Luffa plant
Luffa’s are a fun plant to grow, but they do come with their challenges. They are recommended for growing zones 7 and higher, but I grow them in 6a. I grow them until they develop into the loofah stage, they can be harvested early to eat. They are part of the cucumber family and taste more like a zucchini. You can eat them raw in salads or cook them for stir-fries and soups. For today, we’ll talk about developing them into the natural sponge we know as a loofah.
The two spelling can be interchangeable. LUFFA it its scientific plant name & LOOFAH refers to the natural sponge they turn into when dried.
When growing these plants, especially out of its growing zone, you need to baby them. They are reccomended to grow in zones 7 and higher due to their increased length in season and their warmer climate. Here in Northern Ohio, our growing season is roughly 120 days, and luffa’s need 120 days to grow. But, that doesn’t mean that our 120 days are warm enough to just drop the seed in the ground and let it do its thing. Also, another set back is: even if our 120 days of growing was warm enough, I like to let my luffa’s dry out on the vine. Our season doesn’t allow that within that time frame. So how do I grow them? and how can you?
I start seeds indoors and then transfer to my greenhouse. Ideally the sooner the better. Every February I get the itch to start gardening and these are the perfect plants to start with. Here’s my timeline:
Feb-March: Take seeds and place them onto a damp paper towel, fold it over, and place it into a ziplock bag. Put it near a window and forget about it for two weeks.
After 2 weeks, plants should have started to grow roots and emerge from the seed.
Put each emerging plant into its own 4” or large pot with soil and lightly water.
Place in front of window indoor, or in an area that maintains great than 65 degrees.
Water when soil looks dry.
Once the plant has large first leaves and is starting to grow its next set, it can be placed inside a temperature controled greenhouse. If you don’t have that, you can keep it indoors, but i’ll need to have enough space to grow up.
After a couple months, the plant will want to trellis. place a stake into the pot to allow it to grow up.
At this point, it might be easier to place the small container into a larger pot to trellis. *Do Not remove plant from intital pot at this stage.
Once temperatures outside maintain 70 degrees Fahrenheit, you may transplant outside.
Dig a hole large enough for the plant roots and surrounding soil to sit in. The least you disturb the plant and its roots the better. Cover with soil and gently wrap vine to trellis, or attach previous stake used to trellis. Water lightly and say a prayer.
If temperature overnight dip below 70 F, or if the soil you’re planting isn’t warm, the plant will stall. I promise the less you mess with it, the better. Even if it looks like it’s dying, give it a couple weeks. I’ve had plants that I was sure were goners & they rebounded after their transplant shock.
You can purchase plant starts of Luffa’s up until your last frost date, but they’ll be difficult to find. I sell them at my farm & have been inundated with orders because they’re so difficult to find. Also, they aren’t recommended in our growing zone, so no greenhouse near me will carry them. At least none that I’ve seen.
How to harvest:
By late summer you’ll see luffa’s starting to grow on the vines. They’ll be very large, so add extra support if needed.
They’ll start off a dark green, then start fading to yellow, and finally brown.
The best stage to pick them at is brown. This makes less work for you and it a lot easier to peel, clean, and remove seeds.
Yellow is the next best stage to pick. Because luffa’s are part of the cucumber family, if you pick them at this stage they will still be holding onto water. I have harvested them yellow. They outer layer will be tougher and harder to peel, and you’ll have to squeeze water out of them for a good amount of time.
The only time you would harvest luffa’s at the green stage is if you’re picking them to eat, or in our case, if your first frost date is approaching.
Green & Light Yellow colored luffa’s that must be harvested due to impending frost can be dried out indoors infront of a window. I’ve also been told you can dry them in an oven. I’ve tried that and failed, so you’ll need to do your own research on that.
Clean Loofah & Save Seeds:
Peel off the outer layer and it’ll reveal the sponge inside.
Place a strainer or paper towels into sink to catch seeds, and wash loofah with water.
After it’s rinsed, you can shake out the rest of the seeds. Do your best to get them all out.
Let dry on a towel, until it feels hard like a sponge.
Store in cool, dry area.’
Seeds: lay seeds flat onto paper towel until dry. Store in seed packets in cool, dry place. *seeds are naturally covered in a protective layer, which resembles thin tissue paper. When you remove seeds the following growing season you’ll see them. They can be discarded
Good Luck growing your Loofah’s & please share your results with me. I’d love to see where you live, what your climate is, and your loofah’s you’ve grown! Happy Planting
Dried Loofah Sponge
Drying out on the vine
Luffa Seeds & Loofahs
