How to Harvest Homegrown Luffa in 6b (loofah)
What is a luffa?
If you’re like many people I talk to, they think loofah come from the ocean, not the garden. Luffa, or loofah, is a type of gourd. You can grow and harvest luffa right in your backyard! Luffas are part of the Cucurbitaceae family, and are related to cucumbers, melons, and squashes. The origin of luffa seems to come from southeast Asia.
What is luffa used for?
The final “sponge” we use is the skeleton of the luffa gourd. Most people use luffa as a sponge for scrubbing in the shower or washing dishes. Technically you can harvest luffa for eating when they are very small and eat like a zucchini, but I have not tried this.
Can I grow luffa?
Yes! Normally luffa grows in hot humid climates with a long growing season, like Florida, but we can finagle our way around that (I’m in growing zone 6b). Make sure you know your zone before you plant any luffa. I usually start my luffa plants in the house around March to give them a little bit of a head start, but I have also been successful with directing sowing. Try this variety of Luffa Seed in your garden next year.
In my experience luffa take a long time to fruit- I’m talking late July or even mid-August where I live. Because they fruit so late, my growing season is not long enough for me to let luffa dry up on the vine as many growers do, so I process them a little earlier. I also find I have much less risk of mold on my sponges if I harvest early.
The luffa plant will put out very long vines (sometimes up to 20 feet), so be sure you have somewhere to grow them. We use cattle panels for the plants to grow on. The beautiful yellow flowers will attract bees and hummingbirds to your yard!
Let’s Harvest Luffa
When to harvest luffa?
Most luffa will grow to be between 10-18″ (with the occasional mini one) and will be a dark green color. Luffa will look almost like a ridged zucchini. They will be pretty heavy once they have fully grown, but then they will start to lose their “water weight” as I call it. Watch your head if you are walking underneath them! I pick my luffa when they have started to turn light green to yellowish and feel very light for their size, a hollow feeling to them.
I cut them from the main vine with garden shears and bring them inside until I can get around to them. Sometimes it’s right away, and sometimes it’s a few weeks until I can carve out some time.
Totally random note – I think luffa smell like peanuts 🥜
How many luffas will I get on a plant?
It really depends on the soil, climate, weather you’ve had, and any pests. I like to plant at least 3 plants to make sure I will get a yield. I have had years where I end up with 10-15 luffas per plant, which is a bit overwhelming. Other years I have only been able to harvest a handful.
What to do after I picked a luffa?
When you’re ready to tackle your luffa, cut off the ends of the luffa. The inside will look like a dried pickle.
Some people like to try to peel the skin like a banana, but I prefer to score in the natural grooves lengthwise with a sharp knife. Peel open the skin (like a book) from the score marks until all the skin is removed.
You should be left with a “skeleton” of the gourd. Put skins and ends in compost.
Drop peeled luffa into a bowl or sink full of cool water. Squeeze and squash as many seeds and guts out as you can. You want the luffa as clean as possible. If you have a very big luffa or many luffas, cleaning them can be a great forearm workout. I have had many sore muscles from this process.
The water will turn a greenish color, and you’ll have tons of seeds release. I was totally amazed at the number of seeds one luffa contains the first time I did this. Set seeds aside and drain water.
Set your luffa out to dry on a drying rack – I like to dry mine in the sun outside to help bleach the color a bit but that is totally optional. You can just as easily dry inside.
Harvest Luffa to Save Seeds
Remove the seeds from the water and spread on a paper towel or napkin. Dry completely, you’ll know when the seeds are dry enough when a little translucent white layer sluffs off the seeds when you blow lightly over them. Store in a cool dry area for next year. Only save the black seeds (the whiteish/or only partially black seeds will not germinate).
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How to Harvest Homegrown Luffa in 6b (loofah)
If you’re like many people, they think loofah come from the ocean, not the garden. You can grow and harvest luffa right in your backyard!
Materials
- Luffa
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Water
Instructions
- Cut off the ends of the luffa.
- Use knife to score in the natural groves lengthwise with a sharp knife.
- Peel open the skin (like a book) from the score marks until all the skin is removed and you have a "skeleton".
- Drop peeled luffa into a bowl or sink full of cool water.
- Squeeze and squash as many seeds and guts out as you can. You want the luffa as clean as possible. The water will turn a greenish color, and you’ll have tons of seeds released.
- Set your luffa out to dry on a drying rack in the sun outside or you can dry inside.
- Scrub away!
Notes
Remove the seeds from the water and spread on a paper towel or napkin. Dry completely, you’ll know when the seeds are dry enough when a little translucent white layer sluffs off the seeds when you blow lightly over them. Store in a cool dry area for next year. Only save the black seeds (the whiteish/or only partially black seeds will not germinate).
Compost skins and peels.
