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Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
  • Luffa Gourd
Luffa Gourd

Luffa aegyptiaca
$4.50
Description

Luffa is an impressive crop that thrives in hot and humid conditions. It grows really well during the hottest months of Florida, but the vigorous climbing vines need something sturdy to climb on. They can reach 20' or more and clamber over everything. They produce loads of beautiful flowers much loved by bees. Young fruits are edible, reminiscent of zucchini and can be enjoyed like them. 

Allowing the fruits to grow much longer until they become very light weight and squishy, they can be harvested for a sponge by easily slipping off the skin and then storing somewhere they can dry out. An abundant amount of seeds are inside each one, making them very easy to save seeds from! 
Product details
  • About 20 seeds
  • 50-90 days to harvest
  • Seeds grown in the community garden at GROW HUB in Gainesville, Florida
How to grow

Sow seeds ½–1" deep, about 12" apart, along a sturdy trellis once the threat of late spring freezes has passed.

Luffa vines are vigorous and can get huge, so give them plenty of room to climb. The very young fruits can be harvested and eaten like zucchini. If you let them mature, they'll develop into the familiar natural sponges.

For sponges, wait until the fruits begin to lose weight and shrivel. When you can squeeze the fruit and feel that the skin has loosened, it's ready to harvest. Slip a finger underneath the loosened skin and it should peel away fairly easily, revealing the still-slightly-moist sponge underneath. Let the sponge dry completely before using.

The seeds may be mature at this stage, but we've found it's best to leave a few gourds on the vine longer if you're growing specifically for seed. Let them fully mature and dry down for the best chance of getting well-developed seed.
How to save seeds

Let the luffa gourds mature on the vine until they become noticeably lighter and the skin starts to turn brown. Harvest and let them dry indoors for a while to give the seeds time to fully mature. Once dry, peel away the skin and shake out the seeds—they're abundant and usually come out easily.

If you're mainly growing luffa for sponges, you can harvest them earlier, while they're still greenish, very lightweight, and a little squishy. At this stage, the skin is much easier to remove, saving you the sometimes frustrating job of picking off lots of dried brown bits.

The tradeoff is that seeds from younger gourds aren't always fully mature. If you're saving seed, let at least a few gourds stay on the vine until they're fully mature, dry, and brown. These should give you plenty of mature seed for next season.

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