HOME-GROWN SPONGES

Luffa plants produce club-shaped gourds. Clean out the spongy insides and dry. Harvest green for a soft sponge, yellow for a courser one. Peel the skin and rinse under water to clean the oily covering surrounding the spongy skeleton. Shake the seed out and save for next years crop. Start this annual seed 4-6 weeks before the last frost. Allow plants to climb trees.

UPSIDE-DOWN TOMATOES

Cut a 3 inch diameter hole in the bottom of a small plastic bucket, fill with soil and set a piece of plywood across the top. Turn it over (the plywood holds the soil in place.)

Plant a cherry tomato seedling in the 3-inch hole, and let the plant root for about three weeks. Once it’s gotten a good start, hang the bucket by its handle from a plant hanger so that the plant grows down. The sun quickly warms the bucket and the tomato’s roots so be sure to water every three to four days.

This is a fun and different way of growing cherry tomatoes, also no weeding, and you can pick in comfort…standing up!