Grow your own bath sponge! Luffa gourds are the familiar bath sponge. Growing your own will keep you entertained all growing season and are great fun for a long time after they are harvested. Peel ...

Master Gardeners This column was prepared by Lake County Master Gardener Susan Cowling. As you perused the seed racks last spring, you were intrigued by all the different varieties of gourds and ...

Are you trying to grow sponge gourds and they never get big enough, before frost, to form the tough sponges inside? Sponge gourds (also called luffa, bottle gourds or dishrag gourds) require a fairly ...

I have been getting a lot of questions lately on how to handle a luffa or loofah gourd to get a usable sponge. Luffa or sponge gourds should be harvested when the outer shell is dry. When you can hear ...

Shaped like an oversized apple, these hard-shelled gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) grow six to eight inches tall and four to six inches across. In India, young fruit is added to curries. The skin is ...

Growing your own gourds? Follow these tips: - Plant gourds where they will receive a full day’s sun. - Gourd vines are long. Some can reach several hundred feet. Train vines onto fences or trellises ...

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but sponges grow on vines. Loofahs (also known as luffas) are a type of vining plant that produces fruit that closely resembles a large zucchini. The loofah fruit can be ...

It’s that time of year when visions of Halloween conjure up all kinds of ghoulish-looking gourds! While they are traditional decor at Halloween and Thanksgiving, gourds aren’t just for decoration.

You’ve probably had or used a loofah sponge in your life, whether in the bath or for cleaning around the house. But did you know it was made from a vegetable? While much of the marketing of loofahs ...