This is by far the best luffa video ive seen. I wish id seen this before i cut them off 10 minutes ago because of a frost. They are still green and pretty hard but i decided to process my smallest one that had been damaged by bugs and it still has a pretty good sponge. Wish me luck!
I hope you're able to get lots of great sponges! I had a freeze two nights ago, but I didn't cover the plants because I thought it was just going to be a light frost 😬 normally I'd have another month before a freeze, but it looks like I'll be harvesting a lot of green loofahs this year too!
I got this plant because I thought it would be cool to rarely buy sponges again. But this has been one of the biggest bee attractors I've ever grown. The flowers are huge and yellow, bees have an easy time burying their faces in them.
Yes! I love that aspect of growing loofahs! And they seem to keep blooming much longer than many of my other flowering plants. My plants are slowing down, but even still they're covered in bugs every day.
By far one of the best informative videos ever. You are intelligent, succinct, and should consider a career in communication of some kind. So refreshing!
Thank you for showing the 3 possible stages to harvest and the things to consider when at each stage. I found this educational video helpful and comprehensive. You are clear, concise, and present the information in a friendly manner. Thank you!
Thank you for this video I’ve just started growing luffa from the summer and I wasn’t too certain as to how long I should wait for the luffas but watching this video is just making me feel more certain with my garden.
I live in NC, zone 7b. This is my first year growing loofahs so this is helpful. Right now I have a ton of green loofahs. I just hope at least some of them make it to the yellow phase!
You've got this! Someone once told me you can't lose with this plant: you either get loofahs or you get lessons - and sometimes both! 😂 Hope you have a bountiful harvest.
Thank you so much. I have so many first year luffas growing and ready or almost ready for harvest. I appreciate the breakdown and overview of everything.
I was wondering if they would continue to ripen off of the vine, like many other produce. If picked late enough, of course. I'm pretty convinced I would prefer the yellow harvest, but might get a frost before then.
I suppose there's a sense in which they "ripen", meaning they will continue to dry out. But however strong the fiber is when the gourd is picked is pretty much how strong it will be when it's dried out. I planted too late a few years back and had to harvest all of my loofahs when green. So I was able to do a few tests, and discovered that the amount the fiber had developed when it was picked was as developed as the fiber would get. But the good news is there's still a chance to get useable sponges even if the gourds haven't dried all the way!
Btw- I checked out your channel, and very cool to see the process of making molasses! I love learning the full process behind things we often take for granted these days.
I just watched your video. Love it. This is my second year growing loofah. I have lots of loofah right now on the vine. It is getting to be the middle of October and I am worried about frost. None of my loofah feel ready to harvest. What can I do if I have to harvest them early due to the weather? Will they still try and produce a sponge and seeds if I harvest early?
When I find myself in this situation, I personally leave them on the vine until a frost or freeze happens. The next day, I carefully inspect my plants. Sometimes the vines and gourds are fine after a frost, sometimes the cell walls of the vines burst. If vines and gourds show no damage, I just leave them be even if the leaves took damage. If the vines get taken out but the gourds look okay, I leave them outside to dry out some more. The gourd won't continue to develop the sponge if the vine it's attached to dies, but there's not an urgency to harvest and process the gourd. I leave it there until I get to it (or until a warmer day so I can hose it off without freezing my fingers! lol). The only scenario where it's best to do something right away is if the gourds themselves take damage. If the skins burst or crack from the freeze, air can get inside the gourd. When this happens, the gourds can start to rot. In this case, I immediately harvest and process the gourds. (Here's a video showing how I process gourds at different stages: th-cam.com/video/0H6iGIEgFjE/w-d-xo.html) One other thought about waiting until a frost/freeze: where I'm located with mild winters, the first frost/freeze tends to only get just a smidge below freezing. Idk if places further north get an initial frost/freeze that goes significantly below freezing. If it got cold enough that the "gunk" inside the loofah also freezes, I could see it potentially putting pressure on the sponge and causing it to split apart. This hasn't happened to me, but I don't really know what harsh winters are like up north haha What you end up with sponge and seed-wise just comes down to how much the gourd was able to develop. That's why I like leaving the gourds on the vine until a frost/freeze actually happens so they have maximum time to ripen. You might be surprised by how much difference a couple weeks or even a couple days can make! With all that said, there's not really a "right or wrong" way to go about it. It all comes down to preference, which we often discover through trial and error. I seem to learn something new every season! Hope you end up with lots of beautiful sponges. :)
Thanks for the valuable info. I only got a few luffas that actually matured. They are large. But they have been on my vine for months. They are still green. So I will still wait. I also just got a few that turned brown and looked like rot. Thanks again. Very helpful
Glad you found the info helpful! The first year of growing loofahs can be such trial and error. But with experience and experimenting, they get easier to grow and know when to harvest each time. Thanks for watching!
I've experimented with that in the past, and personally I didn't notice it make much of a difference. I'm sure it has some level of impact because it would allow the plant to send all the energy to the gourds themselves. But I didn't notice a change, so I leave the blooms because I think they're pretty and they draw a lot of bugs, butterflies, and bees to the area. Then again, it won't hurt to remove blossoms!
Thanks for this. My luffa is weird, i think...they were lighter weight and spongy, but now theyre rock hard. They havent grown at all, just gotten heavier
Are you saying they started lighter weight and spongy, then got hard and haven't grown anymore? If so, that's pretty typical! When they're first growing, they're a little bit softer than a cucumber. That's because the sponge hasn't developed inside yet. Then once the sponge starts developing, they don't grow any bigger and get hard and heavy with water weight. Then after they take what feels like forever, they'll start to get lighter in weight as the water weight lessens. It may just be that they've gotten as big as they will, but the sponge inside is still developing. Once it's mostly developed, then it will start getting lighter in weight again.
I live in NY and it’s getting down to the 40s at night 50ish during the day should I pick them and do they dry out more if u let them sit in a dry spot before peeling them?
Great question! I would hold out as long as you can so they have maximum amount of time for the fiber inside to develop. Of course, if the weather cuts the season short, that can't be helped. If you get a freeze or the plants themselves die, I would harvest then so they aren't left out in the elements. Because I live in an area with high humidity, I peel mine immediately after removing them from the vine because mine have a tendency to rot. However, I know from others who grow loofah that many have success letting them dry out before peeling. Letting them dry (which can take days, weeks, or even months depending on how green they still are) before peeling will make processing much easier. The only risk is if they have the possibility to mold/get yucky. So just make sure to provide plenty of airflow and rotate which side they're sitting on every so often so the entire gourd can dry out.
The two main varieties of loofah are cylindrica and acutangula. I grow the cylindrica kind as they are known for being easier to peel. The acutangula variety have sharp grooves, and I've heard they're very challenging to peel. Within each, there are various hybrids. But the two main categories are smooth (cylindrica) loofah and ridged (acutangula) loofah. Sounds like yours are the acutangula variety, so I would recommend growing the smooth variety next season for an easier time. Hope this helps!
Thinking about sending loofahs as a gift to family up north. They are in the fully developed but still green stage. How long will they last at this stage before I can send them out. I’m thinking a month or perhaps two down the road. What say you? ps. the most informative video yet that I’ve seen. Thank you very much. Randy
If I'm understanding correctly, you're asking how long they last unpeeled? Once they are harvested, they can last a good while unpeeled. The only potential issue you might run into is if the still green sections of skin start to rot. I'm in a humid area, but from what I've heard from other growers who are not in such a humid climate, they have no issues storing them green. They'll start to dry out and turn brown, but that can take awhile and isn't an issue unless they start to rot. If you were asking how long the inner sponge lasts after peeling, they can last several years! I tend to replace my sponges I'm using every so often simply because they wear down and soften with use. Hope this helps!
I don't currently sell seeds, but here are some places I've ordered seeds from online. Loofah Seeds from Nixon Handcrafted - nixonhandcrafted.com/products/heirloom-luffa-aegyptiaca-seeds-loofah-loofa?_pos=1&_psq=loofah%20se&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=32332113772631 Loofah Seeds from Burpee - www.burpee.com/squash-gourd-ornamental-luffa-prod000721.html Loofah Seeds on Amazon - amzn.to/3CTd6Hq I haven't ordered those specific seeds on Amazon, but they look similar to a brand I ordered off Amazon a few years ago. I've used the seeds from Nixon Handcrafted and from Burpee, and was happy with those seeds. Hope this helps!
I tried some one year, and made my whole family try too! (If you want to see our honest reactions, you can watch the last minute or so of this video- th-cam.com/video/390vwLcTEio/w-d-xo.html) They were good but in a weird sort of way. At first I didn't care for it, but then I kept munching on the rest of the loofah and ate the whole thing haha Do you have a favorite way to prepare them for eating?
Luffa is grown exclusively for sponge use in the united states and all asians eat luffa including those who live abroad. I even odered a luffa dish cooked with shrimps from My neighbor restaurant a long time ago. Yummy yummy
This is by far the best luffa video ive seen. I wish id seen this before i cut them off 10 minutes ago because of a frost. They are still green and pretty hard but i decided to process my smallest one that had been damaged by bugs and it still has a pretty good sponge. Wish me luck!
I hope you're able to get lots of great sponges! I had a freeze two nights ago, but I didn't cover the plants because I thought it was just going to be a light frost 😬 normally I'd have another month before a freeze, but it looks like I'll be harvesting a lot of green loofahs this year too!
I got this plant because I thought it would be cool to rarely buy sponges again. But this has been one of the biggest bee attractors I've ever grown. The flowers are huge and yellow, bees have an easy time burying their faces in them.
Yes! I love that aspect of growing loofahs! And they seem to keep blooming much longer than many of my other flowering plants. My plants are slowing down, but even still they're covered in bugs every day.
By far one of the best informative videos ever. You are intelligent, succinct, and should consider a career in communication of some kind. So refreshing!
@@NancyArnott thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed this video. 😊
This video is about to blow up, the algorithm is working hard
🤞I hope you're right!
Thank you for showing the 3 possible stages to harvest and the things to consider when at each stage. I found this educational video helpful and comprehensive. You are clear, concise, and present the information in a friendly manner. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the video, and thanks for the kind comment!
Thank you for this video I’ve just started growing luffa from the summer and I wasn’t too certain as to how long I should wait for the luffas but watching this video is just making me feel more certain with my garden.
I'm so glad to hear that! They're such a fun plant. Definitely play around with when you harvest them to learn what you like best!
I live in NC, zone 7b. This is my first year growing loofahs so this is helpful. Right now I have a ton of green loofahs. I just hope at least some of them make it to the yellow phase!
Fingers crossed they hold out! I've got a bunch right now that are sooooo close to being ready but not quite. So I'm in the same boat with ya!
This is a great video. You are very informative and offer allot of options in the harvesting while explaining the pros and cons. Well done.
Jim, this makes me so happy to hear! I'm a little bit obsessed with these plants, and I love helping others on their loofah growing journeys. :)
Very informative for a newbie w a huge crop. ( so I've gotta get at least ONE of em right!😂)
You've got this! Someone once told me you can't lose with this plant: you either get loofahs or you get lessons - and sometimes both! 😂 Hope you have a bountiful harvest.
Best video I have researched wow! Informative and learned on stages of luffa and how to harvest those stages. Thank you !
Such good advice! Thank you
The algorithm did good.
Thank you so much. I have so many first year luffas growing and ready or almost ready for harvest. I appreciate the breakdown and overview of everything.
I hope you have fun harvesting your loofahs! I've harvested a few of my loofahs for this season, and I'm excited for the rest to be ready.
Extremely informative thank you so much! This is my first season growing Loofahs and this helped me out so much
So glad it was helpful! i hope you have a wonderful harvest!
What an informative video. This is my first time growing loofahs.
I hope you have fun with this plant! Thanks for watching.
Fantastic video. Thank you💚 can’t wait to harvest!!!
Awesome. Thorough & informative. Thank you
Great video! Thanks for the explanation! I’m excited to harvest my first loofah gourds!
The first harvest (and honestly every harvest haha) is so much fun!
I was wondering if they would continue to ripen off of the vine, like many other produce. If picked late enough, of course. I'm pretty convinced I would prefer the yellow harvest, but might get a frost before then.
I suppose there's a sense in which they "ripen", meaning they will continue to dry out. But however strong the fiber is when the gourd is picked is pretty much how strong it will be when it's dried out. I planted too late a few years back and had to harvest all of my loofahs when green. So I was able to do a few tests, and discovered that the amount the fiber had developed when it was picked was as developed as the fiber would get. But the good news is there's still a chance to get useable sponges even if the gourds haven't dried all the way!
What a wonderful video. The best one I’ve seen. Great job!!❤❤
Thank you for your kind words! It always makes me happy to hear someone enjoyed one of my videos. 😊
Btw- I checked out your channel, and very cool to see the process of making molasses! I love learning the full process behind things we often take for granted these days.
@@CraftersAutonomous me? My dinky channel? Hehe. TH-cam banned my last one so I’m starting all over again :/
I just watched your video. Love it. This is my second year growing loofah. I have lots of loofah right now on the vine. It is getting to be the middle of October and I am worried about frost. None of my loofah feel ready to harvest. What can I do if I have to harvest them early due to the weather? Will they still try and produce a sponge and seeds if I harvest early?
When I find myself in this situation, I personally leave them on the vine until a frost or freeze happens. The next day, I carefully inspect my plants. Sometimes the vines and gourds are fine after a frost, sometimes the cell walls of the vines burst. If vines and gourds show no damage, I just leave them be even if the leaves took damage. If the vines get taken out but the gourds look okay, I leave them outside to dry out some more. The gourd won't continue to develop the sponge if the vine it's attached to dies, but there's not an urgency to harvest and process the gourd. I leave it there until I get to it (or until a warmer day so I can hose it off without freezing my fingers! lol).
The only scenario where it's best to do something right away is if the gourds themselves take damage. If the skins burst or crack from the freeze, air can get inside the gourd. When this happens, the gourds can start to rot. In this case, I immediately harvest and process the gourds. (Here's a video showing how I process gourds at different stages: th-cam.com/video/0H6iGIEgFjE/w-d-xo.html)
One other thought about waiting until a frost/freeze: where I'm located with mild winters, the first frost/freeze tends to only get just a smidge below freezing. Idk if places further north get an initial frost/freeze that goes significantly below freezing. If it got cold enough that the "gunk" inside the loofah also freezes, I could see it potentially putting pressure on the sponge and causing it to split apart. This hasn't happened to me, but I don't really know what harsh winters are like up north haha
What you end up with sponge and seed-wise just comes down to how much the gourd was able to develop. That's why I like leaving the gourds on the vine until a frost/freeze actually happens so they have maximum time to ripen. You might be surprised by how much difference a couple weeks or even a couple days can make!
With all that said, there's not really a "right or wrong" way to go about it. It all comes down to preference, which we often discover through trial and error. I seem to learn something new every season! Hope you end up with lots of beautiful sponges. :)
Thanks for the valuable info. I only got a few luffas that actually matured. They are large. But they have been on my vine for months. They are still green. So I will still wait. I also just got a few that turned brown and looked like rot. Thanks again. Very helpful
Glad you found the info helpful! The first year of growing loofahs can be such trial and error. But with experience and experimenting, they get easier to grow and know when to harvest each time. Thanks for watching!
Great video mine isnt ready yet and the plant is still blooming should i cut the blooms to help with what luffas on the plant
I've experimented with that in the past, and personally I didn't notice it make much of a difference. I'm sure it has some level of impact because it would allow the plant to send all the energy to the gourds themselves. But I didn't notice a change, so I leave the blooms because I think they're pretty and they draw a lot of bugs, butterflies, and bees to the area. Then again, it won't hurt to remove blossoms!
Very informative.
Thank you, this is great!
You're very welcome!
Thanks for this. My luffa is weird, i think...they were lighter weight and spongy, but now theyre rock hard. They havent grown at all, just gotten heavier
Are you saying they started lighter weight and spongy, then got hard and haven't grown anymore? If so, that's pretty typical! When they're first growing, they're a little bit softer than a cucumber. That's because the sponge hasn't developed inside yet. Then once the sponge starts developing, they don't grow any bigger and get hard and heavy with water weight. Then after they take what feels like forever, they'll start to get lighter in weight as the water weight lessens. It may just be that they've gotten as big as they will, but the sponge inside is still developing. Once it's mostly developed, then it will start getting lighter in weight again.
I live in NY and it’s getting down to the 40s at night 50ish during the day should I pick them and do they dry out more if u let them sit in a dry spot before peeling them?
Great question! I would hold out as long as you can so they have maximum amount of time for the fiber inside to develop. Of course, if the weather cuts the season short, that can't be helped. If you get a freeze or the plants themselves die, I would harvest then so they aren't left out in the elements. Because I live in an area with high humidity, I peel mine immediately after removing them from the vine because mine have a tendency to rot. However, I know from others who grow loofah that many have success letting them dry out before peeling. Letting them dry (which can take days, weeks, or even months depending on how green they still are) before peeling will make processing much easier. The only risk is if they have the possibility to mold/get yucky. So just make sure to provide plenty of airflow and rotate which side they're sitting on every so often so the entire gourd can dry out.
What variety do you plant. Mine are much spineier than yours with very deep groves and very hard to peel at every stage
The two main varieties of loofah are cylindrica and acutangula. I grow the cylindrica kind as they are known for being easier to peel. The acutangula variety have sharp grooves, and I've heard they're very challenging to peel. Within each, there are various hybrids. But the two main categories are smooth (cylindrica) loofah and ridged (acutangula) loofah. Sounds like yours are the acutangula variety, so I would recommend growing the smooth variety next season for an easier time. Hope this helps!
Thinking about sending loofahs as a gift to family up north. They are in the fully developed but still green stage. How long will they last at this stage before I can send them out. I’m thinking a month or perhaps two down the road. What say you?
ps. the most informative video yet that I’ve seen. Thank you very much.
Randy
If I'm understanding correctly, you're asking how long they last unpeeled? Once they are harvested, they can last a good while unpeeled. The only potential issue you might run into is if the still green sections of skin start to rot. I'm in a humid area, but from what I've heard from other growers who are not in such a humid climate, they have no issues storing them green. They'll start to dry out and turn brown, but that can take awhile and isn't an issue unless they start to rot.
If you were asking how long the inner sponge lasts after peeling, they can last several years! I tend to replace my sponges I'm using every so often simply because they wear down and soften with use.
Hope this helps!
Great informative and put together video. Sound is too low though
Sorry, audio can be a little tricky to get right at times! :)
Ok now i understand no more waste of luffa thanks....
Hi! I’m having trouble finding seeds. I’m from Dallas.. do you know of any sources here, or is it possible to buy some seeds from you?
I don't currently sell seeds, but here are some places I've ordered seeds from online.
Loofah Seeds from Nixon Handcrafted - nixonhandcrafted.com/products/heirloom-luffa-aegyptiaca-seeds-loofah-loofa?_pos=1&_psq=loofah%20se&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=32332113772631
Loofah Seeds from Burpee - www.burpee.com/squash-gourd-ornamental-luffa-prod000721.html
Loofah Seeds on Amazon - amzn.to/3CTd6Hq
I haven't ordered those specific seeds on Amazon, but they look similar to a brand I ordered off Amazon a few years ago. I've used the seeds from Nixon Handcrafted and from Burpee, and was happy with those seeds. Hope this helps!
You still needing seeds
@@leliacrispen-warnke1672 no, thank you, I was able to get some! Thanks!
Great information again 😃 Positive Blessings, vibes peace, health and happiness! Namesta ✌️🐞🕉️
Thank you! Hope your week is going well. 😃
What general area are you at?
I'm in the Southern US. Zone 7b
We eat them
I tried some one year, and made my whole family try too! (If you want to see our honest reactions, you can watch the last minute or so of this video- th-cam.com/video/390vwLcTEio/w-d-xo.html) They were good but in a weird sort of way. At first I didn't care for it, but then I kept munching on the rest of the loofah and ate the whole thing haha Do you have a favorite way to prepare them for eating?
@@CraftersAutonomous we like to stir-fried them with garlic, and you can also add more water to make them into soup. Add some shrimp and it's awsome😋
Luffa is grown exclusively for sponge use in the united states and all asians eat luffa including those who live abroad. I even odered a luffa dish cooked with shrimps from My neighbor restaurant a long time ago. Yummy yummy