To give myself a jump start, I tried sprouting some seeds before planting them. I put a few luffa seeds in a wet paper towel, slid them in a plastic bag and set it on a sunny windowsill. Apparently, luffa seeds really like the heat. In about a week, I had some nice little sprouted seeds.
I planted these seeds in some compost-rich soil in my Cow Pots. From what I have read, luffa doesn't like to be transplanted, so the Cow Pots are perfect since they just got directly into the ground with the plant. A couple of seeds have already come up and should be ready for in-ground planting next week.
Now I just have to figure out where to put them. Apparently, the vines get very big and like to climb fences. Perhaps I'll try them down at the bottom of the yard on our chain-link fence. The soil isn't great, but it's nice and sunny down there.
I will be very happy if I manage to actually grow and harvest some luffa this year. If I get enough, I could give them as Christmas gifts. I could even make some soap or candles to go with them. For a DIY gift-lover like me, that would be a dream come true.
I wanted to grow some luffas a few years ago, but couldn't find a source for seeds. My sister happened to have bought a bunch of luffas on sale at a bath store. I was telling her how you can eat them when they are young and not yet fibrous when I noticed they had a few seeds in them. It took a little work and a pair of sharp scissors to get them out. I was surprised when every seed sprouted. I save a few seeds every year for replanting now.
My wife and I planted luffas this year. We live in Central Florida and they are thriving in this climate. Her experience for harvesting has been to let them turn brown on the vine and then bring them inside. If you cut them open at this point, you can get most of the seeds out with an ice pick, but if you let them dry inside for an additional week, the insides dry enough to let the seeds fall loose. Most will then just fall out of the luffa. I enjoy your blog, keep up the great writing.