Loofah Sponge: How To Grow Luffa Plants

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Learn to grow loofah sponges in your very own backyard. Here is a complete season of growing a loofah sponge plant from seed to fruit.

How To Use Loofah Sponges

Loofah sponges can have many uses. Below are a few ways to use loofah a sponge.

• Use a loofah sponge in the kitchen as you would a regular scrub brush to wash dishes, pots and pans.
• Gently use a loofah as a body sponge to exfoliate your face and body.
• Loofah sponges are great to use on car tires to remove any build up grime.
• Using a loofah sponge is also great for cleaning bathtubs and showers to remove soap scum for that ring around the tub.
• Make homemade bar soap with a loofah piece inside. See my recipe here to make loofah soap here.
• Since a loofah sponge is a natural product it can easily be placed in the compost once it is worn out.

What Is A Luffa Plant

A luffa (loofah) plant is a plant that produces a fruit similar to that of a cucumber. When picked early it can be eaten and usually prepared in Asian dishes but if left to grow on the vine it will produce a loofah sponge!

Luffa is a tropical member of the Cucurbitaceae, the luffa plant is an annual vine with tendrils and large fruit that are edible when young. Yes, it is a tropical plant and does require a long growing season and warm temperatures.

The plant vine can reach lengths of at least 20 feet and the fruit ranges anywhere from 12″-24″ inches in length. This plant will grow vigorously and should be planted near an arbor or fence.

When the fruit is picked during the early growing stage it has a green skin and can be eaten like a vegetable. But as the fruit gets larger it is no longer desirable to eat and left to mature on the vine. The interior of the fruit becomes fibrous and converts into sponges. Sponges known as the luffa sponge or the loofah sponge!

The Loofah Sponge

Loofah sponges are the fibrous interiors of the fruits of the luffa gourd plant. I used to think the loofah sponge came from the ocean until I learned about growing luffa gourds. Hopefully, I’m not the only person that thought that! Surprising enough, the luffa sponge actually comes from a plant and grows on a vine.

The loofah sponge is often used for facial scrubs and to exfoliate body skin. The sponge itself is often nestled inside a bar of glycerin soap. How cool is that!

Loofah sponges are not only used in the bathroom but can also be used in the kitchen for washing dishes and cleaning the barbecue grill.

First Step to Growing Luffa Plants

The Luffa plant is similar to a tropical plant as it will not tolerate cold temperatures. Therefore, when growing luffa plants I recommended to start the luffa seeds indoors and then plant outdoors in the full sun in well drained soil only after all dangers of frost have past. See my shop to order loofah seeds here.

Prepare The Seed

All luffa seeds have a hard coating and should be soaked prior to planting to aid with the germinating process. To do this best place seeds in a food-grade plastic container and pour warm water over them. Allow the seeds to soak for 24 hours. Soaking the seeds will soften the outer coating thus shortening the germination time.

The Proper Environment

The roots on the luffa plant are very sensitive to disturbance; sow seeds in biodegradable pots that can be directly planted in the ground. I do recommend this tabletop germination station kit. It has the growing tray , heat mat and the dome which helps keep the environment perfect for germination.

Plant The Seeds

Prepare peat soil pellets according to manufacture directions and then place one seed into each pellet about 1 inch deep. Keep soil moist but not wet. I like using a spray bottle to water the seeds twice a day. For best results in germination use a heating mat as the seeds germinate best around 85 – 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Luffa seeds generally emerge in about 10-25 days.

If you truly want to maximize the germination process I highly recommend using this adjustable grow light system. This system gives your seeds and plants the jump start they need for a successful growing process. This system can work with most if not all seed types.

Does Light Affect Growth?

Light is very important to plant growth. In order for plants to thrive they require at least 10 hours or more of light each day. Plants also require darkness therefore, when using the Jump Start system it shouldn’t be left on for 24 hours. It would be sufficient to turn it on in the morning and then off when going to bed or to make life simpler, use a timer where you can set it and go and not have to worry about turning it off or on.

Know Your Temperature Zone

For all plants and seeds it’s good to know your planting zones as temperature do affect all plants. For the luffa plant it has a long growing season and is affected by temperatures. It is important to know that high temperatures encourage the luffa to grow vigorously but will produce little to no flowers. Meaning no fruit will be produced during hot seasons. Usually by the end of summer, when temperatures get cooler, is when fruit starts to appear. So, if you are growing luffa gourds be patient and they will come.

Do you know your zone?

The Luffa Plant Progress

Watching the progress of starting a plant from seed is quite amazing and somewhat exciting. Exciting as waiting for the seed to sprout to the final outcome of picking the fruit. Below is a series of photos that captured the growing process of the luffa plant in Missouri.

March

I soaked the luffa seeds in water for 24 hours then planted them March 17 in the greenhouse kit with the dome. To help with the germination process I also used the heating mat as mentioned above and the overhead adjustable grow light system. I had the light shining down on the dome cover. The light was positioned approximately five inches above the dome to allow for at least 13 hours of light for the first week or two. During the growing process I kept the soil moist by spritzing it at least once a day or two with water.

Peek-A-Boo I See You!

The first luffa leaves, called dicots, began to emerge March 25 at 0735.

Surprise, Surprise! That same evening the dicots stood tall and opened by 2242. I was truly amazed at how quick these plants shot up!

Nearly 1 week later, March 31 at 0924, the dicots were in full bloom.

April

April 11 at 0942 the true leaves appeared. Since not all the dicots leaves emerged I left the dome in place and adjusted the length of the grow light by lifting it higher.

May

Now that the frost had passed in my Zone area and the earth had warmed it was time to transfer the luffa’s outdoors. I did this on May 5 around 1133. Our average temperatures during May were 79 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 57 degrees at night. Please note the times I list are not crucial for planting it’s just my way of keeping track of the events.

Prior to planting luffa’s keep in mind the plant will need a sturdy base to grow up. It is a vine and the fruit will become heavy plus the tendrils will need something to grow on or rather up.

Tendril

The photo below is that of a mature plant demonstrating what a tendril is. The tendril is a specialized lateral organ of the plant that strongly possesses a twining tendency causing it to encircle any object encountered.

I planted the Luffa’s next to the arbor on May 5 at 1910. The temperature that day was 75 degrees Fahrenheit, beautiful and sunny.

To even out the growth I placed three plants on the left close to the arbor so the tendrils could grab hold easily and grow up the arbor.

And 3 plants on the right. Then covered with an all-purpose potting mix, mulch and sprinkled about one tablespoon per plant with a time-release low-nitrogen, high-potassium fertilizer and then watered well.

June

There was not much progress to speak of during the month of June except the tendrils had grabbed hold and began climbing up the arbor. I will share that since June 21st is the longest day of the year from here on out the nights will start getting longer meaning the plant will start going in a different direction. For the good! The average temperature in our location in June was 85 degrees during the daylight hours with night time temperatures of 65 degrees.

July

July 7th you could really see progress as the vines had begun to climb to the top of the arbor. The average temperature in our location for July was a tad bit warmer as 89 degrees Fahrenheit hit the high for the daytime temps and 69 degrees at night.

When I looked close at the plant it had many tendrils and long shoots with tiny clusters of buds. These clusters are known as the male flowers. Female flowers will develop singly. I was so excited! Finally, the first flowers were about to emerge!

The progress noted approximately two weeks later was phenomenal. The leaves had gotten bigger, the vine was growing rapidly and the arbor was filling in but still no female shoots were noted as the temperatures were still not quite ideal yet.

The first flowers appeared on the plant around July 21st. They were all male flowers.

August

August seemed so much hotter than the previous month but the average temperatures were the same. It was still 89 degrees during the daylight hours and 69 degrees at night. The only change was the daylight hours were decreasing slightly. The luffa plant had gone wild in August. With the temperatures still high the plant still lacked flowers and fruit.

The cluster of male flowers were abundant.

I SPY!

By mid to late August I started to worry since I have not seen many flowers nor any fruit. I got the ladder out and began combing through the leaves trying to get a glimpse of a female flower. I began getting discouraged.

Could it be?

I believe I finally found a female flower! Could it be?! Yes! A female flower with what appears to be the beginning of a baby fruit. If there is one there must be more! Finally! A loofah sponge is on its way!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN GROWING LUFFA PLANTS. I HOPE MY JOURNEY IN GROWING THE LOOFAH SPONGE HAS BEEN HELPFUL TO YOU.

To learn how to tell the difference between male and female loofah flowers click on the photo below.

Learn How To Turn Loofah Gourds into Sponges

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