In this video, I explain what happens when a luffa sponge goes to seed and how to easily grow and make your own luffa sponge. I also explain the difference between a luffa sponge and a sea sponge.
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Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane – the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let’s get into it! Cheers, Mark 🙂
Interesting!
any chance you could send me a seed Mark? I live near Coonabarabran & am having trouble getting seeds…the soil is pretty sandy here, do you reckon they will grow here in warmer weather?
In Asia that is vegetable, when young it can be stir-fried, put on soups. It can also be added to fish, pork or chicken dishes.
How do you stop birds from coming and eating the fruits and vegetables?
Growing some this yr haven't tried eating them small
We had these a few years ago here, they've grown over the rooftops of our house and the trees to the point of shading everything under them. Great plant, but if you don't properly prune them they will grow like mad!
It tastes extremely good when making a soup with tomatos
Would it grow in Idaho?
When a luffa sprouts, going to seen is just ripe : )))))
Love your channel, very informative. My family grow them every summer, and they are very common where I'm from (South-East China). My family harvest approx. 100+ each summer, and some of them grow up to 1m long (depend on the species you have). We let some of them grow to full maturity and use the sponge for dishes and the seed for next year's planting.
I used them to clean I didn't know any of this
Very cool, I had no idea!
There are ways to cook to remove the bitterness of the bittergourd.
Someone shared this video with me, I had no idea they were a grown thing. I thought they came from the sea.
You explained this topic really well, I'm a new fan now!
How long does the vine last? It makes a nice shady spot to sit under. Not as pretty as wisteria or honeysuckle, but useful.
Do you are anyone reading this sell these seeds ?
I had no idea! That is so cool!
A lot of people are saying they had no idea luffa sponges were grown. I was the other way around. I always knew these as "silk squash" where we had to pick them in time before they got too hard and fibrous to eat, unless you wanted to save them for seed. I had no idea, until later, that they were used as a bath product. For anyone who is having trouble finding seeds for this, it goes by many names: Luffa, loofah, silk squash, si gua (Chinese) and Chinese okra. I grow the Luffa acutangula type, which is ridged and angular, whereas the one in this video is Luffa cylindrica or the smooth luffa. Search online and you're sure to find it. Be warned that the seeds can have a low germination rate compared to other squashes, so you're going to want to start a lot. Once they come out, you grow them like cucumbers.
I grow my own lupus and use them for my Coco liners in my pot
Thanks for great info on growing loofah. My first year adding the amazing vegetable gourd.
both luffa and bitter gourd are popular greens in Vietnamese cuisine
Gday Mark, I am watching the whole lot. 58 and 59 are the same plus you have 20 copies of this one
I never had any interest in eat them, but I was super excited to learn I could grow these even in zone 4 with enough lead-time on seed starting when I was looking for compostable sponge options for our household to switch too. And they last ages in use too, way longer than we get plastic sponges to hold up. 🙂
This is the first year I've succeeded in getting full-sized gourds (didn't plant seeds early enough last year) and I am super excited to get to harvest them soon and clean them up for use.
I put mine up in the green house. Two germinated. transplanted them at 6 inches tall in May, and I just harvested 36 luffas!! They grew over my tunnel, onto my shed, and into my horse chestnut tree! there are still about 5 still up in the tree.