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Luffa (Vegetable Sponge)

Luffa or Vegetable Sponges are annual vines with cucumber-like leaves. Decorative yellow flowers and mature fruits with a fibrous interior, useful as a rough sponge for cleaning and body massage. Best if grown upright with a climbing aid (e.g. on a fence) to protect fruits from mud etc. Will thrive in any humus rich soil in full sun. Will produce several fruits per plant.
Sow preferably from end of January to mid March in any rich soil, 2 to 3 seeds per pot. Keep pots in a sunny and warm spot at a minimum of some 20°C inside (e.g. on a window sill, in a heated greenhouse or in a warm wintergarden). Transplant young plants to the open garden as soon as temperatures will stay above at least 10°C at night as plants are somehow sensitive to low temperatures.
7 seeds per package.

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Luffa aegyptiaca (syn. Luffa cylindrica)

4 (8)m, Luffa Sponge has large bright yellow male flowers in clusters and smaller single female flowers appear on the same plant and are pollinated by bees. Immature green fruits are shaped like cucumbers but much larger, up to 70cm long. When mature, the interior shows a network of fibers surrounding blackish seeds. The fibers are cleaned and used as a natural vegetable sponge.
7 seeds per package.

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