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Plant of the Day
Sunday 10 November 2024
At the World Garden, Royal Horticultural Society Garden Hyde Hall, Essex, growing in a glasshouse with the extra protection and heat this provides was Luffa aegyptiaca (loofah, vegetable sponge). This tender, tendril-climbing vine is grown as an annual producing green and cylindrical fruits. These can be eaten young as a vegetable or left to mature when the fibrous interior can be used as an abrasive sponge.
Jill Raggett
Beerakaya Sabji Recipe (Sattvic Ridge Gourd Curry)
loofah | towel | toothbrush βͺ
a presentation term for one who's aporine (&/or aporagender) presentation is connected to, affected by, or just is the low cleancore aesthetic! can also be called βluffaβ or βpoufβ!
a presentation term for one who's maverine (&/or maverique) presentation is connected to, affected by, or just is the low cleancore aesthetic!
a presentation term for one who's outherine presentation is connected to, affected by, or just is the low cleancore aesthetic!
Begin growing loofahs from seeds to create unique sponges or a delicious gourd for meals with these easy steps anyone can follow!
The gist:
1. Start seeds indoors. Do this about six to eight weeks before the last frost date. It can help to soak your seeds in water 24 hours prior to planting. This will help soften the hard outer shell around each seed and make it easier for them to germinate.
2. Harden off indoor seedlings before taking outdoors full time.
2. Plant them in mounds. You should plant your seeds in little hills, each of which should be about a foot apart along a fence or something else that your loofah vines can climb.
3. If growing directly outside, once each plant is about two inches tall, thin to a single plant (choose the healthiest one and cull the rest).
4. If youβve already planted your loofah gourds and a cold snap threatens, put a cloche over your seedlings. This can be as simple as a plastic soda bottle cut in half with a few air holes.
5. Prevent deformed fruits by checking them as they grow and making sure they aren't getting trapped in a fence.
6. Choose the right variety. There are actually two species of gourds that are referred to as loofahs - Luffa aegyptiaca and Chinese okra.Β You want luffa acuntangular, also known as smooth luffa, Egyptian luffa, gourd luffa, or dishrag gourd.
7. Use diatomaceous earth in the late summer. In the late summer and early fall, when your plants have produced fruits that are almost ready for harvest, you may want to apply a light dusting of diatomaceous earth. This will help prevent squash beetles, creatures who can decimate loofah plants.
8. When it comes time to harvest, make sure you know the ideal time to do so. Usually, you will want to harvest once the vines have died back, before the first frost in the fall. To remove your loofahs, pinch or cut them off at the vine. This will leave the plant in good stead if there are other gourds that will need to ripen. If a frost threatens, harvest your loofah sponges. Even if they are still green, itβs better to harvest them before the frost hits, as this will lead to premature rot.
9. Prepare your sponges. You will need to do a bit of prep work to get your gourds ready for clean-up. Position your luffa gourd on a solid, flat surface. Use a stone or a rolling pin to remove the dried exterior skin. After youβve removed both the seeds and the skin, there will be a black, brown, or yellow material underneath. Then soak this material in a solution of bleach water. Rinse them afterward with a few squirts from a hose at high pressure. This will remove any remaining seeds, mold, or rotten material. Allow the loofahs to dry in direct sunlight and a light breeze for a couple of days. Turn them regularly to make sure they dry evenly.
It's night time, and that means it's the right time to post this commission I got from the amazing @miss-plum !!
Back in July, I had a lot of Luffa art I wanted to get ordered, but I couldn't decide which ideas to do, so I ran a poll to sort my priorities. Vampire Luffa was tied for third place, but it's the one I voted for, so that's why it got bumped up the queue. And Plum was open for comms in October and the timing was perfect.
I do these AU-themed Christmas specials every year, and in 2022 I went with a vampire gimmick. I couldn't decide whether Luffa should be a vampire or a vampire hunter, so I pressed both buttons and made an antihero. She still wants to eradicate vampires (saving herself for last), but she has needs now, Alfred. Dirty, horrible needs. And that's where Yamcha and Maron come in. Luffa forges an uneasy alliance with the Brief family's vampire-hunting guild, but she plans to take Yamcha from them as payment for her services. But he turns on the charm, and in the end she spares him... or does she? Maybe she just decided to take Maron in his place, or maybe she wants them both.
Anyway, this was a ton of fun to do. I had all these ideas for Luffa's costume, and it's great to see it all come to life like this. Its one thing for me to write down that she wears a corset and an ancient Pictish necklace, but Plum took all this and made it look gooooood.
Now I want to write a sequel just to tie it in with this scene. Or get commissions for the other AU specials. Well, one step at a time...
Shudehill, Manchester.
I just updated the photos for Luffa from this unhelpfulness
to this. Which actually demonstrates the differences between the species instead of showing you generic yellow flowers that no one who's not an expert will be able to tell apart.
for some reason it's only showing the updated images when I uncheck "verifiable" observations, which is weird.
Also updated the picture for the genus itself
