It's pumpkin-eating time for local deer population

The dinner bell is ringing for the local deer population.

Thanks to pumpkin patch owners, the animals can have a Thanksgivinglike feast in area patches.

Charlie Wuensch, who owns Wuenschs Wranch in Coon Valley, Wis., and Michael Bouska, who operates Bouska's Pumpkin Patch in Stoddard, Wis., with his sister, Katelyn, said allowing the deer to come into the fields helps them to dispose of pumpkins left after the Halloween rush.

"You need to make sure to get as many off the patch as possible to avoid carry over disease," Wuensch said.

"One of the most efficient ways I have is quite a few people come and get a pick-up load or two, even three to take to a hunting spot," he said.

The remainder of the pumpkins at Wuenschs Wranch are eaten by deer, which Wuensch said are mainly after the seeds.

"What's left of mine the deer get into," Wuensch said.

"On a moonlight night, I can see 15 to 20 deer eating pumpkins in the snow. I can see their shadows as they bust open the pumpkins with their hooves and eat them," he said.

"We don't do too much once Halloween is over," Bouska said.

"We try to feed some of the deer around here and recycle the pumpkins for organic fertilizer," he said.

The unsold pumpkins at Bouska's Pumpkin Patch remain in the patch to decompose, Bouska said, and in the spring are plowed under.

Wuensch and Bouska. said life at the patch will be quiet until next spring when field preparation begins again.

For those without a patch wondering what to do with jack-olanterns and uncarved pumpkins, Karen Joos, family living agent with the UW-Extension in Monroe County offers this advice:

"Unless cooking the pumpkin the same day as cutting, count it as food waste," Joos said.

"If carved, especially with the warm weather, a pumpkin is not worth much as they deteriorate fast," she said recommending that leftover jacko-lanterna travel to the compost bin.

Monroe County UW-Extension Ag Agent Bill Halfman said some barnyard animals might also pick through left-over pumpkins.

"A lot of people just throw pumpkins into the pasture and let the animals pick through what they want. They won't eat what they dont want," he said.

One thing to keep in mind, Halfman said, is that mice, rats and other scavenger animals are also interested in pumpkin leftovers, so you might want to dispose of your pumpkin in a faraway place.

City dwellers can use backyard compost pile for disposal, Halfman said.

Copyright La Crosse Tribune Nov 01, 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved