My Great Loofah Experiment

This past summer I grew loofah, something I've wanted to try for a long time. This is my first crop! It grew as a vine over my fence and looked much like a cucumber, so much so that some people were curious as to why I never picked them. I let them grow all summer and harvested them after the first frost.

This is the loofah right after I peeled off the hard rind. I then rinsed them out in the sink. Some had a lot of flesh inside (like a cucumber's) and it took awhile to clean them out.

These are my loofah drying. Once they were completely dry, I was able to shake out the remaining stubborn seeds. I then soaked them in a very mild bleach solution to lighten and even out the color. I had been wanting to try growing these for years! I was so excited that it worked!