Picking Luffa Gourds

There was enough sunlight left in the day to accomplish another task that I've been meaning to do. With everything planted in the garden except for turnips and mustard greens, I needed to get busy planting and finish up the fall/winter planting season. But before I could do that, I needed to make some room.  Two rows need to be weeded prior to hoeing and planting.  I worked up the rows earlier, but then a deluge of rainfall inhibited me from getting in there and planting and in the meantime, Bermuda grass completely conquered the rows.  There's lots of work to be done to get those rows ready again.

There is one row that is ready to be hoed and then planted, pending one task: I need to take down the trellis of luffa gourds that has taken a firm foothold on half of the 24 foot long row.  Here is a picture of it below.  I didn't plant this 'hedge' of luffa - it came up on its own, a volunteer from last year's crop.  I like to reward persistence like this and oftentimes just let the volunteers grow.  In this case, I erected a trellis by putting in T-posts and running some baling twine between the two t-posts at 6 inch increments for the luffa vines to crawl on.

Lush luffas

I could see many luffa gourds amongst the foliage as I moved the leaves and could also see that the weight of the gourds had caused the t-posts to sag inwardly, straining to support the many gourds.

A nice, 2 foot long luffa gourd

My immediate thought was, "Man, what a prolific crop.  I wish these things were edible!" and to be honest with you, they are!  But only when they are very young, like the one I'm holding in my hand below.  Luffas that size can be peeled and eaten.  I found recipes for luffa stir fry and was going to try it.  I put this one in the fridge and it turned black and unappetizing, so I composted it and didn't end up cooking it. Next year I'll do it, I promise!

Edible luffa (if they are this size)

So I began pulling on the vines and cutting off each luffa gourd.  I heard a rustling sound behind me and turned around to see that Daisy, Rosie, Clarabelle and little Luna had spotted me working in the garden and came to beg for something to eat.  I obliged and threw the thick, lush, luffa vines over the fence and the girls made quick work of them!

Meanwhile I stacked up the luffa gourds like cord wood on the row just west of where the luffas were growing.  When I was finished, I counted them up.  Twenty-nine (29) luffa gourds from one luffa plant!  Several more were hidden and dried within the vines, so I think this plant in all produced about 35 gourds!!

Stack 'em deep and sell 'em cheap!

I enlisted Benjamin's help and we loaded up an old molasses tub with the bounty and carried them to the back patio and laid them all out on the table.

My RARESEEDS Catalog says this about them:

(Luffa Aegyptiaca) Burpee's 1888 catalogue said, "A natural dishcloth, and a most admirable one. Many ladies prefer this dishcloth. The fruit grow about 2', and the vine is very ornamental, producing clusters of yellow blossoms, in pleasing contrast with the silvery-shaded, dark green foliage. In the North this variety requires starting in a hotbed. The dried interiors of these gourds have already become an article of commerce; grown in Florida, they are sold by Philadelphia and NY druggists."

I've dried a bunch of these before and used them as bath sponges. They are great for exfoliating and can be used instead of a washrag, but I never thought about using them as a dishcloth in the kitchen. We'll try this as they should be great for scrubbing pots, pans, and plates.

To dry them, first you must remove the outer covering of the luffa to expose the inner sponge and begin the drying process.  Simply peel it off.  It comes off easily with your fingers.  I save all the peelings for the compost pile.

Peeling a luffa to start the drying process

I'll show you the drying process and then the seed saving, the bleaching, and the cutting of the sponge in a future post.  I also have an idea that I'll try in which I'll cut the luffa into two inch thick disks and pour homemade soap into them and let them harden into bath soap/scrubbing sponges.  We'll see how that works out and will post the results.  Stay tuned.