How to Plant, Grow, and Care For Pumpkins

Pumpkins can be an excellent addition to just about any garden. But they can be a bit picky to grow, depending on your geography, soil type, and climate. In this article, gardening expert Logan Hailey examines each step you'll want to follow in order to successfully plant, grow, and care for Pumpkins in your garden this season.Whether you prefer pies, pastries, roasts, seeds, or jack o’ lanterns, pumpkins are a staple in any garden. Beyond the classic orange round pumpkin, there is an incredible diversity of these delightful winter squashes for every use. Fortunately, all of them can be cultivated in nearly the same way. With some warm weather and a bit of tending, these beginner-friendly vines are super easy to grow and can yield in great abundance. There are also many different pumpkin varieties, giving gardeners plenty of options to pick from, depending on their use. The quintessential autumn plant, pumpkins are a symbol of falling leaves, holidays, and the coming of cold weather. But they aren’t just for decor- pumpkins are incredibly nutritious and flavorful additions to any meal. Pound-for-pound, they are one of the most productive foods you can grow in your garden. Plus, when properly cured, you can eat them all winter long! Let’s dig into how to plant, grow, and care for pumpkins!

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How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Luffa

Whether you're going on a cleaning binge or just making lunch, growing luffa gets you what you need. This vine is easy to grow and harvest. Rachel Garcia shares our top growing tips.Back in 2019, Epic Gardening created the Luffa Challenge and saw amazing results from our followers all over the world! So many people grew this intriguing vine with great success that we thought we’d share some tips and tricks with gardeners everywhere. So, if you haven’t grown one already, let’s take a shot at growing luffa, the homegrown shower sponge! Many people think all shower sponges come from the ocean, but most commercially-produced sponges are actually dried fruit. The luffa is a climbing vine that produces cucumber-like gourds. As the gourds mature, their endocarp transforms into a fibrous network that’s mostly made of cellulose. This network forms the soft and absorbent exfoliator we’re all familiar with. Though they’re most commonly used in the shower, luffa sponges are great for scrubbing pots, cleaning shoes, making mats, and painting textures. They’re even used as shock and sound absorbers as well as for filtering water. There isn’t much this vegetable can’t be used for! The same goes for immature fruit. When still green, luffa gourds are just as tasty as the sponges are useful. They can be eaten raw or cooked. They highly resemble cucumbers, zucchini, and winter squash and are often cooked the same. Whether you want to try a new veggie on your plate or a sponge in your shower, luffa is an excellent choice for your garden. It is a bit tricky to grow, so we’ll go into detail on how to succeed with this nifty vine.

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