Loofah Love: Growing Loofahs in the Garden

Jerry explains how to grow a loofah gourd in the garden at StarHill Farms.

Have you ever wondered where your loofah sponge comes from?

Well, in most cases, it just grows that way!

It has been an interesting journey the past two years with growing loofah gourds. Why grow loofah? Can you eat it? It is said that when a loofah is young it can be eaten as any other squash, and maybe you like the taste, but I'll tell you, I don't. It's not my cup of tea, I have tried it. It's relatively easy to grow, just the right amount of sunlight, water, and warm temperatures. Boy does it produce heavily, and the variety in size and shape of the gourds varies.

I recommend growing on a trellis, because it is prone to rot if it grows on the ground. Just watch and enjoy the pretty little yellow flowers turn into giant green alien looking gourds right before your eyes. Catch them when they turn brown and cut them off the stem. Then comes the fun part! Jam your finger in the skin and peel it off. This is nice and slimy. Let the gourd dry, shake the seeds out, and it's ready to use for your next bathing experience.

The final result, how the loofah gourd looks once dried out. Paired with soaps from the cabins.

It is a wonderful exfoliant and lasts quite a long time before you have to replace it. Depending on the size you may want to cut it into pieces, I know I've had loofah of almost three feet in length! So not only can you grow food to enjoy at the table, but you can grow something to help get all that dirt off of you from working hard in your garden.

Happy planting y'all!!