Luffa

seeds

1/8oz: $3.50; Item: 1962-A
1/4oz: $5.50; Item: 1962-B
1/2oz: $8.50; Item: 1962-C
1oz: $12.00; Item: 1962-D
4oz: $27.00; Item: 1962-E

Luffa aegyptiaca

May be more closely related to the cucumber than to the hardshell Lagenaria. Also known as Dishrag Gourd, dried and used for making bath sponges. Some folks pick them young, steam and pan-fry them. In addition to being a scrubber and a comestible, this versatile gourd has been used to make soundproof wall boarding, to insulate army helmets, to stuff mattresses and saddles and even to make filters for steam engines and diesel motors! We recommend trellising if you want your luffas to remain straight. Caution: Luffa requires a long season. Start indoors and culture like melons.

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Additional Information

Luffa or Loofah

About 280 seeds/oz.
Days to maturity are from transplant

Culture: Very long season: Luffa must be started indoors 4 weeks before transplanting after last frost. Use row covers and low tunnels to help maturity and reduce insect damage. Trellis if you want your luffas to be straight.

How to Produce a Luffa Sponge

When luffas are ripe their skins turn brown and dry and stems turn yellow. Check your plants frequently and harvest only ripe gourds. Full-sized fruit that are still green produce soft, fine-textured sponges that don’t last. After the first killing frost remove any nearly ripe gourds to a warm well-ventilated place to allow them to dry. Gourds left wet for long will readily discolor.

If the luffa has just ripened, gently squeeze and pop its skin. Break the blossom end cap and pull the vascular bundle (that’s the sponge!) up the side of the gourd like a zipper. The sponge will pop out, wet and white. Quickly rinse it in water to prevent oxidation.

If gourds are too dry to pop the sponge out, ret them (thoroughly soak in water) for several days until the skin sloughs off leaving only the spongy fiber. After retting, shape and dry the sponge. Remove seeds either before or after retting. We found it easy to do before retting: cut open the larger end of the gourd and either shake or rinse out the seeds. If you wish to whiten the sponges, bleach by soaking either in a 10% bleach solution or in hydrogen peroxide. Rinse luffas thoroughly in clean water and dry before use.

Gourds

All gourds are open-pollinated.

Gourds come in two major categories (Luffa is a third). The small ones are Cucurbita pepo var. ovifera, known as ornamental gourds for their variety of shapes, colors and surfaces. These vigorous viners will usually mature in our climate if direct-seeded. The larger ones are Lagenaria siceraria or hardshell gourds, named from the Greek lagenos, ‘a flask,’ and sicera, ‘an intoxicating drink.’ Lagenaria lack the color range of their smaller cousins, but fascinate with their magical shapes. Because of their hard shells they are the type most commonly used for crafts, musical instruments and utensils.

Germination Testing

For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.

Our Seeds are Non-GMO

All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.