Loofahs

Way back in May I planted five little loofah gourd seeds, They were planted along side my watermelons,cucumbers, and cantaloupe. Out of all five seeds only two plants grew not too bad because they have provided me with lots of loofahs. This year I grew all of these plants on 8ft trellis made with cattle guards and t-posts. I had the guy at the store cut the 16ft panels in half for me. After months of growing and everything else harvested and vines cleared off the only thing remaining were my loofahs. Here is a tutorial on harvesting loofahs wait until loofahs have turned brown and dry, they will easily break off the vines if not use some scissors. This photo was taken a few days ago and you can see that they are still yellow a little bit of patience and they will turn brown.

Here is a close up, you can see they go from green to yellow.

and finally turn brown, then they sound like maracas with the seeds inside. Collect your dried up loofahs and head inside.

Break open the bottom edge which is usually wider and shake out the seeds for next year.

Fill a pot with water and soak for a little bit.

Peel off skins, this part can have an ick factor if you dislike slimy things because it will feel slimy, don't say I didnt warn you

Cut off ends with scissors to give them a more uniform look, I cut off both ends and save the little scraps which will eventually be used in soaps.

Cut thru the center now

Let your homegrown loofahs dry out so you can remove the rest of the pesky seeds. Then Take one in the shower wet a little until it gets soft add some soap and exfoliate you body. always let these dry out or they can get mildew. I always rinse off extra soap and stand on the cut end to dry where it will wait for the next shower. Just in case you are wondering yes I do make our own soaps recipes and instructions coming soon.