loofah

i don't know where to place this as it is a type of squash but also a vine. this is my first year growing loofahs. i have a few small ones starting and am so excited! any of you grow these? i haven't posted on vegetable board before.

kelly

Actually it is a gourd Luffa cylindrica -http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/712/index.html Lots of comments here. Mostly grown to maturity and used for sponge like scrubbers, but are quite edible when young. Used to be popular in the south where it was known as vine okra.

i was given some of the 'sponges' last year and loved them! i got this plant from the same person this spring. i think it would of done better growing across something rather than up this light pole. just ran out of room.

kelly

lovesdaylillies...here is the link that Farmerdill gave above:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/712/index.html

And yep, they are fun to grow, eh? Love 'em! By the way, when yours become nice and dry you should save the seeds out of it (they'll be thousands!) so you have an on-going supply of plants and sponges for next year!

Shoe.

i cant wait for seeds. they will be good to share as well! thanks for the link.

kelly

lovesdaylilies,
They eat young loofas in Thailand and they are absolutely delicious. So if you look you will have enough sponges, try cooking up some about the same size you like your zucchini. Cook 'em like okra or zucchini. Yummy!

sounds good. i wish i had planted more than one plant. next year i hope to plant many many more.

kelly

My loofah vines still haven't set blooms. I guess-timate we have 6-8 weeks before frost. If I nip the vines will that force them to stop growing and set blooms? Or is it too late to hope for sponges this year?

I've raised mature loofa for sponges & young ones for food. My wife ,from Hong Kong, prepares them as she does any squash type ; although, technically, as already pointed out by Farmerdill they are an edible gourd. Another similar "Asian squash" which we like much better for food is known as (fuzzy melon) MaoGwa or sometimes called JitGwa. Slightly sweet & tender; however, these are not used for sponges-only raised for food. The outside green skin has light fuzz all over it & is peeled before use.

LarryD

Seems like they have a long time from the time you get actual fruit till they are mature enough to get sponges...It's been a few seasons since I've grown loofas, but seems like the skin got hard enough to peel after it cooled down in the fall.

you peel the outer skin off after they get hard and rattle inside...shake out the gazillion seeds and I wash in a bleach/water solution to make them nice and pretty...you'll get more seeds and the outer chaff of those seeds....it's a grungy job...the bucket is full of gunk that comes out of them.