Very versatile, the vegetable sponge is a great helper in daily cleaning tasks. See more!
Widely used by many Brazilians, vegetable loofah is commonly associated with skin cleansing. However, it is also possible to use it in the kitchen to replace the traditional yellow dishwashing sponge. Plus, you can still grow your own loofah at home. That's right! Few may know, but the famous vegetable bush is the fruit of a climbing plant. So learn now how to plant vegetable loofah.
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How to plant vegetable loofah?
To grow your own vegetable loofah, you will need:
- 1 large flowerpot or 9 cm vases;
- Vegetable land;
- Luffa cyllindrica seeds.
How to cultivate?
- To start the growing process, start by germinating the seeds in organic fertilizer. Also, it is important to keep such compost moist.
- When you notice that the roots are starting to appear, plant the seeds in a flowerpot or in 9 cm pots, using vegetable soil.
- Once this is done, water the bed and leave it in a warm place. Ideally, it should be grown in a greenhouse. But, as the climate in Brazil has high temperatures, just plant your vegetable loofah in early spring.
- As the plant's stems develop, it is important to prepare a support to support them, since, as a climbing plant, it seeks this support to grow.
- Your vegetable loofah will be ripe for harvesting when its color changes to a yellow tone, after, more or less, six months from the beginning of planting. Furthermore, the loofah grows surrounded by a shell. In this sense, just press gently to remove it from the inside.
- After harvesting, place the loofah in a container with warm water and wash well. By doing this, the loofah will become more malleable as it absorbs water. Afterwards, just put it to dry and, finally, cut it into the sizes you prefer.
Tips
- Soaking the seed in warm water for a few hours before planting can help with germination.
- If the temperature is 25 degrees, germination can happen within a week. However, if it is lower, the seed may rot instead of germinating.
- It's good to avoid excess water, as this can cause fungus to appear.