The Pumpkin Diner

11/18/2023

A carved pumpkin makes a great bird and wildlife feeder filled with a variety of nuts and seeds.

My husband has been stealing pumpkins. Early in autumn I picked up a few good sized pumpkins, and several smaller ones at local farm stands. They've been occupying space on the front stoop and around the backyard patio since then.

But recently, I noticed the ones on the front stoop were multiplying. I messaged my husband, and he confessed. On his evening walks he's been picking up pumpkins from the curb line, where they sit amongst the leaves raked and ready for pick-up.

Mini pumpkins mixed in with the flower pot arrangements for a fall motif.

A variety of sizes of smaller gourds and mini pumpkins fill the raised bed with a selection of seeds for both birds and small wildlife.

Now that Halloween has passed, and the autumn season is speeding by, we did a bit of seasonal clean-up, and decided to use the pumpkins as feeders for the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.

In the past we've cut open a couple pumpkins so that the squirrels could help themselves to the pumpkin seeds and pulp. This year we changed it up a bit.

This time out I added some trimmed greens to the cleaned out raised beds and made space to put in a selection of pumpkin feeders. They've been a great success!

I love looking out the window in the morning to see squirrels, birds, and chipmunks scrambling about, snacking on the variety of seeds and nuts we've provided, including some of the saved pumpkin seeds. I've carved up bits of pumpkin for snacking as well.

Bite size chunks of pumpkin, along with pumpkin seeds offered for the squirrels and chipmunks.

The resident chipmunks have been enjoying the selection of nuts offered, but peanuts in the shell are a favorite.

It's been a learning process, as far as placement goes. Too many in one spot causes more scuffles, so spreading them out a bit more has worked well. Though, in rainy weather, I have been keeping more of them beneath the eaves, in an effort to keep them dry.

Seeds can be a mix of different types. We've been using woodpecker nut mixes, along with black oil sunflower, safflower, and shelled, and unshelled peanuts. And working in some of the pumpkin seeds as well.

The squirrels tend to ignore the safflower seeds, but the birds and the chipmunks enjoy them. The juncos, sparrows, and house finches have been enjoying the safflower and black oil sunflower seeds, as well as picking up bits and pieces of the nuts leftover.

You can cut pumpkins in a few different ways, depending on size, and where you want to put them. You can drill holes for dowels so you can hang them from a tree or hook, if you like. We've been using ours in the raised beds, and on top of a few of our emptied planters.

Cut them in half and scoop out the guts. You can cut up some of the pumpkin and save the pumpkin seeds for the critters, or you can compost them straight off. I remove the stem from the top of the pumpkin once it's cut in half, then I can use both the top and bottom as feeder bowls.

You can even carve it so that there is a ledge for the critters to perch on.

An ice cream scoop works well to clean out the guts and seeds of a pumpkin.

One of the carving style options.

I've been scooping out the spent seeds at the end of the day, and assessing the state of the pumpkins. If they've pretty much shriveled, it's time for the compost heap. Same thing if they get moldy.

Otherwise, empty them out and refill for the next day with the seeds of your choice. We'll replace the faded ones as we go along until we've used them up.

We usually have a few different bird feeders hung throughout the yard. We've been keeping that to a minimum at this time.

Some of those will go back out for the harsh winter months, when they really come in handy for resident wildlife.

In the meantime, using the pumpkins as feeders is a fun way to put some fall decorations to good use. One more useful step on their way to be composted for use in next year's garden.

It's been fun for us, and definitely a tasty treat for our backyard wildlife.