We've recently relocated our Luffa farm adventures to Florida!!!
Check out our 2020 luffa season journey in Chicago...
2019 was our second attempt to grow luffa (aka loofah) sponges in our backyard in Plainfield, IL. Many people think the artificially colored mesh in store is a loofah, or that the actual sponge comes from the ocean. Nope! It’s a plant in the cucumber family that requires a long growing season. We successfully grew many luffa in 2019 for the first time! We started indoors in March, and picked most of them on a snowy day late in October. Enjoy this short YouTube clip of our Luffa journey in 2019...
Luffa Care
Our luffa are organically grown and hand-washed with Thieves Household Cleaner so you can enjoy them truly clean and toxin-free. Since we chose not to expose them to the dangerous chemicals in bleach, they will vary in color. When you receive your luffa it will be completely dried out and very coarse. As soon as you get it wet, it will regain shape and soften some. They have a very strong structure, so don’t be afraid to handle them. You may choose to use your luffa in the shower, in your kitchen sink, to scrub rough surfaces, or even cut or shred them and make soaps. If you find any seeds inside don’t be alarmed. One luffa has over 200 seeds in it. We did our best to get them all out but may have missed some. The luffa can be used for up to several years depending on how often and vigorously you use them. The biggest threat to them is mold. We like to string a rope through ours to hang-dry in between uses. Avoid leaving it sit in a humid enclosed shower for extended periods to discourage mold and prolong use.
Luffa Soaps
If you are the lucky recipient of one of our Luffa Soap-On-A-Ropes, congratulations!
The luffa will be coarse until the soap has started to expose it. It’s best used on rougher body parts like elbows, knees, palms of hands, and heals until it’s more exposed and softens when wet. When your soap is gone, you’ll still have your luffa that you can use in the shower, kitchen sink, or even to scrub hard-to-clean messes.
We only use Young Living Essential Oils in our soaps to ensure the highest quality oil with no hidden ingredients. On top of enjoying its wonderful aroma, you can get health and healing benefits from Young Living oils too! For more info click HERE
Luffa Seeds
Luffa plants have a long growing season...approximately 250 days. We are in a colder climate here in Chicago. We have tried a couple approaches from planting them indoors as early as December, as late as May, and even right into the ground in June. It doesn't seem to matter much. No matter when we plant them, they seem to really take off in July. In 2021 we harvested most before the first frost, and left a handful on the vine. Instead of peeling them right at harvest like we have in years past, we put them on shelving in our garage for several weeks to let them dry out. For the most part it worked! We also harvested one off the vine in mid-December (leaving it out there through many freezing night, rain, wind, etc) and it looks BEAUTIFUL inside!