Garden Pictures Pictures by flcrazy (288 photos)

buffy checking out a large luffa

[11]

By Flcrazy

5 Apr, 2008

Comments on this photo

Mikec

5 Apr, 2008

OH ! Wat is dat ting ? :)

Flcrazy

5 Apr, 2008

Wild looking, isn't it. They are in the gourd family. When left to dry out, they have an exoskeleton under the peeling, that women use to exfoliate dead skin when showering , or can be used as a scrubber to clean non-stick cookware. Pretty cool. I had to try and grow them once, just for the fun of it.

Sid

6 Apr, 2008

Buffy thinks - that luffa is bigga than me!

Sandygrove

12 Apr, 2008

are they hard to grow?

Flcrazy

12 Apr, 2008

No, Sandy they are easy to grow, they are in the squash family, grows in ordinary, well draining garden soil. The only problem for you, living in Canada would be, giving the fruit long enough to ripen for the sponge. Where I live in zone 7, I had to cut off about 9 feet of vine that had the fruits attached and bring them in the house in November before our first freeze and put the cut end in a jar of water, to let the fruit finish drying out,(till late Dec.) so I could harvest the sponge inside.