By bat or by axe: Community Roots to host Pumpkin Smash

MOUNT VERNON — With fall officially underway, despite the somewhat contrasting leaf colors, Community Roots is getting ready for its annual Pumpkin Smash composting event.

In its second year, the event will be on November 15 at Community Roots’ facility at 1104 W Gambier St. in Mount Vernon.

Community Roots is a volunteer-based therapeutic horticulture non-profit organization that shares therapeutic horticulture programs across Knox County, its website states.

So, what’s this event all about?

The event’s coordinator, Emily Bruch, said it’s an opportunity for folks to recycle their pumpkins in a fun way and learn more about what Community Roots does in the community.

Those who come out will quite literally be able to smash the pumpkins that decorate their front steps and porches this fall.

“We had axes, shovels, pitchforks, baseball bats and all sorts of blunt instruments for people last year. I’m trying to get a pumpkin trebuchet for this year,” Bruch said.

Bruch said she supervises the event and ensures people smash only the pumpkins, not themselves.

“We give our finished compost away to our volunteers and community gardeners. So, we are also trying to give back to the community with this whole process,” Bruch said.

Like last year, Bruch said Community Roots partnered with some local businesses to give out prizes for various things, but there will be fewer prizes than last year due to some new features.

This year’s Pumpkin Smash is adding live music and a couple of food trucks to make it more of a full event, Bruch said.

Last year’s results and this year’s expectations

Bruch said about 40 people came out last year, and she hopes to double that number this year now that Community Roots is more well known.

Last year participants smashed and composted 88 pumpkins — another number Bruch said she wants to double.

“We also rehomed three of them to people who showed up [wanting to make] pumpkin soup and two people interested in pumpkin pie,” Bruch said.

Community Roots also partners with Litter & Recycling Coordinator Matt Baugher of the Delaware, Knox, Marion, Morrow (DKMM) Joint Solid Waste District for the event.

“Matt Baugher did get a lot of pumpkin donations from the parks [last year],” Bruch said. “We got all the pumpkins from Wolf Run, and that was really great, because some people showed up without pumpkins because they weren’t ready to let go of their jack-o-lanterns.”

Bruch is also encouraging people to bring out their non-pumpkin compost too, and said Community Roots accepts drop-offs all the time.