Your garden can help save some money on your next trip to the grocery store and even provide natural beauty products, including loofahs. Loofahs are grown naturally and derive from the edible cucumber family once it reaches a specific size. However, some patience will give you the opportunity to grow your own sponges.
To grow a loofah, you have to let the plant grow bigger to help the plant create the fibrous part of the plant. Once the outer leaves turn brown, they are stripped off, and the fibrous loofah is ready for use.
The loofah gourd is a tropical plant that requires long warm seasons to grow in various climates. Experts indicate growers must mimic its natural growing conditions starting by cultivating seeds indoors, and the founder of Epic Garden, Kevin Espiritu, gives some tips for growing your own sponges.
Kevin starts the process by sowing the seeds indoors in a little pot, and it should sprout within 10 to 14 days, with some seeds taking up to 21 days, depending on the temperature. Once germinated, transplant the seedlings to the soil in big planter pots outside.
The next step is to plant the sprouts in nice rich soil, keeping the plant nice and watered with the recommendation to not mess with the plant after that. Another critical component in growing loofah gourds is providing something for the plant to climb up (similar to a vine) of up to six feet, with some plants climbing 30 to 40 feet in the proper conditions.
These loofah gourds require a long-season crop with the longest, warmest summer weather you could give it. The gourd will start growing into a green plant resembling a cucumber that can be edible, but if you wait long enough, the outer leaves will change color to yellow and brown (like a moldy banana). When ready for harvest, simply squeeze the gourd to loosen, remove the outer leaves, remove the inner seeds in the loofah, rinse, and enjoy!