From the pumpkin patch to the pig pen: Lubbock farm asking for leftover pumpkins

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Now, that Halloween is over, you might have some leftover pumpkins that you are ready to part ways with. Before you haul them off to the dump, there is another use for those Jack-O-Lanterns.

Gilt-T-Pleasure Farms is a Lubbock farm that focuses on ethically raising pigs, lambs, and goats. The owner, Clayton Randolph, is always getting questions about the name.

“A gilt is a female pig who hasn’t had piglets yet,” Randolph said.

Randolph tells us at his farm the animals are pasture-raised and fed all-natural feed. He said that ensures the best bacon when the time comes.

“The animals are a lot happier, for sure. They are in their own environment, but also being raised outdoors. They get exposed to nutrition that they wouldn’t normally have raised on a certain feed,” Randolph said.

While most of us spent Halloween pigging out on candy, Randolph says the pigs love to munch on another fall staple, pumpkins.

“We actually use them as a natural de-wormer, and the pigs love them. They will eat every last one we pick up,” Randolph said.

When you donate your pumpkins to farms like Gilt-T-Pleasure you are not only helping livestock, but also keeping organic waste out of landfills, which has to be processed separately.

“It is a win-win for both the customer and us, of course. This way, either the pigs, the chickens, or lamb or goats scoop it all up and make fertilizer out of it,” Randolph said.

If you used any hay for fall decorating this year, it also comes in handy for the newborn piglets.

“We use it for our farrowing pen as places for them to make little nests to have babies,” Randolph said.

Randolph says as long as there is no paint or preservatives on the donated goods, the piggies won’t hesitate to gobble it up.

If you are interested, you can drop your donations off at the farm which is located at 11110 N Fm 2528 #B in Lubbock. Or the farm will pick them up. You can call 806-789-4869 for more information.

If you aren’t local, you can find a list of other farms across Texas that are taking donations here.

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