarter
- Haunted real estate listings in New Orleans aren't scaring off buyers
