Wondering what to do with all of those leftover pumpkin seeds from carving Jack-O’-Lanterns? You can easily use them for compost, save them as seeds to plant next year, or roast them to eat and enjoy!
Composting
This year at the McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, we will compost the “guts”, or pulp and pumpkin seeds, that we have when we prepare our pumpkins for carving on Tuesday, October 16 and Wednesday, October 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will simply add all of this pumpkin pulp and pumpkin seeds to our compost pile and use it in The Garden.
Saving The Seeds To Plant
Another option is to save your pumpkin seeds to plant next year. This is a fairly simple process. Here is how we suggest you save your pumpkin seeds:
If you open your pumpkin and it is moldy or does not look good, don’t save those seeds. Find a better pumpkin to save seeds from.
When you find that perfect pumpkin, simply do the following:
- Cut into your pumpkin and pull out the guts of it with the pulp and seeds.
- Remove the seeds from the stringy pulp matter. You could rinse the seeds with cold water under a strainer or you can simply remove the seeds from the pulp to use.
- Dry the pumpkin seeds by laying the pumpkin seeds on the bottom of a cardboard box laying all of the seeds in a single layer.
- Bring the box with the pumpkin seeds into your house and keep it at room temperature (no extreme hot or cold temperatures).
- Store the box with the pumpkin seeds inside for a week – turning and moving the seeds each day to keep them from sticking to the box. Some people like to keep the seeds in the sun to dry them out by placing them near a window.
- Pick out all the seeds that look good and discard any with mold or mildew.
- Store the pumpkin seeds in a paper bag or paper envelope and label them so you know which variety you have saved.
- Do not use plastic as it could promote moisture which you do not want.
- Keep the pumpkin seeds inside until you will plant them.
Keep in mind that your pumpkin plants will cross-pollinate, so whatever seed you use from a pumpkin may produce a pumpkin that is not exactly like the seed it came from. But do keep seeds from pumpkins you like the bestA.
An Edible Option Is To Use Your Pumpkin Seeds To Eat And Enjoy
We like to roast our pumpkin seeds and you may do that in the oven on a cookie sheet or on the stovetop in a cast iron pan.
- Gut your pumpkin and separate the pumpkin seeds from the pulp.
- Rinse your pumpkin seeds in cold water to remove all pulp.
- Place your pumpkin seeds in a pot of boiling water with about 2 teaspoons of sea salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pumpkin seeds from the pot of water and drain.
- Dry the pumpkin seeds thoroughly.
- Toss the pumpkin seeds with olive oil using a 1 cup of seeds to 1 tablespoon of olive oil ratio.
- Place the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet in a single layer.
- Sprinkle the following optional spices for taste using about 1 tablespoon of seasonings to every 2 cups of seeds ratio. We recommend using any of the following depending on your taste preferences (do not use all of the spices listed below – each bullet point is a suggested flavor to use):
-
- Curry Powder
- Cayenne Pepper or chili powder
- Paprika powder, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper
- Cinnamon and sugar (and depending on your taste you could also add nutmeg and ginger powder)
-
- Roast in a 350-degree oven for 10-25 minutes (depending on the size of the seeds) until golden around the edges.
Eat and enjoy!
Join us for our Jack-O’-Lantern Spectacular!
