Fun Stuff to Plant in Gardens

Pumpkins

• The world record for pumpkin weight was reached in October 2009 with a pumpkin weighing over 1,800 lb. Hobbyists grow giant pumpkins in home gardens. Start specialty seeds, such as "Dill's Atlantic Giant," indoors several weeks before the last expected frost. Transplant into the bed and protect from late frosts. Allow four to six pumpkins per plant until they reach the size of a volleyball, and then remove all but one. Homegrown giant pumpkins may reach 300 lb. Small pie pumpkins are specially grown for baking pumpkin pies. "Sugar Pie" or "Amish Pie" pumpkin seeds are available for growing these especially sweet pie fruits.

Luffa Gourds

• Luffa sponges can be grown in the home garden. The luffa gourd has a fibrous tissue skeleton that is harvested and used for household chores or in the bath. Luffa gourds are also edible vegetables. When harvested young, at less than 7 inches long, they may be cooked like any squash or eaten raw. Grow luffa gourds on a supporting trellis to control their spread. When the skins are dry and the stems turn yellow in late summer, pick the gourd and allow it to dry for two weeks until its skin has become hard and brown. Open the large end and shake the seeds out. After soaking the gourd in water overnight, remove the skin and sun-dry the gourd.

Sunflowers

• "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It is what sunflowers do," said Helen Keller. Direct sow seeds of giant sunflowers, and follow their progress throughout the season, measuring and recording daily growth and noting how they turn their faces to the sun. By late summer, towering stalks bearing platter-sized flowers heavy with seeds will begin to bow their heads. Sunflowers may be planted along a fence, or planted in formation to grow as a fort or teepee. "Sunzilla" is bred for strong, thick stalks and can reach heights of 16 feet. Other choices are "Mammoth" and "Russian Mammoth." Harvest seeds by cutting the flowers off at the base when the ripe seeds have a hard shell, removing the seeds when they are dry.

Unusually Colored Vegetables and Edible Flowers

• Carrots come in yellow, white, black, red and purple in addition to the common orange. Beets grow in golden yellow as well as the common red, and bush bean "Purple Peacock" produces long purple beans. Order seeds for unusually colored vegetables from specialty vendors online. Nasturtiums are easy-to-grow from seeds directly sown in the garden. Flowering in yellow, red, white or orange, nasturtiums add color and spicy flavor to summer salads. Easy-to-grow, edible pansy flowers, with their happy "faces," may be used to decorate desserts. Grow edibles without chemical intervention for safety.