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Growing Luffas
by
Little Sprouts Learning
(IC: blogger)
2 Materials
Can you believe you can grow luffas in your own home garden? I always thought the sponges came from the ocean, but they are actually gourds! Check out how to grow them yourself!
Plant your luffa seeds as early as possible. Luffas take a long time to grow and a lot of space. You need a sturdy trellis. We used our chain link fencing. Luffas don't care if you have good soil or not, so plant away. For more detail about growing luffas click here to go to the article on the blog.
Click here to get seeds. afflnk. Let the plants grow as long as you can indoors and then get them in the ground after the last danger of frost. For us in Oklahoma, that's around April 15.
Care for the seedlings as they grow. Plant them outside when danger of frost is passed.
Baby luffas start forming on the vine. They are edible at this stage. They kind of taste like okra. The plants are beautiful as well as the flowers.
Luffas will grow to around a foot or more in length. Harvest them when they begin to turn yellow.
Peel the skin off the outside and harvest the seeds. Then let them dry out a bit or rinse the sap out of them and let them dry.
You can store them for years as long as they are clean and dry. Use luffas in the bath, kitchen, or outside even to wash your car. Whatever you need a scrubbie for, luffas will do the job.
Each sponge lasts for months if you keep it dry between uses. I hang mine up in the bathtub and the kitchen by running a shoe lace through the middle and hanging them after each use to dry. For more information, check out Little Sprouts Learning online.
You could hang them on your faucet here.
Enjoyed the project?
Suggested materials:
- Luffa seeds (Amazon)
- Potting Mix (Lowe's)
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Published March 7th, 2017 9:54 AM
Comments
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6 of 147 comments
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Naomie Moore aka baileyanddaisey, Castaic CA on Dec 18, 2017
I tried this past summer - way too hot for them and they just didn't grow. In my case they need way more water and some shade. Going to try a different location this spring!
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Little Sprouts Learning on Dec 18, 2017That's strange, here they grow more the hotter it is. I hope you have better luck next year. I'm excited you tried it. :)
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Naomie Moore aka baileyanddaisey, Castaic CA on Dec 19, 2017It gets really hot here, 100+ for months on end and we are on water restriction too. Sitting in 110° - 120° heat and not enough water was not ideal growing conditions. People here get gym memberships to "shower for free" so to speak, so they can use their allotted water on their landscape, I don't have a gym membership so I have less water to devote to landscaping. And a bunch of pets that get part of my water. Hopefully next summer will not be so bad - fingers crossed!
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Little Sprouts Learning on Jan 02, 2018I sure hope you get some cooler weather!
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Unique Creations By Anita on Jan 02, 2018
Well I never knew that, you learn something new every day. Thanks for sharing
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Little Sprouts Learning on Jan 02, 2018Thanks for checking it out!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
I live in California, do they only grow certain times of the year? I saw the other questions , has to been in direct sun & can be Planted in a pot?
how do I get the seeds out of the ones I grow?
how long do I let them dry after peeling skin off?
Do they grow in the UK