I have one pumpkin (not yet carved) on my porch, which is nothing in comparison to my neighbors’ (ugly) displays for Halloween. I live in an area with lots of wildlife (deer, fox, etc), so I know my pumpkin will get consumed when I break it apart and scatter it into the woods behind the house. Somehow, that makes me feel less sad/bad about the ridiculousness of the season.
Couldn’t agree more! Such a waste, and here in the UK I wonder if some people realise that pumpkins are edible. The supermarkets seems to only be selling them for carving and bypassing the delicious range of squash available at this time of year.
This pumpkin fetish is so true and too over the top and wasteful. But I do admit to buying a couple pumpkins from a nearby farm. I live in a very rural area in NY and the farmer at the end of my street has a big wooden bin outside with a handpainted sign saying "Pigs love pumpkins". Myself and many of my neighbors drop off pumpkins after halloween so at least his many pigs can eat them.
Yes! Everyone in my daughter's preschool in LA is supposed to bring a carved pumpkin today. First of all, crazy. Second of all, when on Earth do I have the time to carve a pumpkin for a 3-year-old? Luckily, she doesn't attend on Fridays, so we fell under the radar. In the meantime, my parents in Russia spend their Fall pickling and jamming, not because they have to but because they love to. Spot on!
Hi, Charlie. Thanks for this heads-up on the value of pumpkins to the food chain. I love pumpkin soup, and enjoy pumpkin pie, but that's as far as it goes. I cannot abide any of the "pumpkin spice" foods and beverages at this time of year. You're doing the right thing with your pickling and preserving. Many of the members of my church do the same, and near Christmas we get treated to their pickles, pepper jellies, and jams of every kind of berry known to North America. Long live the "18th century farmer's wife!"
THIS! We live in the city but have a creek behind our house where we’ve seen deer, herons, coyotes, and more. After we carve our pumpkins and they start to wilt, we toss them into the trees where they are quickly gobbled up by woodland creatures. The bastardization of legitimately wonderful seasonal traditions is something that gives me much grief.
And now it's happening here in the UK. Not the pumpkin thing itself, which has been evident for a few years, but the waste! I popped into a small supermarket yesterday and you could hardly move for them round the entrance and the tills. Across the UK thousands upon thousands of them, grown on what is clearly pretty fertile farmland, only to be hacked around and then thrown away. This is just is just another gimmicky the supermarket spivs.
Wow. The waste is criminal. I don't celebrate Halloween. I do use pumpkin to make dog treats. Well, this is one area I don't feel guilty about... now about my plastic water bottle habit I'm trying desperately to break... but I've cut down considerably. I'm giving myself a C- for effort as of this month.
Though I can understand your concerns about the access of the use of pumpkins, must of us have 2-3 on the doorstep. We are fortunate that we live in the woods and when we are done with the pumpkins the deer are more than happy to enjoy them.
Hoping to bake the Hubbard squash I have on my porch this year. I love the colors of fall, but feel increasingly depressed by the level of waste I see for such a short season.
Thanks for putting into words what’s been buzzing in the back of my head as I kept debating whether to buy a large pumpkin or two to put on my porch. Instead, after reading your post, I’m going to roast the small pie pumpkin I bought as a decoration and turn it into pumpkin soup or bread or freeze the pulp for pumpkin pie come Thanksgiving. Waste not, want not--the old proverb still holds.
I am dighing my heels in and trying to opt out of frantic holidays this year. My sons are grown and have my blessing to accept any thanksgiving invitation they want from friends or in laws. Halloween, our outside lights will go off at dusk and no one will ascend our steep driveway in the dark. No pumpkin on our porch. If I buy one, it will get cut up and put out for the deer. And I want a quiet Advent this year.
Oh my goodness, I'm so pleased that you wrote this. Here in the UK the rise of the pumpkin seems unstoppable but the sheer waste is just mind boggling. So many of those bought just end up slimy and rotting in landfill.
I don’t see the plethora of Autumn food waste in the suburbs of Oregon. A few small displays, mostly outside grocery stores but the yard displays tend to be more of the plastic blow up variety which is a separate outrage. I do agree that people are woefully ignorant of food preservation methods but that’s a failure of both parenting & education. I also appreciate the European sensibilities towards food with moderate portions, shopping more frequently for fresh foods, and the lack of warehouse grocery stores
I have one pumpkin (not yet carved) on my porch, which is nothing in comparison to my neighbors’ (ugly) displays for Halloween. I live in an area with lots of wildlife (deer, fox, etc), so I know my pumpkin will get consumed when I break it apart and scatter it into the woods behind the house. Somehow, that makes me feel less sad/bad about the ridiculousness of the season.
Couldn’t agree more! Such a waste, and here in the UK I wonder if some people realise that pumpkins are edible. The supermarkets seems to only be selling them for carving and bypassing the delicious range of squash available at this time of year.
This pumpkin fetish is so true and too over the top and wasteful. But I do admit to buying a couple pumpkins from a nearby farm. I live in a very rural area in NY and the farmer at the end of my street has a big wooden bin outside with a handpainted sign saying "Pigs love pumpkins". Myself and many of my neighbors drop off pumpkins after halloween so at least his many pigs can eat them.
I agree with you on all of this. It’s become crazy!
Yes! Everyone in my daughter's preschool in LA is supposed to bring a carved pumpkin today. First of all, crazy. Second of all, when on Earth do I have the time to carve a pumpkin for a 3-year-old? Luckily, she doesn't attend on Fridays, so we fell under the radar. In the meantime, my parents in Russia spend their Fall pickling and jamming, not because they have to but because they love to. Spot on!
Hi, Charlie. Thanks for this heads-up on the value of pumpkins to the food chain. I love pumpkin soup, and enjoy pumpkin pie, but that's as far as it goes. I cannot abide any of the "pumpkin spice" foods and beverages at this time of year. You're doing the right thing with your pickling and preserving. Many of the members of my church do the same, and near Christmas we get treated to their pickles, pepper jellies, and jams of every kind of berry known to North America. Long live the "18th century farmer's wife!"
THIS! We live in the city but have a creek behind our house where we’ve seen deer, herons, coyotes, and more. After we carve our pumpkins and they start to wilt, we toss them into the trees where they are quickly gobbled up by woodland creatures. The bastardization of legitimately wonderful seasonal traditions is something that gives me much grief.
And now it's happening here in the UK. Not the pumpkin thing itself, which has been evident for a few years, but the waste! I popped into a small supermarket yesterday and you could hardly move for them round the entrance and the tills. Across the UK thousands upon thousands of them, grown on what is clearly pretty fertile farmland, only to be hacked around and then thrown away. This is just is just another gimmicky the supermarket spivs.
Wow. The waste is criminal. I don't celebrate Halloween. I do use pumpkin to make dog treats. Well, this is one area I don't feel guilty about... now about my plastic water bottle habit I'm trying desperately to break... but I've cut down considerably. I'm giving myself a C- for effort as of this month.
Though I can understand your concerns about the access of the use of pumpkins, must of us have 2-3 on the doorstep. We are fortunate that we live in the woods and when we are done with the pumpkins the deer are more than happy to enjoy them.
Hoping to bake the Hubbard squash I have on my porch this year. I love the colors of fall, but feel increasingly depressed by the level of waste I see for such a short season.
Thanks for putting into words what’s been buzzing in the back of my head as I kept debating whether to buy a large pumpkin or two to put on my porch. Instead, after reading your post, I’m going to roast the small pie pumpkin I bought as a decoration and turn it into pumpkin soup or bread or freeze the pulp for pumpkin pie come Thanksgiving. Waste not, want not--the old proverb still holds.
This makes me rethink my desire for porch pumpkins - not to mention they are SO expensive. Thank you for your research and perspective!
I am dighing my heels in and trying to opt out of frantic holidays this year. My sons are grown and have my blessing to accept any thanksgiving invitation they want from friends or in laws. Halloween, our outside lights will go off at dusk and no one will ascend our steep driveway in the dark. No pumpkin on our porch. If I buy one, it will get cut up and put out for the deer. And I want a quiet Advent this year.
Oh my goodness, I'm so pleased that you wrote this. Here in the UK the rise of the pumpkin seems unstoppable but the sheer waste is just mind boggling. So many of those bought just end up slimy and rotting in landfill.
I don’t see the plethora of Autumn food waste in the suburbs of Oregon. A few small displays, mostly outside grocery stores but the yard displays tend to be more of the plastic blow up variety which is a separate outrage. I do agree that people are woefully ignorant of food preservation methods but that’s a failure of both parenting & education. I also appreciate the European sensibilities towards food with moderate portions, shopping more frequently for fresh foods, and the lack of warehouse grocery stores