Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
zzackey

Have you ever grown a luffa?

zzackey
10 years ago

Have you ever grown a luffa to eat or use a sponge? Would it be ok not to bleach them when you want to make a sponge?

Comments (17)

  • katkin_gw
    10 years ago

    I grew them several times. I am more south then you, so maybe the problem was here, but they got moldy without bleaching them. It was a massive vine and the bees loved the flowers. :o)

  • zzackey
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Oh. Now it makes sense. I thought it was to lighten the color of it. How long did you bleach it for?

  • katkin_gw
    10 years ago

    It did lighten the color but the bleaching is to remove the mold mostly. I left them in the bleach water overnight. It seemed to take that long to remove all the mold. Hope this helps. :o)

  • zzackey
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yes, it helped. The article I read mentioned nothing about how long to bleach them. Have you ever eaten one when it was small?

  • katkin_gw
    10 years ago

    No, I never tried to eat them. I read that they were good small with butter and garlic, but what isn't?

  • jctsai8b
    10 years ago

    I have grown long luffa for 3 years already, first year very bad because of soil problem, the last 2 years very good, very productive after the soil improvement. Sautéed luffa tastes good, you can cook for chicken soup too. Make sure to peel the skin.

    This post was edited by JCTsai on Sun, Feb 23, 14 at 19:54

  • katkin_gw
    10 years ago

    JCL, good to know they can be eaten. Thanks. I might try them again just to see. I loved having them to use for cleaning and hubby even used them to clean the boat. :o)

  • zzackey
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Small means 6 inches long or smaller. I can't wait to try one. The instructor said they grow nice and straight if you let them run up a tree. I'm thinking of using a trellis for me.

  • jctsai8b
    10 years ago
  • starryrider
    10 years ago

    I have grown many. I never bleached mine. I left them on the vine until the shell got a bit papery and peeled it. It took a lot of rinsing to get the 'goo' and seeds out. I never tried eating them. My neighbor grew some in pig poo and the luffas got as big as my thighs.

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    10 years ago

    I came late to the party, LOL. The lightbulb just came on... is this the same thing as a loofah?

    Carol in Jacksonville

  • ocalagirls
    10 years ago

    If you have the room for them they are great. So disease resistant and easy to grow. And such a lovely plant with tons of huge, yellow, bee attracting flowers.

    I have a friend from Thailand, where luffa is a common food, she said they eat them for breakfast with scrambled eggs. I personally don't care for them.

  • katkin_gw
    10 years ago

    Starry, maybe I did something wrong, but mine always had mold on them I had to bleach before I could use them. I left them on the vine to dry out too. Maybe because of the sprinkler they got more water and got moldy.

    Yes, it is the same as loofah.

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    10 years ago

    I don't know where I thought they came from, but I never thought about growing one! That is too cool. I had to go over to Google Images to see what they look like. I never knew!

    Carol

    Here is a link that might be useful: Google Images - loofah plant

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    10 years ago

    Katkin, I never tried growing them, but I know people down in West Palm who do without any big problems, so it's not that you're too far south. I think the sprinkler is probably the problem.

  • katkin_gw
    10 years ago

    Writers, it's not that they are totally moldy, just have some mold on them, so I bleach them. But I still have so many I haven't grown any in years now.

  • zzackey
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    What percentage of bleach to water do you use? I hate using bleach because I ended up in the ER when one of my cleaning customers was over zealous and sprayed what seemed like a whole can in a closed in shower before I got there to clean. It burned my eyes badly. They are ok, but it scared the crap out of me.