Luffa sponges don't come from the sea! They are actually a dried luffa gourd-which is a fruit in the squash (Cucurbit) family that has very fibrous flesh. To grow your own luffa gourds, and then make them into sponges, you just need space in your garden, and time, because the gourds take about 4 months to mature and you must dry the gourds before you can turn them into luffa sponges. Here's do it.
Instructions
Grow Luffa Gourds
1. In spring, purchase luffa gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca) seeds from a seed company (see Resources below). Luffa grow best from transplants, so you'll need to start seeds indoors 6 weeks before your last frost date (if you don't know your last frost date, call your local county extension or ask a local nursery).
2. Luffa seeds germinate slowly; to help ensure speedier, more even germination, soak the seeds in water for 24 hours prior to sowing. Sow the seeds in a transplant tray (use one that is divided into cells). Fill the tray with moist seed starting mix and then sow three seeds in each cell.
3. When the seedlings get their first set of true leaves, thin out the two weakest plants, leaving the strongest seedling. Keep the seedlings' soil evenly moist. Be sure to harden the seedlings off before planting them outside, to prevent shocking them. To harden seedlings off, bring them outdoors and place them in a shaded, sheltered spot for a few hours each day, gradually increasing the amount of time they stay outside and the amount of exposure they receive, until they can stay outside overnight (as long as frost is not predicted).
4. When all danger of frost has passed, plant the seedlings outdoors in a sunny spot with rich, well-drained soil amended with plenty of compost. Space the plants 18 inches apart and mulch between them with a 3-inch-layer of straw to prevent developing fruit from coming into contact with moist soil (which can cause rot). Spray the plants with liquid fish emulsion (diluted to the strength recommended on the bottle for vegetables) three times during the growing season.
5. Luffas are a tropical plant and produce the best quality gourds when the fruit can remain on the vine for 90 days after developing. Fruit that forms later in the summer won't have time to develop the desirable fibrous interior, but you can harvest these gourds while they are young and tender and use them in stir fries. Leave the gourds that formed earliest in the season on the vine for as long as possible. By fall they should feel light for their size and have developed a brown, hard shell.
6. Harvest the gourds before your first fall frost to prevent damage and bring them indoors. Allow them to continue drying until you hear seeds rattle inside when you shake the gourds.
Make the Sponges
7. To prepare the gourds for use as a sponge, first break off the flower end and remove as many seeds as possible by shaking the gourd up and down.
8. Fill your sink with warm water and submerge the gourds for 20 minutes to soften up their hard shells.
9. Slip the softened shells off the gourds and rinse them under running water, removing remaining seeds and skin. You should be left with the interior "skeleton" of the gourd, which is really a matrix of cellulose fibers.
10. Place the cleaned luffas on cookie racks to dry, rotating them once a day to ensure that they dry evenly. Don't worry if your luffas look a little darker than ones you've purchased in the past. Most commercial luffas are bleached before they are sold. Use the luffas to exfoliate dry skin or in the kitchen to scrub pots and pans.
Tags: before your, bring them, frost date, gourds before, harden seedlings