The arch is fantastic! This is my first year growing luffa. I live in SoCal and started them early (may). I jad 2 harvests off of two plants. We had a cool start to summer and there were only 5. Then a heat wave in August made the plants explode with new grow and luffas. The vine is crazy. Such as interesting process with heavy fruit and then this light spongy thing. So many pollinators!
This has been the most fun that I have had growing a plant. So much excitement. We did our final harvest yesterday and cut around 145 luffas before the frost. I added some footage to our Instagram story yesterday.
I'm going on four years since first discovering them. I'm in Virginia. My second year I came up with a hybrid luffa I named Virginia Huskies luffa. They are more the size of softballs and footballs. Not super long, but wide in girth. I have videos on this UA-cam channel from this year and on my Facebook page "For the love of luffa-loofa". My first year I dried them and then shook the seeds out. This year I peel before heavily dried and wash out the luffa in a bucket. The seeds wash out and usually float. I put them into a strainer and rinse and then let them dry. I wash the sponge to take out the let over meat and I'm ready to hang and dry the luffa. At this point if there are dark spots, I may do a bleach soak. I find that this eliminates all the seed shaking out business. With a dozen or more trays of dried seeds, I then vacuum pack and label them accordingly. Then I sell seeds to my seed reseller and sell the sponges to crafty people. I would do it, just for fun and to watch the bees. I will share this on my Facebook page. Thanks!
I just heard your interview on the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast, and am now a new subscriber! Tue interview was so full of great information and teaching. Thank you.
Starting growing this year. I love the plant it's beautiful. Fingers crossed mine turn out beautiful. I've got some big ones. Just had to put in 4x4 posts to hold up. I'm loving growing them.
I just ordered the seeds! Besides the support and planting early what other tips do you have? I’m in zone 6a. Thank you! I’m looking forward to growing these!
Hi!! I’m so envious of your harvest!! I had a hell of a time sprouting my lufa seeds and determined the only way they’d sprout is soak the seeds for 24 hours then split the seed like you’d open a sunflower seed… now mine are flowering but I’m getting a lot of blooms drop off.. is that normal?!
I posted a video on how to raise germination rates on hard to start seeds. You should watch it. We get almost 100% germination rate for luffas using this method. It works on butterfly pea seeds which are so hard to start.
Yay. Wonderful video. I grew loofas from seed. Yes, my arch weakened by the heavy gourds. Two of the largest are drying with the skin on. Is that another way to harvest? They were light green and the exterior needs to be dryer,
I peeled my first luffa today! I picked it a bit sooner than your dry brown one and the peel slipped right off! Now its drying in the sun! I had seen a video saying to pick before its dried and it peels much easier and that was the case for me! It was after the yellow color but before super dry.
I have a little different variety and mine are much bigger. I grew “ climbing okra” 50 yrs ago. I have some of these 4-5 ft long. We’ve been eating some of the smaller one but are letting the big ones go. I’m in zone 8b and it’s still in the 90’s.
Thank you so much for this video! This is my first year growing these and I harvested the first two WAY to early. Should i let them sit or cut them open and then let them dry? Can you save the wet seeds as well?
I water when the ground is really dry and the plants look droopy. I spray with fish emulsion when they are first growing. Don’t fertilize at all after they are climbing well.
what materials die you use? Size of cattle panels and how many stakes? How did you make the arch so tall? Thank you for your help! My seedlings are doing great! Thank you!
My first year growing loofphs and I did as the pkg suggested and just planted them in hills. Spreading like crazy and know I understand about the male and female blooms! I am just wondering with them being on the ground how they will dry? Have you had any experiences with growing them on the ground? I have some HUGE loofphs. Planted in May (Iowa) and in July/Aug finally started getting fruit forming.
I have only grown them on arches. I am unsure how they would do on the ground. Do you need to turn them so that one side isn’t damaged from being in contact with the ground?
This is my first year growing loofas. We are into October with frost expected tonigit. All of my loofas are very green, can i leave them on the vine thru the frost?
You are just North of me. I am selling Grow Your own cut flower garden collections this year. Lisianthus are included. I hope to create a video for that.
@@1818Farms I was just looking at that! It looks beautiful! I also sent an email with a couple questions. I just listened to you on the Let’s Grow Girls podcast, you were very informative! 🙏🏻 I have a lot to learn 😅
That looks like a hard way to skin/peel. You actually can get those seeds out of the yellow one. I run my thumb under between sponge & skin. In my opinion you did it both types the hard way. I’ll try to make a video showing how I do it. Not being ugly only trying to say there is a more easy way.
Thanks for the tip. Because we sale the seeds as a crop, we like for the luffas to be as dry as possible. We don’t have as many viable seeds when they are peeled yellow.
those are some really nice snips, what brand are they? this was my first year for luffa and they are coming in great. I only have two 4x8 raised beds but I plan on adding in a third one this winter to do more next year.
Oh Thanks for this!! My daddy use to grow these in the 70’s & I had forgot how much fun they are! Glad I came across a Southern gal!!
So much fun to grow!
The arch is fantastic! This is my first year growing luffa. I live in SoCal and started them early (may). I jad 2 harvests off of two plants. We had a cool start to summer and there were only 5. Then a heat wave in August made the plants explode with new grow and luffas. The vine is crazy. Such as interesting process with heavy fruit and then this light spongy thing. So many pollinators!
This has been the most fun that I have had growing a plant. So much excitement. We did our final harvest yesterday and cut around 145 luffas before the frost. I added some footage to our Instagram story yesterday.
Cog Hill Farm sent me to see you and your baby doll sheep and flower farm
Hope you enjoy the channel. I post a lot more babydoll photos on my Instagram page.
8:15 interesting how it resembles the elephant's trunk, the holes. Nature is amazing.
Jason & Brooke from Cog Hill sent me. New subscriber ❤
That’s great! Thank you for following along.
I'm going on four years since first discovering them. I'm in Virginia.
My second year I came up with a hybrid luffa I named Virginia Huskies luffa. They are more the size of softballs and footballs. Not super long, but wide in girth.
I have videos on this UA-cam channel from this year and on my Facebook page "For the love of luffa-loofa".
My first year I dried them and then shook the seeds out.
This year I peel before heavily dried and wash out the luffa in a bucket. The seeds wash out and usually float. I put them into a strainer and rinse and then let them dry.
I wash the sponge to take out the let over meat and I'm ready to hang and dry the luffa.
At this point if there are dark spots, I may do a bleach soak.
I find that this eliminates all the seed shaking out business.
With a dozen or more trays of dried seeds, I then vacuum pack and label them accordingly.
Then I sell seeds to my seed reseller and sell the sponges to crafty people.
I would do it, just for fun and to watch the bees.
I will share this on my Facebook page.
Thanks!
Extremely informative video, thanks for the great content!
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the content! Are you growing luffa this year?
Wow that was a huge 🐝 bee 😮
I just heard your interview on the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast, and am now a new subscriber! Tue interview was so full of great information and teaching. Thank you.
Thank you for following along! Happy that you enjoyed the podcast.
Thank you so much for sharing next year ill be planning to grow some as well.
I just came over from Coghill and subscribed to your channel.
I’m a new sub from Lisa’s channel. Beautiful farm you have.
So wonderful to see a new video. Been missing your content.
Thank you! Hope to have more this Spring. Last year was hectic getting kids off to college and moving one after graduation.
Great video
Thank you! Are you growing them?
@@1818Farms no I don't grow them and don't have a veggie garden. I only grow for vanity lol. Just flowers and shrubs
Agreed!
Starting growing this year. I love the plant it's beautiful. Fingers crossed mine turn out beautiful. I've got some big ones. Just had to put in 4x4 posts to hold up. I'm loving growing them.
I bet they will. What color are they now?
Thank you for your video! I have my first and only loofa to process! It dried inside this year.
How exciting!
@@1818Farms 8:15 interesting how it resembles the elephant's trunk.
Thank you.
You're welcome!
Thank you
I just ordered the seeds! Besides the support and planting early what other tips do you have? I’m in zone 6a. Thank you! I’m looking forward to growing these!
We use cattle panels to grow them on! I’m southern indiana and I start my seeds in March inside and put in ground first week of may.
Hi!! I’m so envious of your harvest!! I had a hell of a time sprouting my lufa seeds and determined the only way they’d sprout is soak the seeds for 24 hours then split the seed like you’d open a sunflower seed… now mine are flowering but I’m getting a lot of blooms drop off.. is that normal?!
I posted a video on how to raise germination rates on hard to start seeds. You should watch it. We get almost 100% germination rate for luffas using this method. It works on butterfly pea seeds which are so hard to start.
Yay. Wonderful video. I grew loofas from seed. Yes, my arch weakened by the heavy gourds. Two of the largest are drying with the skin on. Is that another way to harvest? They were light green and the exterior needs to be dryer,
You can put the green ones in a warm room on a shelf and turn them every couple of days. This will allow them to dry enough so that they mature.
Just harvested my first luffa! It's kinda slimy, even though the skin was brown, so I'm leaving it outside to dry. Question: how do I wash it?
Can they grow on the grown or they have to be grown on an arch?
I would recommend a fence or an arch.
I peeled my first luffa today! I picked it a bit sooner than your dry brown one and the peel slipped right off! Now its drying in the sun! I had seen a video saying to pick before its dried and it peels much easier and that was the case for me! It was after the yellow color but before super dry.
Do you just wash them in plain water?
I have a little different variety and mine are much bigger. I grew “ climbing okra” 50 yrs ago.
I have some of these 4-5 ft long. We’ve been eating some of the smaller one but are letting the big ones go. I’m in zone 8b and it’s still in the 90’s.
That sounds interesting!
How do you dry them indoors
Thank you so much for this video! This is my first year growing these and I harvested the first two WAY to early. Should i let them sit or cut them open and then let them dry? Can you save the wet seeds as well?
Do you have any seeds available?
Yes. The are available on out website 1818farns.com
For the yellowish gourd you can simply soak it and unsheath it ♡♡♡
How much do you charge for the seeds??
$4.95 a pack.
Great video love love the arbor! how is it so wide? Do you have two in the ground and then one placed on top I can’t figure it out!
Please tell watering schedule and what kind of fertilizer and how often.
I water when the ground is really dry and the plants look droopy. I spray with fish emulsion when they are first growing. Don’t fertilize at all after they are climbing well.
what materials die you use? Size of cattle panels and how many stakes? How did you make the arch so tall? Thank you for your help! My seedlings are doing great! Thank you!
We actually installed permanent arches last year from strength. These arches couldn’t handle the weight.
What kind of fertilizer do you use and how often.
I have mine growing now. Got my trellis up. Excited!
Do you bleach yours?
Yes I do! Just a small amount in case there is any bacteria.
How many plants are growing on that vine? Great video thank you. I have one plant going right now🫰🏼
Each Arch has 4-5 plants. 14 plants yielded around 200 luffas.
My first year growing loofphs and I did as the pkg suggested and just planted them in hills. Spreading like crazy and know I understand about the male and female blooms! I am just wondering with them being on the ground how they will dry? Have you had any experiences with growing them on the ground? I have some HUGE loofphs. Planted in May (Iowa) and in July/Aug finally started getting fruit forming.
I have only grown them on arches. I am unsure how they would do on the ground. Do you need to turn them so that one side isn’t damaged from being in contact with the ground?
@@1818Farms I will check that out tomorrow and let you know.
@@1818Farms It is a mess with it all growing on the ground. Therefore, I can't get to a lot of them to see.
how many loofa plants did you plant here? Thank you! Just subscribed. :)
I am thinking of starting a project on how much does one acre of agriculture produce?
This is my first year growing loofas. We are into October with frost expected tonigit. All of my loofas are very green, can i leave them on the vine thru the frost?
I harvest mine when we expect a frost. I put them indoors on a shelf and let them dry. We harvested 243 yesterday.
Do you think I could grow these in Alaska?
How many plants is that for an 8foot arch .I'm asking how far apart do you plant them thanks
WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER MAKING A VIDEO ABOUT HOW YOU GROW YOUR LISIANTHUS in 7A? I’m just south of Nashville.
You are just North of me. I am selling Grow Your own cut flower garden collections this year. Lisianthus are included. I hope to create a video for that.
@@1818Farms I was just looking at that! It looks beautiful! I also sent an email with a couple questions. I just listened to you on the Let’s Grow Girls podcast, you were very informative! 🙏🏻 I have a lot to learn 😅
How many seeds do you put into a vine
I am unsure I understand your question
That looks like a hard way to skin/peel. You actually can get those seeds out of the yellow one. I run my thumb under between sponge & skin. In my opinion you did it both types the hard way. I’ll try to make a video showing how I do it.
Not being ugly only trying to say there is a more easy way.
Thanks for the tip. Because we sale the seeds as a crop, we like for the luffas to be as dry as possible. We don’t have as many viable seeds when they are peeled yellow.
It's hard the 1st few times. But the best way to make it soft is to boiled it.
I love scrubbing my balls with this hard sponges.
those are some really nice snips, what brand are they?
this was my first year for luffa and they are coming in great. I only have two 4x8 raised beds but I plan on adding in a third one this winter to do more next year.
Love the snips. They are ARS and on Amazon.
Is Climbing okra the same as a loofah sponge gourd?
I don’t think it is the same.
Where can you buy the seads
We have them available in our website. 1818farms.com
How much do you sell a luffa that hasn’t been peeled?
I haven’t ever sold them unpeeled.
I need the seed please inform me
I sell the seeds at 1818farms.com. We do not ship internationally only in United States.
I need the seed please inform me