Give your pumpkins new life after Halloween

CLEVELAND — With Halloween just days away, porches across Northeast Ohio are filled with pumpkins. From big, small, carved and painted. But once the candy’s gone and the costumes are packed away, what happens to all those gourds?

Experts say don’t let your pumpkins go to waste.

“Your smaller pumpkins are called pie pumpkins. They may also be called sweet pumpkins, and those can be used a lot for making pumpkin puree," Kaitlynn Tonn, an Ohio State University Extension family and consumer science educator in Wayne County, said.

Tonn said smaller pumpkins are ideal for baking, from pies to cookies, because of their sweeter flavor and smoother texture. Larger pumpkins can be used, too, but they’re less sweet and a bit more difficult to work with.

If you make your own pumpkin puree, it can be stored in the freezer for up to a year or in the refrigerator for about three days, Tonn said.

But before using your pumpkins, check that they’re still firm and mold-free.

“Make sure you’re checking to make sure the outside is still firm,” Tonn said. “You want to look for any mold, soft spots or bruising.”

If your pumpkin is past its prime, don’t toss it in the trash just yet. Composting can turn your Halloween leftovers into something useful.

“Composting is always the best,” said Bart Morr, president of Paradise Lawn Care Inc. in Wayne County. “Keep them out of the landfills.”

Morr has been composting locally since the 1990s and said pumpkins are great for enriching garden soil.

“A lot of people top-dress their raised beds or gardens with compost and get better yields,” he said.

Each year, Morr said he collects tons of pumpkins from the community.

Weekly Price Tracker

Each week, we’ll visit Meijer, Giant Eagle, Aldi, Walmart, Heinen's and Dave's Market, checking prices on everyday essentials.

Those include: 2% milk, a loaf of wheat bread, chicken price per pound, ground beef tray or patty per pound (80% lean 20% fat), 12 dozen white eggs and toasted oats cereal.

If you're willing to shop around, you can snag even deeper discounts on meat, dairy, and pantry goods.

We’re also giving you a chance to see how your favorite stores stack up week to week. We’ll compare how grocery prices change at each store on a weekly basis.

Here's how prices compare across stores this week:

Meijer 

Giant Eagle 

Aldi

Walmart

Heinen’s

Dave's Market

From buy-one-get-one-free meat deals to cereal under $2, our Don’t Waste Your Money team will be keeping an eye on store shelves and sharing what we find.

Find a better deal? We want to hear from you! Submit your finds through the form below. If you beat our prices, we’ll feature them.

And if you’re a savvy shopper, always chasing the best deals, we may even join you on your next grocery run.