I bought Luffa plants!

[Chickerdoodle13]

I had read a thread on here about someone who had grown some luffa seeds. I went to an Earth Day festival today and wouldn't you know it, they had luffa seedlings! I ended up buying two plants. I can't wait to see if I get any luffas to actually grow!

I'm going to plant them next to the garden fence so they can climb it, but when can I plant them? I live in Northern NJ, so I know it is too early yet to plant them.

Also, what do they taste like and how do you cook them? I'd be interested in trying a few and letting the rest mature.

One more question - do deer eat them? If the deer will not eat them, I might be able to plant them somewhere other than the garden so they will have more room to grow.

 

[mamagardener]

I think they grow kind of like a cucumber. So I would plant them around Memorial Day, or time of last frost in your area. I don't think you eat them. I think you dry them and use them like a sponge, but I am not sure. Let us know how it goes.

 

[3goodeggs]

Hi! They are supposed to taste like okra when they are very small, finger sized, but they smell like stinky socks, and I have other things to eat. They will be too tough to eat if they are bigger than that. My books say stir fry, but they might pickle well, see what you can do!
Do not plant them near your other cucurbits, because I have found that the pollen itself will make melons stringy.
Cukes and corn can change the fruit of the parent plant. Plant sweets with sweets, non sweet with non sweet. corn or melons.
When the ripe luffa is banana colored, it will peel as easily as a banana, if you wait until it is brown, or try when it is green, it will be much harder to peel. rinse it out under running water and it should be ready to fling seeds. Next year, every seed will come up twice!
Have fun!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

The only fruit we have growing in the garden are strawberries, but they will be on the opposite side of the garden. Other things we plant include yellow squash, zuchini, tomatoes, peppers, garlic and leeks. Will it be ok to plant the luffa near these things?

If the deer don't eat them, I can plant them somewhere else on the property. We don't grow melons or anything though (Although I wish we did!).

 

[3goodeggs]

I am not sure, but I think there are there 3 different types of cucurbits: the winter squash, the soft squash like crookneck, and the melon type- like cucumbers, watermelons and cantaloupe, honeydews ect.
You know, I think the luffa are in with the melons, although they call them gourds. I try to keep them away from all of my squash because I am really not sure which group they belong too. But I have had very fibrous watermelon, so perhaps they do go there. (I hope my former taxonomy teacher isn't on BYC.)

I just do not know. But you can give it a go and see what happens! I had some seed come up in one of the greenhouses, and because it was out of the way, I let it go. It made a wonderfully shady place for me to work, and the blossoms were really pretty. maybe you could plant them near the porch and let them be an annual vine. they have abundant and rather 'nice' yellow flowers. If you have a trellis, they will do very well there. They like to climb.

I guess with the deer question, it would depend on how they felt about eating things smelling like dirty socks. We have no deer problem, so I have no useful info on that issue, but re-reading this, I am not too sure any of it was useful.

The seed is overwhelming after your first crop. I have luffa coming up like weeds...It is my worst weed in the pepper garden. (but if you get them early, they pull up easily.)

 

[geepy]

You can also let them get big and dry the fruit. They make good dish scrubbies, and they are also the same as a luffa sponge. I live in florida and grow them. Save the seeds, they are very easy to grow. They grow a vine and need lots of room, or let them grow up a trellis or tree. I'm not sure about the deer thing though.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! They're a GOURD, aren't they? Maybe edible, but not tasty.
I've grown luffa gourds for years, but never attempted eating any.
Hahahaha ---

...eating things smelling like dirty socks...

Lisa​