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Mon, Aug 29, 05 at 1:57
| Was hoping that I might get some help from experienced luffa growers. We put out 8 luffa plants about the 1st of June. They appear to have eaten the trellis and are moving forword to conquer other areas. Ther problem is that they don't appear to be setting gourds. They have bloomed and there are lots of pollinators. They are so dense that it is difficult to see. Should I be seeing them if they are going to produce? Also, how do they develop? Do they get their length first and then girth or do they grow like cucumbers and add both at the same time? Thanks for you patience with the newbie questions. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by shelsgarden z8 LA (My Page) on Tue, Aug 30, 05 at 14:43
| We are beginning to harvest our first luffas, but I am way down here in Louisiana, so I imagine ours were off to a much earlier start than yours! With all of the foliage you have, it seems to me that you really should have seen some little luffas, but maybe not ... One thing I know is that the female blooms (the ones that bear the gourd) won't be produced on the primary vine (the first to appear). The producing blooms will all be on the offshoots - the vines that grow out from that primary one. Sometimes you can get an earlier start on getting luffas by pinching the end of the primary vine after it gets about 6 ft or so ... this stimulates the other vines to get growing. And as for how they look ... to me, they do resemble a cucumber -- very much so! The little gourdlet is behind the bloom, just like a baby cuke. You can see it easily! Good luck, I hope you see some gourds soon! :) |
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