Growing loofah - planting and care, my tips

Luffa bast photo

Man does not live by bread alone, so I became interested in the most usual bath sponge. Labels on the store read - "natural, from loofah."

WHAT FOR LUFF SUCH?

I searched for her seeds for several years. In general, by the time I got the seeds, I already knew about the loofah, that it is also called the pumpkin, that it is a native of warm countries, belongs to the pumpkin family, is medicinal, and the young fruits are eaten. I got the seeds of the loofah of the Egyptian, or cylindrical (Luffa aegyptiaca), black, there is also a loofah ribbed with white seeds. However, the fruits did not grow as they were in the picture.


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EXPERIENCE IN CROWING LUFF I consider it successful, it is quite possible to grow it in the open ground of East Kazakhstan (climate of Western Siberia). Therefore, I want to share with those who are still thinking or doubting whether it is worth it. Worth it!

The first time I acted like this. In the third decade of April, she prepared a soil mixture from fertile soil from a vegetable garden, river sand, vermiculite in equal quantities and added a pinch of ash. I filled it with large (250 ml) glasses from under the yogurt, leaving 2-3 to the top, see.


See also: Plant lyuffa (photo) - cultivation on a loofah


Why I did not take the ready soil?

Luffa loves to "eat", and since before landing she will have to grow in this glass for more than a month, it is better not to keep her on a starvation diet. Slightly moistened the soil with seeds, covered with a film and put in heat. She needs 25-27 °. Aired every day. A week later, the seeds germinated. I immediately removed the shelter and transferred the cups to the window sill, but drew from the direct rays so that the young shoots did not burn.

It is necessary to water carefully so that the stems and roots do not rot, but it is also impossible to overdry the ground.

By the end of the first decade of May, the saplings carried out in a greenhouse over a warm dung bed: let them harden and bask in the sun, they love him very much. For the night, she protected the film from the frost, and the manure that was burning at the bottom of the garden was warming the “legs” of the seedlings. Glasses with seedlings supplemented with primer with a complex fertilizer of prolonged action. Since I had already grown cucumbers in the greenhouse, all the treatments that he had laid out were taken by the lyuffe: immunostimulant, serum with iodine (as prevention of diseases and fertilizing).

I must say that in the third decade of May, at the same time with pumpkins and zucchini, I planted the remaining seeds of the lyuffa in the holes. The fruits did not grow to cold, and the ovaries were just suitable for food.

IN THE FIRST NUMBERS OF JUNE - namely at this time the threat of frost will pass - my busted future washcloths moved to permanent residence in holes with rich and light soil.

It is necessary to transfer the loofah from the cut glass carefully so as not to damage the roots. However, for a month in close dishes they intertwined so tightly that it was difficult to spoil them.

LUFFA - Lianaand she definitely needs support. I noticed that it was not tied up, but a growing urinal on the ground pumpkin in no hurry to tie fruit. Yes, it blooms, but does not bear fruit. However, as soon as I only tied her to the support, the ovaries immediately appeared.

April seedlings grew as if on a dough. Elastic fibrous faceted lashes were tied to the fence net, along which I let it go, pinching all the side processes as they appeared, leaving only two sleeves. Before flowering, an acaricide treatment had to be urgently carried out - a spider mite appeared.

Soon, whole clusters of buds began to appear in the leaf axils. They grew by leaps and bounds, turning into large male yellow flowers on long, thin legs and female ones.

One whip, I let the arch over the gate. The spectacle is attractive: clusters of flowers, beautiful leaves, and smooth green striped fruits — all this could be seen at the same time.

FERTILIZED its exotics often (since it was not going to eat the fruits from this plant for food) - every 10 days, alternating organic and mineral fertilizers. It was important for me to get large fruits on washcloths.

The summer was very hot and windy, the leaves hovered in the sun. Luffa loves heat though, but she does not like dry winds. Therefore, in the evenings she arranged for the plant shower.

And in the middle of September, she removed 6 fruits from the plant, 3 of them ripened right on the bush, while the others grew, but judging by the unripe seeds, they did not have enough time.

Ripe seeds spilled themselves out of the holes at the bottom of the fruit. And the bark of the loofah is removed very easily, after which I dried the fruits washed in water and, flattening, sheathed the edge of the tape. The washcloth can be given any shape, simply cutting out with scissors and also covering it along the edge. And how nice it is to go to the bathhouse with a hand-bast-grown sponge!

Now I have a polycarbonate greenhouse with a conventional household fan heater. I grow luffa immediately in it, without changes. I sow it with dry seeds directly into the prepared soil, like for cucumbers, in late March - early April. In the greenhouse, the vine is much better than in the open field, it manages to form large fruits and grows without ceasing to bear fruit until mid-October.

Now I plant no more 2 plants. Cucumbers grow nearby, kivano-since they are relatives with lyuffa, they get along perfectly well, treatments for pests (black aphid likes lyuff, settles on a pedicle), diseases, as well as feeding, watering and lighting requirements are the same for them.

We also used loofah for food, choosing young 10-centimeter ovaries. Cut into slices, roll in flour and fry in vegetable oil until lightly browned on both sides. Then spread on a paper towel, sprinkle with chopped dill and garlic, salt to taste. Most of all, luffa resembles zucchini. So you can grate it in the same way on a large grater in a vegetable salad. And it is also tasty in vegetable stew and stewed with meat. And the vitamins contained in this vegetable, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, magnesium and trace elements (selenium, zinc, iron, etc.) make it also therapeutic, improving the work of the cardiovascular, digestive, circulatory and immune systems of the body.

So there is nothing complicated in growing this curiosity, but the sea is a pleasant experience.


LUFFA - GROWING, LANDING AND CARE. REVIEWS AND ADVICE OF GARDENERS


LUFFA IN THE GARDEN

This exot (a roll from Asia and Africa) is perfect for vertical gardening, its whips can be put on the gazebo and fence. The plant gives a large leaf mass - a lush green carpet, which in July-August will be painted with large yellow or white flowers.

But the special color is in its ribbed, hanging down fruits up to 30-40 cm long. They are filled with net-like fibers, of which (after ripening, in October) you can make natural washcloths, filling for mattresses, baskets, rugs, various decor.

Garden conditions

It is not difficult to grow luffa sharp-ribbed (Luffa acutangula) and L. cylindrical (L. Aegyptiaca) in your garden, even in the middle lane. For beginners, I advise you to start with sharp ribbed, it is less demanding on the soil, more resistant to diseases and also suitable for food. * I assigned a section for the beauty near the retaining wall of the southern exposure on a specially stretched wire. The seeds were sown directly into open ground in the second half of May (seedlings grown in peat-baked pots can be assigned to a permanent place in June). * For abundant flowering and fruit formation, seedlings prefer places protected from the wind with loose, fertile sandy loam or loamy soil. Planting scheme - 100 × 100, 100 × 150 cm. Water regularly, in moderation.

Useful and tasty!

You can eat young boiled fruits at the age of 10-12 days, with a pleasant taste and aroma. For therapeutic purposes, some herbalists recommend their freshly squeezed juice in small quantities (1-2 tsp) for headaches. It is also believed that loofah seeds act as a laxative and anti-inflammatory agent, dry fruits help with jaundice, and well washed juice - rejuvenates the face skin with juice squeezed from the stem.

© Author: Lyudmila ULEISKAYA, Cand. biol. Sciences, Yalta


See also: Plant lyuffa (photo) - and bast and pumpkin: growing


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© Author: S. Razumova Kazakhstan

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