Angel Type Luffa Seeds

The matured fruit forms sponge-like fibers inside. After the fruit matured, dried, skin and seeds removed/cleaned, fibers are often used as scrubbers, cleaning pads or bath sponges. Thus, this vegetable is also called Dish Cloth Luffa.

Luffa is a fast-growing, long-season, warm-climate vine plant that can climb up to 15 feet high. The fruit is edible only when immature and is cooked like zucchini. The fruit setting may be relatively sensitive to the day length. Many varieties could perform relatively poor during the long day season in early summer and perform much better during the late summer and fall when the shorter daytime season arrives. There are several types of Luffa grown in the Orient.

Vegetable Garden - Tips on Growing Luffa From Seed

Did you know that you can grow your own sponge for scrubbing dishes, exfoliating and cleaning your skin, and even cleaning your barbecue grill? Growing Luffa is fun and an interesting for children and adults. Luffa is easy to grow as well as fast growing, and this makes it interesting for kids . Luffa could be an interesting fund raising school garden project, just grow the Luffa to maturity and then peel the skin like you would a cucumber.

When your Luffa is fully matured, you can peel off the dried and crisp skin (the outer shell )to expose the fibrous sponge. You will then need to cut and clean your Luffa, this is done by washing it in clean water and then soak it in a solution of bleach and water for about one hour and then allow to dry in the sun, one to one ratio of water and bleach. Your Luffa sponges will last a long time if washed and allowed to dry after each use. Luffa will make a great gift for your friends and family. Most people do not realize that Luffa is grown on a vine not in the ocean. With just one Luffa you can get enough seeds to last you for future plantings.

Sowing

Plant 2 to 4 seeds per location about 1/2 inch deep in small hills of soil.
Space hills a minimum of 3 feet(1m) apart. 6 feet (2m) is much better.
Luffa requires about 130 to 150 or more frost free days, lots of sunshine, warmth, water, good root nutrients, and a large strong trellis.
Germination time varies widely. It could take three weeks or longer. Usually it is less than two weeks.
Luffa can be grown by directly planting into the ground in warmer climates, USDA zones 7 and higher.
Zone 6 is borderline for direct to earth seed planting but can work.
It's just that some of the later sponges might be lost to frost.
For improving the seed germination, it is suggested to break slightly the seed at the non-seed-eye area/edge by clipping or sanding. This treatment will allow water entering the seed inside core to trigger the germination process.

USDA Hardiness Zone -First Frost Date- Last Frost Date

Zone 1 -July 15th -June 15th
Zone 2 -August 15th- May 15th
Zone 3 -September 15th May 15th
Zone 4 -September 15th May 15th
Zone 5 -October 15th April 15th
Zone 6 -October 15th April 15th
Zone 7 -October 15th April 15th
Zone 8 -November 15th March 15th
Zone 9 -December 15th February 15th
Zone 10 -December 15th January 31st (sometimes earlier)
Zone 11 -No frost. No frost.

There are several types of Luffa grown in the Orient.

Luffa fruits with smooth skin and ridged skin are widely grown in Asia for eating and cooking, as well as for dish cloth uses. Angled Luffa fruits are also often called Chinese Okra, but not related to Okra at all. Luffa seeds, particularly Ridged Skin varieties, have hard skin and may take a long time to germinate. They need warm/moist soil conditions for germinating.

Note:

Needs Insects to carry out the pollinating process for setting fruits. If the insects or bees are not available in your area, the pollinating process can be done manually, by picking up male flowers and transferring pollens to female flowers (by face-to-face touching the center part of flowers). This process should be carried out when flowering is active during the daytime. If the pollination is a success, the fat portion of the female flower will grow into full size fruit.