National Pumpkin Day: What happens to leftover pumpkins after Halloween?

PERRYVILLE, Mo. (KBSI) – Perryville Pumpkin Farm grows 240 — yes, 240! — different types of pumpkins, gourds, and squash.

Owner Dianna Koenig said some pumpkins ripen in as little as 70 days, while others take upwards of 120. 

And she said drought conditions earlier this year delayed the planting process of some of the pumpkins. 

“We planted our early pumpkins, but then the late pumpkins we couldn’t plant until very late, so they’re just getting ripe within the last few days to a week,” she said.

So, after the farm closes the first of November, what happens to all the leftover pumpkins? 

“Our pumpkins in the patch will freeze like an ice cube, and then whenever it thaws, they will just go to nothing, and they will add organic matter to the soil,” Koenig said.

And Koenig said for when you’re finished with those pumpkins you may use as decorations, you could do something similar and add them to a compost pile, and you could: “Keep your pumpkin seeds and roast them and eat them.” 

Amanda Taylor, who has been coming to Perryville Pumpkin Farm for 12 years, had a suggestion of her own when it comes to putting those leftover pumpkins to good use. 

“We try to put them out at my parent’s farm to see if they can grow new pumpkins next year, which we did one year, and we had a pretty good patch just on the pumpkin seeds that we threw out,” she said.

And both Koenig and the Taylor family leave us with this important message:

“Happy National Pumpkin Day!”