15 Luffa Seeds, Loofah Gourd Seeds. Grow a natural sponge for the bath or kitchen. Luffa cylindrica Permaculture Seed The Stars, Luffa Gourd

Best known for the fibrous mature fruit which grows organic sponges for the bath and kitchen. Edible, immature fruit tastes like zucchini at 7” long. Vigorous vines grow rapidly up to 30 feet & famously trellis up trees. Requires well drained soil, full sun and plenty of organic compost.

Luffa
Latin Name: Luffa cylindrica
Zone: 7-12
Weight/Amount: 15 count
Germination temperature: 70-85 F
Germination days:7-14 days
Days to Maturity: 90-120
Sun Preference: Full sun
Sow Depth: ½ inch
Spacing: 3 feet

Seed the Stars is an urban gardening company focused on raising naturally grown and adapted seeds. Plants are raised using natural methods and organic practices. Our seeds are non GMO and open pollinated.

Luffas are a long season crop and vigorous climbers/ crawlers with vines reaching up to 30 feet! So plan ahead with some type of trellis system and they will happily climb away.

GROWING INSTRUCTIONS AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Thank you for supporting our seed shop! To ensure germination success and get the best start with your seeds follow the recommended germination process and use the suggested methods. Our high germination rates can only be achieved using the methods shared below. Seed The Stars can not take responsibility for germination issues using other methods and materials.*

Store seeds in a cool dark place and use them within one year of purchase to maintain viability and high germination rates.

IMPORTANT PRE GERMINATION NOTES:

*Some seeds require soaking or scarification prior to germination. Soaking overnight or up to 24 hours helps to jump start the germination process for seeds with a hard seed coat while scarification involves gently scratching the seed coat to allow water to penetrate and hydrate the embryo.
* Some seeds like lettuce and certain flowers require light for germination. Please check the item listing for this information.
*Certain beans and peas have the ability to form a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria to form root nodules that “fix” atmospheric nitrogen making it a great addition for your soil ecosystem. Seeds can be treated with a soil inoculant that contains the Rhizobium bacteria prior to planting to ensure that the beneficial bacteria is present. These inoculants can be purchased online or at some garden stores.

WHEN TO GROW:

- To figure out the best time to start your seeds first locate the "days to maturity" located in the item description or photo with Seed specifications in our Shop.
- Research your average first frost date(in the fall) and subtract the amount of days the seeds take to grow to maturity that you found listed on the packet.
If you still have adequate time before that first frost date and provide the ideal growing conditions you will likely have a chance at a successful harvest this season.
- To get a head start on your garden you can start seeds indoors 6- 8 weeks before your last frost date if providing the correct temperature, light, and properly sized containers.

STEPS TO GERMINATION:

1. Check the seed packet and this ETSY item listing for specific instructions and seed specifications.
2. Choose a proper sized container for your seeds. Most seeds should be started in containers such as seeding flats and pots up to 4- 6 inches to better control early growing conditions.
3. Fill containers with consistently moist (not soaked), well draining, and sterile soilless seed starting media. Heavy and poor draining soils can inhibit germination and reusing old soil can transfer organisms or plant diseases that can harm a seedling. We DO NOT recommend peat pods/discs or pots since they tend to wick moisture away from the media.
4. Create a small depression in your media and sow a few seeds at the depth recommended on the seed packet. A good guideline is that most seeds should be sown as deep as the seed is wide.
5. Lightly cover the seeds with media and water them in, make a note for the day of seeding.

*Keep the media consistently moist with a gentle spray or bottom-water containers to keep seeds at the same depth that it was sown. Place the pot/flat in an area that can maintain a temperature range close to the optimal germination temperature on the seed packet. Be careful not to overwater which can cause fungal growth, media compaction, and lead to rot.

*Germination time will vary depending on the environmental temperature. Starting seeds on a germination mat, or an environment indoors where temperature can be better maintained will speed up the germination process.

*Once germination occurs, place your container in a protected area with adequate filtered sunlight and thin each pot/cell to have only one seedling per hole. If you need to continue to grow your seedlings indoors due to outside temperatures being too cold and variable, we highly recommend using grow lights directly above seedlings to prevent leggy plants.

TRANSPLANTING/POTTING UP:

When seedlings have a second set of “true leaves” and have developed a root ball that stays intact when gently removing it from the container they are ready to be gently potted up or transplanted.

“Harden off” the young plants by gradually extending their time in sunlight and the natural elements that they will experience when planted out, therefore they are less likely to go into shock. Once they have acclimated, transplant them out to the garden or a new container and water deeply for the first three days.

If potting up to a larger container, use a mix of potting soil, compost, and something like perlite to create space and good drainage. Plant the seedling at soil level in the new container and water well.

When transplanting into the garden you can add a little compost in the planting hole when transplanting, mixing in with the soil in your garden bed. Plant at soil level in the garden, unless planting tomatoes which can be buried deeply which encourages root growth along the stem in the soil and more roots creates a stronger plant. .Top mulch around your plants, keeping compost away from the stem in pots or in the garden with a 1 to 2 inch layer of compost and reapply throughout the growing season. Water deeply for the first 3 days and then when the plant is established, allow the soil to dry out in between watering - watering the soil rather than the leaves in the mornings.

FERTILIZER & AMMENDMENTS:

We fertilize and maintain our plants using organic methods: fish fertilizer, worm castings, compost, Kelp, and OMRI list organic granular fertilizer made of poultry manure.


HARVEST:
Luffas are in the cucurbit family and are edible at the young green stage. You can pick young tender Luffas( about 8 “ long or smaller) and use in recipes as a summer squash/ zucchini substitute.

Harvest for sponges/ bath scubbies:
Luffas are best known for their dry gourds that form a sponge like material. The best way to harvest is to wait until your Luffa are brown, light in weight, and dry on the vine. Squeeze the outside skin and remove it to reveal your new sponge!

If you live in a climate where your frost date is approaching and your Luffa haven’t dried out completely, harvest after your first hard fall frost and process them in whatever form they are in or they will rot on the vine.

One season we had to remove our Luffa early due to our trellis breaking in a hurricane. We picked them off the vines, and let them continue to mature off the vine before processing. Harvest was still a success!

SEED SAVING
Seeds are ready to harvest when Luffas are mature, brown, brittle, and light weight -you can shake your Luffa and hear the seeds rattling inside. When processing for sponges remember to keep a container underneath you to catch falling seeds. You can also tap your skin free Luffa against the container to loosen all the seeds.

Some plants cross easily while others self pollinate before there is a chance of crossing so if you are interested in saving seeds, we recommend you do a quick search on each species. If saving seed for the next growing season and you would like your next season plants to grow true to type make sure that you are only growing one variety of the same species or isolate your plants through distance/timing/netting to control cross pollination.