I grew Luffa last year for the first time and I am growing alot more this year – it was interesting, educational and I like growing something that has a “purpose”. The luffa sponge grows in the garden and not the ocean like many people believe – I always thought that myself until I came across it in one of the garden seed catalogs. It does require a somewhat longer growing season and quite a bit of space since the vines really take off. I did read somewhere to cut the vine after a certain point (I think it was 10 ft) and let the energy go to the growing luffas. I will experiment with that this year. The seeds are hard so they should be soaked in water for at least 24 hrs. before planting and then nicked (or slightly cut) with scissors to encourage the growth to begin.
The actual luffa looks like a cucumber or zucchini and last year I let them just grow on the ground, this year we will be making a trellis for them to hang – they can grow 2-3 ft. in length. When they are smaller, they can be eaten but I haven’t dined on any myself. The practice is to let the luffa dry on the vine (turn brown) and then take it from the vine. I ran out of time last year and brought them in when still green and let them dry inside. It took a couple of months for this and then I peeled the skin off and found a luffa sponge inside! I did soak the sponge and remove the seeds which I am growing this year!
The sponge can be used as it is or you can craft with it – I will be creating some more luffa crafts this year. Luffa soap was my fun undertaking last year – just in time for Christmas gifts!
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