Growing Loofahs

When there are so many food crops that you can grow in your urban vegetable garden, if you have a fence in full sun, it's a good idea to try your hand at growing loofahs. These are the only source of vegetable sponge and can be used in your home to replace bath and kitchen sponges. When they are spent, they can be added to your compost pile.

This is great for those pursuing a greener lifestyle as you will be doing your part in protecting the sea sponge that is harvested for human bath time as well as man made sponges in your kitchen.

What you need when growing loofahs is a warm tropical climate or a situation that will allow a good 3 - 4 months of warmth for these plants take that long to reach maturity.

You also need a sheltered wall of fence where the vine can trail it's growth. Loofahs like to start of in rich composted soil and enjoy being well watered, but not over watered.

While we planted ours directly this year, you can start them early in seed trays. Soak your loofah seeds overnight then place in some potting soil. In 7 days they should germinate and then you can let them sit outside during the day.

When you are sure of no frosts and your evening temperatures are warmer, plant them out in your selected spot.

The warmer your climate the more female flowers you will get. Once these have pollinated they will start to grow their fruit. If you do not see bees visiting your flowers, be sure to grab a Q-tip and hand pollinate them.

3 - 4 months later the vine should be full of heavy gourds but do not pick them yet. Allow the to turn yellow on the vine if you have not hit the rainy season yet. If the rains are coming, rather pick them and place them in a warm dry spot to dry out.

When the skins are brown you can peel them. You will see the fibrous cream strands with the seeds inside. Cut off an end and shake the seed out. Save these for next year and give a few to some friends.

Once they are peeled it is advisable to soak them in a natural bleach like vinegar or lemon juice or your can use a liquid bleach like a chlorine bleach but this is harsh on the environment. The purpose of this is to kill any mould spores that may have developed in the plant.

Last step is to cut them into the right size for your purposes and store away for use.

Loofah's can make a wonderful green gift along with some home made soap.