"now the pumpkins in question have fruit flies, so I don't want them. "

Why? Fruit flies compost too!Just ask them if you can have them!

I would not want to ring a door bell in the predawn hours, and say, "hi, I am a compost wacko and by the way..." Not worth it. I hate add a bunch of fruit fly eggs. It's not the bugs as much as the eggs. It takes so long to get of them, when they have eggs. Those parents should really get on the ball. The house almost looks abandoned. Sounds like a horror movie. Compost wacko rings bell and is murdered.

I forgot I can microwave them and that would kill the eggs, so those are good to go. I think I will take them. They are all filled with grey mold and they have sunken in on themselves. No kid would want them at this point.

Read my thread started 3 days before yours.

"Boy, Collecting Pumpkins is Hard"

Even though you appear to live hundred of miles from me, expect to see me shortly.

I should have known no yard waste service would empty my "Pumpkin Collection Car" when I have no yard waste service.

IT WAS YOU!

I was going to take them this morning. But, I knew I would need bags and gloves and stuff. They were in such a great state of decay, I would of had to scoop them. Jack o lanterns turn into a liquid moldy mess. So I rejected the idea and just left them.

I guess those people hope the pumpkin fairy will come along and remove those pumpkins. The time to steal them was before they collapsed. If they had left them uncarved they would decay much more slowly. So, I did not take them. Now, when I go buy I just look to see how they are progressing. It's fascinating.

I wouldn't steal anything but would ask for it. We've obtained bags of leaves that were at the curb but I rang the doorbell and asked the owner if it would be OK to take them. After looking at me as if I was insane they agreed! Shrinking violets don't get the good stuff! LOL

Luckygal, not many neighbors care if you take their leaf bags put out by the curb. On my block I have one neighbor who does not want me to cart off her bags. Why she prefers the yard waste people to take her leaves and not me, who knows. I can understand folks not wanting to know how many vodka bottles and prescriptions are in the trash, and what they eat.

One thing that shocked me is how much info is tossed that we don't know about. Years after I bought a house, I unloaded my paper into a walk-in recycle bin. Noticed one box of paper that had my realtor's name on the side. Looked thru it in case my file was there. My file was not, but the info in some of the files was surprising. Some files had all the keys to the house, nicely labeled as to which key fit which lock. A few had credit reports, which included account numbers, amounts of money in accounts, and lawsuits.

Some of the neighbors even put out their leaf bags early so I can make sure to collect. One guy even drags the bags over and put them by the side of my house. One get to be a connoisseur of leaves. Yes, that bag is nicely shredded, no that bag has too high a percentage of oak leaves.

I have already done it this year! I have scored 5 on my block alone!

I know from having jack o'lanterns as a kid that it would cause fights!

"Go throw away that rotten pumpkin!" / "I don't want to deal with it!"

If they are sunken and moldy you're doing everyone a favor, including other passers-by!

That's the right spirit! I think after a reasonable amount of time has passed after Halloween about five days, they are open season. If you wait too long, it becomes a mess. I hate to have to use a plastic bag to scoop up liquefied mess. Plastic bags go against the whole theory of composting.

If somebody stole anything from my yard, even a rotten used-to-be jack'o'lantern, I would be extremely upset. This is a bad idea. It's trespassing and theft, no matter what your motives are. If you can't knock on the door at a decent hour and ask like a non-wacko, get over this bad idea. At the curb is completely different than decomposing in situ.

Many times we let our pumpkin melt in the flower bed next to the front door to see what, if any, pumpkins might grow there the next year. "Your" way is not the only way to compost.

Where are those soggy pumpkins exactly? I want them:-)

After reading your post I went and asked my neighbour for hers.

M

A bit more on leaf and pumpkin Recycling and Thiefy.

After a few years of collecting yard waste materials.

I only advance into someones yard to collect their bags if I have had prior contact and know they are fine with me making off with the bags. And I leave a bag with once-used and folded bags to save them a buck or two.

If I know or suspect that you don't want me to take your brown bags of leaves, leaf/grass mixes, I will not take them even if they are sitting on the curb. I will not argue with you, I consider it your property even if the stuff is sitting in the street and not on your property. There is plenty of other stuff available. Read three years ago that one relative shot and killed another over a roll of TP.

There are three neighbors who save their stuff especially for me. They put it out early (normal is 12 hours before pickup start time of 6am). We know each other by name and they put it out by the garage so no unsavory characters will make off with it. If I have extra summer veggies such as tomatoes, they may get some.

What's wrong with fruit flies? They're harmless little critters that are so small they're hard to see outside. Stick the pumpkin in the middle of your compost pile, and that will be the end of them. When you add fruit or soft vegetable scraps to your compost pile, you're getting fruit flies in any case. They especially love banana.

Going into a yard is bad. I was talking about pumpkins in front of the house, which they are not in soil. Such as will be visible from the street.

Maybe next year leave a small note (NOT in the mailbox) that if they would like you to dispose of their pumpkins after Hween, please leave them at the curb and you will pick them up (say, between Nov 1-5)
Just a thought. Nancy

Last year my next door neighbor left their pumpkin on the step until it got mushy. They then kicked it behind the shrubs. This year they had a pumpkin patch in the front yard. Completely unintentional on their part but amazing to the kids just the same.

"I forgot I can microwave them and that would kill the eggs, so those are good to go. I think I will take them. They are all filled with grey mold and they have sunken in on themselves. No kid would want them at this point. "

Wow that sounds.....

I cant understand why people put more work time energy, gas, ect into composting. They are are poluting more then some growing with sybnthetics...

You don't want to understand. You've posted this to be argumentative, your M.O. Trolling the forums for something with which to disagree.

If you don't want to compost, don't. But don't deride those who do.

I'm sure everyone will recognize your comment for the inflammatory nonsense it is.

I don't read it as inflammatory. I asked myself the same question when I read about sticking a rotten moldy fly infested pumpkin into a microwave to kill the eggs just so it can be composted.

I don't have trees to speak of where I can collect leaves of my own. I drive around specifically looking for bags of leaves in the fall and winter. Sometimes I get a lot, sometimes, not so much. When I get a lot, I feel good about it. When I don't, I feel like I wasted a little time and fuel and go on. It all averages out eventually. But when I think about the leaves that end up in my garden instead of the landfill, I feel really good about it.

I say skip that one measley pumpkin and look at the bigger picture. Or use it as it is if they'll let you have it. Cooking something specifically in preparation for composting is truly wasteful.

Microwaves use very little energy. Fruit flies are actually dangerous and also the same as the med fly. They do a lot of damage to crops. Here in CA they are banned. If one is encouraging fruit flies some of them could be med flies. I never did take those pumpkins as they were too messy and I would of had to scoop and bag them. Microwaving is a great way to kill fruit fly eggs. I should actually be picking up those pumpkins as a public service. But, I decided to let them live with the consequences. If you have fruit flies in your compost the government can forbid you from composting. This only applies to California. It's illegal to provide an environment to breed fruit files. That is why they say, all compost here should be covered up, or they just don't want people to compost food stuffs at all. You are supposed to put it in the city wide compost for collection.