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Monday, November 1, 2010

Drying Loofah's 101 & A Little Halloween...

You can really pick Loofah at any stage, the ideal way is to let them dry or turn yellow/brown on the vine. As they dry they will become lighter in weight and the skin will pull away from the sponge inside. Feels like a ball that needs some air in it, you know how you can pinch the rubber?You just peel the skin off of the sponge. (excuse the stained fingers, she colored her sister's hair with kool-aid)
Once the skin is all peeled off you will see three chambers inside where the seeds are located.
You can dig the seeds out or

bang the sponge..see the loofah juice? (we love the way our hands feel after having this juice on them) If we would have left the loofah on the vine a little longer it would be dry. I let one turn almost completely brown, when I picked it the skin came off in two pieces, the sponge was dry and the seeds shook right out.
(not pictured) We let water run through the chambers from the water faucet or garden hose to wash out some hard to reach seeds and return the loofah to it's original shape.
Hang to dry, as it dries the last of the seeds will fall out. Reminds me of the Shredded Wheat cereal. If the loofah has dark areas on the sponge you can soak in a mild solution of bleach and water for a few minutes. These sponges can be used for bathing or cleaning. Remember to hang to dry after each use and DO NOT share if you use yours to bathe with. There is also a dry brushing technique, you dry brush your skin upward towards your heart for better circulation and radiant looking skin.
This is NOT even close to the amount of seeds that one loofah produces. Please let me know if you are interested in trying to grow loofah's, I have plenty of seeds to share. They are easy peasy, just need a long growing season (you can start them indoors) and a strong support to climb on. We used some trees, next year we will be using the chain link fence out back.
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I don't really care for Halloween...we do let the girls dress up and drive them around our neighborhood to a few houses though.
Here's our Nerd...
and our Scarecrow.



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Today I am Thankful to share our Loofah experience....and that Halloween is over....

34 comments:

Patsy said...

The girls are so cute. The loofah project I see was a great success.
Now hoping my Apple gourd's will be.

Deb said...

adorable girls..I didn't know that about loofahs...

Dorothy said...

Hi Darla,
Interesting post about your loofahs! Very cute scarecrow and nerd, too!

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Loofahs look like fun. It is the best when you can grow something that you can use later.

Lois said...

Thanks for all the info about loofahs Darla. I love it when I learn something new!

sweetbay said...

Very cute Halloween costumes! I hadn't heard about loofah before reading about it on your blog.

NanaK said...

I enjoyed your update on the loofahs. It looks so easy to harvest them. You should have glowing skin for a long while with all that harvest!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

You have the neatest family, Darla.... Your girls look so cute in their costumes.

Loofah is very interesting --and I appreciate learning more about it... I had never even heard of it... See what I'm learning through blogging!!!! Wow!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I liked seeing how the loofahs are cleaned and dried. I had no idea what they were from prior to you and Tootsie posting on them.
Your girls both look cute :)

Lola said...

Your girls are cute. I'm too glad Halloween is over. Only had GS's to trick or treat.
I use to grow loofah but have lost the seeds. I could let them grow on the chain link fence out back. Tired of trying to grow gourds. Only 1 this yr.
I sure would like a couple. Thanks.

George said...

Thanks for the tutorial on drying loofahs. I didn't know much about loofahs, but I find them to be very interesting.

Susie said...

That's interesting about the loofah's Darla. I do remembering bathing with one in the past but I haven't used one in years.

Grandma Yellow Hair said...

Oh my goodness the loofah post is so interesting. I had no idea about everything you showed me. Great post
Sorry I have not been around either but I caught up while I was here.
Congradulations on your the big wedding I know you are happy about how beautiful it turned out.
Your family pictures are great
Love
Maggie

Dave@TheHomeGarden said...

Very neat! I like it when something neat in the garden can be used for household purposes! Halloween can be fun but it's good it only happens once a year! We were wore out after taking two fairies and a ghost out for Trick or Treating!

Kylee Baumle said...

Those are so cool, Darla! I would never have believed you could squeeze them like that! Yes, I'd love to try them! How long is their growing period?

Your scarecrow and nerd are adorable!

Shawna Lee Coronado said...

This was adorable! Love it!

Shawna

Anonymous said...

Cute costumes, we always had homemade ones when I was kid too. My grandparents were kind of creative with some of their ideas. ;) Thanks for the tips on the Loofahs, such a cool plant.

imac said...

Lots of merriment then Darla.

Twisted Fencepost said...

Love the costumes!!
Thanks for sharing the loofah post. I'll be needing it next year. I hope. I have so much fun growing out of the ordinary things.

Annie said...

Hi Darla,
I came over to say hi and let you know I'm still alive. I haven't had a chance to post for awhile, but hopefully will soon. Thanks for your concern, it is nice to know I was missed!

I have been checking your blog and loved the pictures of the wedding. You did a wonderful job of preparing for the big event. I bet everyone had a wonderful time.

Your post about the loofahs is really interesting. Silly me thought they came from a machine! :) The process you showed is so cool! Thanks for sharing!

Annie

tina said...

Those loofahs are really really cool. It has been fun watching their progress in your garden. The costumes-priceless!

Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door said...

The loofah pictures were fascinating! Thanks for sharing. I would love to grow more flowers and plants but we need to do the heavy work and make new flower beds and I don't enjoy that ONE bit!
Your girls are adorable! I'm with you, I don't really enjoy Halloween.

Tootsie said...

I don't like halloween either...it's a non essential nonsense holiday...among other reasons...
I am so excited about the loofa...I don't think I have a long enough growing season...and I am not confident that they will even bloom in the greenhouse this winter...(might not be light enough during the short days here ) But...I am going to try!!! My kid's school wants some seeds if I ever get anymore...so if you feel like shipping seeds...there's a place here that will take some!

Robin Beck said...

This is about the coolest post I've ever seen! Thanks so much for sharing it with us Darla!
BTW: The girls looked really cute!

Robin~♥

Mary Q Contrarie said...

I dry a lot of loofahs. I like to hang them from my clothes drying rack. It works really well. I then give a number of them to a friend that makes homemade soap and she fills the insides with the best soap. She gives me just a few of them back it is a great trade!

Mandy said...

The loofahs are really cool...I read this post when you posted it and had to come back to read it after stopping by Tootsies. It sounds like something I'll have to try.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I'm in the minority with you, Darla. I am not a fan of Halloween, either. I let my kids dress up and go trick or treating, but they were not allowed to go as witches or the devil. I always say that people do not take evil in the world seriously.

Your loofahs look like they are a nice size for washing or that dry rub thing. Nice job!

Skeeter said...

Am gald to see such success with the Loofah's! They look like fun to grow. I had no luck with the gourds this year so am thinking of giving up on them and sticking with flowers only next year. Well, it will be a long time until planting season so my mind may change by then. hee hee....

I am thankful to be spending the day with my furbabies with no plans today! :-)

S.B.Niccum said...

Ha...now I know what to do with all the loofa on my kitchen counter! My husband decided to plant some and we have a ton. I think I'll have a loofa party!

Luminara Serdar said...

Hi there, just saw your loofah article. I'd love some loofah seeds, even though we have a short growing season here in Eugene, OR. I had no idea there were loofahs derived from gourds (thought they were all from sea animals). Would you please email me to tell me how to get some of your seeds for next spring? oneluminara(at)gmail.com

Joneskmmw said...

Oh my goodness the loofah post is so interesting. I had no idea about everything you showed me. Great post Sorry I have not been around either but I caught up while I was here. Congradulations on your the big wedding I know you are happy about how beautiful it turned out. Your family pictures are great Love Maggie

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