Harvesting and Processing Luffa (Loofah) While It Is Still Green… Yes it works!
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Today I’m going to show y’all how to harvest a luffa gourd while it’s still green!
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Instagram: / littletexashomestead
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#luffa #loofah #loofahsponge #soapmaking
It seems to me, after a year and a half of gardening, that all aspects are therapeutic. The hard work of moving a lot of stones and rocks, the pitchfork work of turning compost piles, the harvesting (and snacking), and even the time spent just looking at the garden in a moment of contemplative silence, are all good for the soul. As for the idea of, "it not getting old," when you process a luffa, I find that is true of all my gardening tasks. I am truly loving it!
So glad I saw this because I’m going to have to harvest before they are yellow. Thank you, sweet Lady.
Thank you! This was my first year growing luffas. We're getting a frost tonight, now I know what to do!!
I hope your harvest is successful, I use my luffas every day and can’t imagine not having them now!
In the same boat myself, and just spent a couple of hours peeling and squishing etc. The peeling bit is actually easier than it looks, I found an initial 'squash' to create cracks, then a rolling-pin action makes the skin then peel off super-easy.
First year grower in Dallas, TX! Planted about 20 plants and we have so many luffas on the vines.
Half way up the North Island in New Zealand and only just in the right climate-zone for luffahs. Two plants out of three survived, then grew like crazy until it started to get chilly. First frost will arrive any night, and have just harvested 6 of them. Quite a few disappointingly too small to cope with peeling etc. Next year will get a head-start by starting the plants indoors, and now have a better idea how to support/tie them out.
Im glad I found this video. In case my Luffas dont make it to a full ripe stage on the vine before frost. I now know that I can still probably save them. Excellent!!!
I’m so glad this was helpful, I hope you have a great Luffa harvest!
@@LittleTexasHomestead Me Too!!!!
Great Video!
Thank you!
Thanks !!! I did not know you could harvest the green ones for sponges !!!
Most helpful video I have found on harvesting loofah gourds so far! Thx!
I’m so glad it was helpful, thank you for watching!
Thanks for sharing this information with us we really love you are content Watching from Ghana 🇬🇭
Thank you. I thought mine would have to be trashed since freeze is coming and my loofa are still quite green. I will attempt to salvage mine now.
so glad you posted this. i almost composted what turned into a perfectly good loofa!
Great explanation. Thank you : )
I just peeled one I harvested a month ago because of frost before heading out of town for two weeks. The fibers were well developed but I had WAY more pulp on my than yours as the skins hadn't started drying at all. It took me forever to peel it! I've soaked and squeezed til my hands are sore but still have lots of pulp left. I'm letting it soak overnight in hopes that I can get the rest out. I came to UA-cam to see if anyone had tips on how to dissolve the pulp and found your video. I have 5 more to peel but after today, I'm thinking of sitting them in a cool dry room for a couple more weeks before I attempt to peel another.
Thank you for sharing and making this video God bless you
Thanks for much for this info! I’m afraid we are going to get a frost and I wasn’t sure what to do!!
I'm going to harvest mine tonight because it'll be -2 tonight
up here in middle-of-no-where ontario (zone 4b) and tried loofa for the first time this year. didn't know if our growing season would be long enough. turns out, no, it's not long enough even with starting indoors in march. still green on the vine on oct 23 and first light frost was last night. it's over for the growing season. so grateful to find this video. thought all was lost. have ridged variety so peeling looks like it might be very challenging. still, they're not on the compost heap yet.
Peeling them green is the most tedious part, but the end result is worth it… I definitely prefer the way the sponges look and feel when they are processed in the green stage! I hope your harvest is a success.
Way easier to process if you dry the green ones in the oven peels much easier .
How do you dry them in the oven?
Cut ends open, put small cuts in skin, 300° for 45min
@@holeinmind thanks
Just keep in mind though that you can't use the seeds if you dry them in the oven.
Nice to know!
I might give it a try!🙌🏻
There's a lot in our Surroundings.
Interesting and seems easy enough but still more trouble than I want to go to.
It is time consuming, but thankfully quicker when you aren’t trying to record the process, lol.
By the way there’s still seeds in there 😅😅
Thank you for sharing!
Hmm? What is the reason to harvest so early? Given no choice because of weather, I can see, but it seems like way more work, especially cleaning. Plus you don't get any mature and viable seeds from them.
I have done a few, just because I had to harvest early, but even then, I would harvest and let it dry in the barn or greenhouse and wait until the seeds are dried, the pulp is nearly gone and skin is dried and brown. Drying one picked green, does run the chance of it rotting, but in many cases, I am able to clean the rot out and get a softer sponge.
I have some dark spots in my dried luffa. Should I cut those out? It’s not pulp it’s a spot in the sponge. thanks!
Thanks so much for this video. I’m in Algarve Portugal and currently have 7 “whoppers” on the vine. We are having very heavy rainfall at the moment so will try harvesting one now I’ve seen your method. It’s still a good 21 degrees so you think they can withstand the rains or should I harvest them all? 🤞🏻🎃
I also live in texas and have around 30 to dry and they are green, can i still dry them outside during the days? Thank your
After I clean my green luffa out as much as possible, I throw it in the clothes dryer and all the seeds tumble out
When you harvest them early, are they softer?
I prefer the texture, but ultimately it depends on the size the Luffa gets. I’ve found that the larger ones have a more firm sponge regardless of when it’s harvested.
My loofa had thick skin and sharp ridges that ran from top to bottom. N
ot enough water?
Thank you for this video. This is my 1st year growing them and we have a short season 2. Are the seeds salvageable to use and grow next year?
If the seeds are a dark black color, yes, but the pale ones aren’t mature enough.
Thank you
Being in warm Texas, how long does your gourd plant live? Do you normally let them dry on the vine and are just showing us what can be done with the green ones? These are so strange. I admit I really thought they came from the ocean. From where did these originate? Next time I see one at the store I am going to closely investigate. Lol. Thank you for the video.
Honestly, I never knew sponges didn’t all come from the ocean either until about 2 years ago! Since our growing season is so long and unpredictable, I’ve had luffa still forming into December. When I first started growing them, I thought you HAD to let them dry on the vine to get a fully formed sponge until I processed a green one… a large green gourd was pulled off the vine, so I processed it to see what it would look like, and I realized I preferred the sponge that way. It’s cleaner and brighter, and you don’t lose any to mold or rot like you do when you let it dry (and in my opinion the sponge fibers are a nicer thickness). I’m not sure where they originated.
@@LittleTexasHomestead Thank you for responding so quickly. I'm still amazed. Good luck with everything.
How long do the sponges last ypu before you feel like it needs to be composted (wash dishes)?
I had to harvest all my loofas green due to a frost. Some of them are only 1 inch thick, and 12-15 inches long. Are those mature enough to have sponges inside? What was the smallest size that you saw sponge fibers in?
Luffa aegygtiaca is shown in this vídeo. I have eaten a lot of tender luffa acutangula. If you harvested green tender luffa aegygtiaca due to a frost and if you see that it does not turn into a sponge. You can eat them. Harvested green tender luffa will not turn into a sponge
Do you need to cut too off before hitting on ground
I am in SW FL. I love growing loofas but mine are only about 8-12” long.
Questions:
1. What kind of fertilizer can I use to make my vines and loofas larger?
2. I have brown spots on my loofas. How can I make them pretty?
Thank you.
I put rabbit manure and chicken bedding on mine, and that’s really the only amendment’s I add to my Luffa. Are yours getting plenty of sunshine and staying dry? I could tell a difference in mine that were in full sun as opposed to one I planted in the shade.
Yes I’m full sun. I’ll try some black cow.
I just tried a big green one but it wasn't done yet
The ones I have are a dark green can I go ahead and take the green off the we're planted my someone else and the grow them the ground
wow i dont spend that much time on salted codfish in jan lol
So the green seeds aren’t viable???
No, just the dark ones. If you are wanting viable seeds you would need to leave it on the vine until at least the yellow stage.
Hi..if you harvest the green luffas..will the seeds be viable if they're black?thank you
If the seeds are black they will be viable as long as they are plump, not paper thin… when the seeds start falling out, you will quickly be able to tell what the mature seeds are supposed to look like.
@@LittleTexasHomestead thank you for your help 😊
Your seeds are white, will they turn dark in time?
No, the seeds from this Luffa aren’t viable, the sponge is fully formed though… if you want to save the seeds, the luffa gourd needs to be yellow to brown when processed.
When you dry them for 24 hours, why do you rinse them again? Also, what’s the best way to dry it? Leave it on a flat cardboard surface, baking sheet, hang it on a clothesline, how? I put mine down on the deck in plastic shoebox container and ants are all over it.
I rinse mine again just to get any little fibers/ slime off that didn’t come off the first time… sometimes there are hardly any, others will make the water look like fresh squeezed lemonade. I usually lay mine outside on a flat surface in direct sunlight… there have been a few times where it was too windy or a storm was coming, so I left them on my kitchen counter to dry. We’re your gourds whole or cleaned when ants got to them?
Will the sponge break or mold or decompose while it’s still green after this process
And will the seeds be plantable?
No, as long as all of the pulp is cleaned out and the sponge is dried it will not mold…They are very tough, I’ve never had one break or decompose (other than ones I’ve thrown in the compost), and I use them daily in my kitchen and bathroom. As for the seeds, the dark ones are viable, the white ones are not. Preferably you will be able to harvest your luffa when they are closer to the yellow/brown stage which will give the seeds plenty of time to mature, but if a gourd were to come off the vine before then or frost comes too early, the larger green ones still have a perfectly good sponge. I’ve seen too many videos of people who throw away buckets of luffa not realizing they can be processed without drying out.