An Ode to Luffa
Luffa? Loofah? Loofa? However you spell it, this was my favorite plant to grow this spring and summer season, and now that we're well into fall and I've been harvesting these gourds en masse, I have some tips to share for anyone who may be thinking about growing their own next year. Native to tropical Asia , I found that luffa really loves the North Florida climate-- it wants heat, sun, and humidity, and it gets plenty of it here. I started three plants from seed in pots in March of this year, all three sprouted, and I gifted one to my brother (whose plant is taking over their backyard fence and vigorously producing, too) and I planted two in my own garden. I quickly realized how much space these plants take up as they started to take over my yard and garden beds, so I ended up pulling out one of the luffa who was overcrowding one of the beds and put up a cattle panel trellis to support the other. This eventually expanded into two cattle p...
