Advice on Luffa gourds

[Ninjasquirrel]

Frost is coming. Soon. Like...sunday. I planted my luffa too late but I do have some on the vine. Nothing brown, some yellowish but mostly green. I need to harvest before the frost and I'm not sure what to do after that. Some are probably small enough to eat but I have others that might be ok sponges. Do I peel them right away? Do I need to dry them out indoors? Please help!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Heres what ive got:

There is really not enough information out there about growing these things. I know to start way earlier next year so they can fully mature on the vine. I just dont want all my efforts to be for nothing this season. The big ones are about the size of a dozen egg container if you need a size ratio.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Well since NO ONE is providing any advice I decided to pick one. I peeled it. The seeds were still tightly bound inside but some of the fibers might be salvageable. Gonna dry them out in the sun and see what happens. The seeds dont look like the ones I bought. I bought black seeds but these are all white. I'm guessing that might be because they are immature. I'm gonna save them anyways just in case I dont get any.

 

[Henry&Friends]

I have no idea what luffa gourds are, but any premature veggie I pick gets put on a windowsill to ripen in the sun good luck with these and let us know how it goes

 

[Peepsi]

Or.....you could try throwing a sheet over the plants to keep them warm during the frost. We have a hard freeze coming tonight, and I put sheets over the tomatoes, because there are so many of them that are unripe, and the freeze is just for 2 nights. After the freeze, I'll remove the sheets, as there will be plenty more warm days and non-freezing nights this autumn.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Or.....you could try throwing a sheet over the plants to keep them warm during the frost. We have a hard freeze coming tonight, and I put sheets over the tomatoes, because there are so many of them that are unripe, and the freeze is just for 2 nights. After the freeze, I'll remove the sheets, as there will be plenty more warm days and non-freezing nights this autumn.

This is a great idea!!! Will just any sheets do? We're only supposed to have one day of frost

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I have no idea what luffa gourds are, but any premature veggie I pick gets put on a windowsill to ripen in the sun good luck with these and let us know how it goes

Its a member of the cucumber and squash family. It is edible when it is small but as it grows the fibers build up and become a sponge

 

[Peepsi]

This is a great idea!!! Will just any sheets do? We're only supposed to have one day of frost

Any sheet will do. Just make sure it's big enough to cover the plant. You'll want to clip the edges of the sheet to your fence/the plant/whatever else you can clip it to, so it doesn't blow away in the wind.

As an amusing side note, they actually make sheets especially for plants, called "plankets". https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AY1U7M6/?tag=backy-20

But for those of us who have extra bed sheets (and most of us do, if you're the type who never throws anything away, LOL), there is no sense in spending money on a clever marketing ploy.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Any sheet will do. Just make sure it's big enough to cover the plant. You'll want to clip the edges of the sheet to your fence/the plant/whatever else you can clip it to, so it doesn't blow away in the wind.

As an amusing side note, they actually make sheets especially for plants, called "plankets". https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AY1U7M6/?tag=backy-20

But for those of us who have extra bed sheets (and most of us do, if you're the type who never throws anything away, LOL), there is no sense in spending money on a clever marketing ploy.

Ive got plenty of extra sheets so it should be fine. Thanks for the tip because I'm pretty sure they are not ready. The one I harvested has been in the sun all afternoon and its still gooey. It's probably compost, unfortunately.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

I had planned on growing luffa, but our wacky spring with late frosts changed my mind. It would have been too late to plant them, so I still have the seeds. I watched a bunch of tutorials, and almost all said to leave them to dry on the vine for sponges. Sorry, I know nothing else.

Were you successful with covering them? I did that with my strawberry plants when we had a very late frost in the spring and it worked great