leaves and pumpkins

Last year I composted my 3 Halloween pumkins by stuffing them with leaves and
stacking them in the middle of the compost pile. This year I am planning on taking
a round in the neighbourhood to build a bigger stack of stuffed pumpkins in the pile.
A question to the compost gurus - are pumpkins "greens"?

I am also planning on adding them to the lazania style bed. Should they go as the
bottom layer? How thick should the top layer of mulch optimally be?

yes... pumpkins are primarily greens...

I think optimum mulch thickness is about 2 - 3" inches, your mileage may vary.

Yes greens and first stomp on them and throw them at your kids and teach them how to have fun with food fights............ Oh I got carried away being a child again. Pumpkins are fun and should be used up before they go to the compost pile.

The ones I picked are ready for the pile. We had ours lighting the steps for a week leading to Halloween. My son could not wait, and it seemed a waste to have them just for one night after all that carving. The seeds are saved for the winter except those we muched on :)

Our city has a free mulch program for the mulch from the brash collection. I am not sure where the pumpkins go, but I figured if composted locally with the leaves the city would have less clean up.
I stopped raking leaves to the curb two years ago. Now I compost all the leaves I get and some extra, all the vegetable scraps so pumpkins were a natural extension.

We also have a free mulch program. There is a humongous pile of stuff from at least last year. It is quite compacted, i.e. hard to dig out. You can still see the leaves, they are not crumbled. What do you think - how should I use it, in the my compost pile? Or as a soil amendment, and if so should I first spread it on the (new bed) or turn it in (about 6-8 inches deep). I have done both and I think it worked dug in as a soil amendment over the winter.

I posted in another thread that we just got fresh shredded leaves from the same place. I put them as they are on a lasagna bed, but I guess I could put that into the compost bin as well, right?

I think, shreded leaves would do fine in either the lasagna bed or compost pile.

My understanding of lasagna beds is that it's a kind of cold compost which
takes longer but you don't have to haul the material twice to the compost bin
and then to the beds and you don't have to turn.
It takes longer, but in the end you get the same result - compost.

Sofer, were you throwing whole pumpkins at your little pumpkin? You should be ashamed :) Somebody could'a got seriously hurt.

Bill

No but throwing the pumpkin on the ground and smashing the squishy stuff in their hair and they smush it in my face. You know having fun!

No fun here.

Those moments are so precious. I miss them. Though my daughter and I worked last weekend helping flood victims in Washington State. We had fun and made a great team. Enjoy these precious times Bill. My baby and her wonderful husband.

Did you check that Parrotia at the curb, or squeeze it in with your carry-on? Very nice family you have there and I am sure the fine folks (that is what they say out there if I remember correctly) of Washington thank you & your family for all of the help.

Bill