How To Grow Your Sponge and Eat It Too

Grow your own organic sponge for bath and kitchen? And eat it too? Yes!
Luffa sponges are sold in many fancy spas and natural grocery stores. Do you know you can grow them easily?







A native of the Asian tropics and grown for centuries, Luffa is a beautiful plant to grow along a fence or on a shade trellis. The tender young fruit is super delicious like a baby zucchini, if harvested before they mature into a great body or dish scrub!





Luffa seeds are black with a thick shell, just like watermelon seeds. Luffa loves heat, so plant the seedlings outside in the hottest sunny spot you can find, when you are ready to plant tomatoes!





It takes about 8 weeks to produce fruits. When they reach between 1 to 2 inches in diameter (length may vary depending on variety), they are good to eat. Because it's so yummy, you would just want to eat them, and it's really really hard to let them grow into sponge.





Once the gourds grow to more than 2 inches in diameter, the spongy skeleton will start to form, and they would be too tough to eat. Let them to grow into sponge and seeds for next year.





The gourd should be left on the vine for as long as possible, until the first frost, or when it starts to turn brown. I was impatient, but we got sponge!





The sponge makes a great body or dish scrub, and a great gift! For more details on where to get seeds, how to grow and harvest, plus 7 great tips, visit the link below!






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/13834920/how-to-grow-your-sponge-and-eat-it-too site