Luffa

Description

Vegetable Sponge. Regarded as an Asian delicacy when harvested as a young fruit but also suitable for growing to maturity and drying for bathroom sponges / back scrubbers. Indoors: Soak seeds for 12 hours in warm water then sow seeds in pots or punnets 1cm deep and place in warm position. Outdoors: Soak as above then plant on small mounds approximately 2cm deep in groups of 3 or 4 seeds per mound. Pinch out plants when trailers reach 150cm to keep within bounds and promote fruiting. Fruits will produce a better shape if the plant is trained up a frame. To harvest your own bathroom sponges leave mature fruits in a dry place with the end cut off and the seeds extracted. The flesh will now wither, leaving the familiar network of cylindrical fibre.

Matures 70 days from transplant.