You Can Grow (and Eat) This Sponge
Every seed catalog has plants you flip past, ones you’ve never heard of. These plants tend to lean towards “crops” that you don’t think have room to grow: sorghum, those warty gourds, wheat. Every year I ask myself, “Who grows all these cardoons?”
Luff, however, should not be skipped. Why luffa? Because you know it as “loofah”, a sponge that, oddly enough, does not live at the bottom of the sea. If you’re excited about the idea of literally growing your own sponges, then you should grow some loofah this year.
What is Lufa?
Luffa is a long, narrow, drooping gourd that looks like an alien cucumber, which isn’t surprising since it belongs to the same gourd family as cucumbers and zucchini. It was originally thought to be from Asia, but it wasn’t until India started growing it that production took off. European colonizers in the Americas cultivated luffa as one of the first domesticated crops, but they did not grow it for food, which may have been a mistake.
yes you can eat it
Luffa, when unripe, is actually very similar to zucchini in taste. (Serious Eats described it as ” the world’s juiciest pumpkin .”) Because the loofah’s structure retains moisture better than zucchini, it soaks up flavor like a sponge. Pickle, fry, etc.; treat it like you would any pumpkin.
Louffa dishes are popular in Asian culture and are often fried and are most commonly served in a platter with eggs . Luffa is most commonly treated like an eggplant and topped with parmesan . It even seeps into gourmet dishes.
Luffa gets better with age
If you don’t plan on eating it, you’ll have to wait until autumn to harvest it, because that’s when the loofah turns into a loofah. The pumpkin becomes quite large and dries out. You will need to collect them before they are completely dry, because otherwise they will get caught in the rain in the second half of autumn. If you keep them in a dry, ventilated place and let them dry completely, you can crack open the hard outer shell and access the washcloth.
Loofah is truly the perfect kitchen sponge – an all-natural solution that can be used to clean pots and surfaces. It’s not bad at heart either. You can sew it into a smaller countertop sponge or leave it whole.
How to grow luffa
Luffa is a prolific vine that requires support. This is the perfect trellis vegetable because hanging luffa is adorable and if you’re looking for a plant that will really fill an arch, this is the one for you.
While luffa germinates easily (cucurbitaceae are good for this), luffa requires a long, hot summer to fully mature. Seedlings will take over your indoor seed stations with their prolific vines and they love to grab onto a prop, but like a tropical plant, they can’t go outside until the soil warms up to at least 60℉, so don’t rush to get them. into the ground.
Like other cucurbits, luffa is pollinated by bees and wind, and you need to be careful not to plant them too close to other cucurbits as they cross-pollinate.
By mid-summer, around the time your cucumbers begin to bear fruit, your luffa should be doing the same. If you’re harvesting to eat, you won’t want them to grow more than four to six inches. If you’re planning on harvesting them for a washcloth, then you’re doing absolutely nothing but letting them grow.
How to collect luffa
By the end of summer, you should have a few hanging louffs. The balance you’re trying to find is to leave them on the vine as long as possible so they can dry out, but not so long that they’re constantly exposed to rain, which will ruin them with mold.
Once you’ve collected them, you can hang them in front of a fan or in a nice cool, windy spot and let them dry.
Once they are completely dry, you can open the skin and peel it off. Inside, you will see the insides with a spongy texture that you will recognize as a washcloth. You can use it as is or break it down into smaller pieces. Dried loofah has a very long shelf life, makes a great gift and helps keep your house and body (sustainably) clean.