Ridged Luffa

Why I grow it
I grow luffas for the mature fruit rather than for eating. Once fully grown and dried, the skin and seeds come away to reveal the fibrous luffa inside. I use them around the house as scrubbers in both the bathroom and kitchen — a genuinely useful thing to grow as well as a rather entertaining vine.

At a glance
Type: Edible/useful climbing vine
Growth: Vigorous annual climber
Fruit: Long, ridged green fruit
Harvest: Young for eating or fully mature for drying
Inventory: 10 plants

In the kitchen & bathroom
Young luffa fruit is edible and can be cooked rather like courgette, although that's not actually why I grow it.

I leave mine on the vine to mature, then dry and peel them and remove the seeds. What remains is the familiar fibrous luffa, which I cut into useful sizes and use as a scrubber around the house.

In the garden
Luffas are vigorous vines and need warmth, a decent growing season and something sturdy to climb. Give them an arch, fence or trellis and expect them to make enthusiastic use of it.

They're also simply fun plants to grow — particularly if you've only ever encountered a luffa hanging in a bathroom and hadn't realised it started life looking rather like a large cucumber.

Care
Full sun, fertile soil and regular water through active growth. Protect young plants from cold and frost. Give the vine strong support and as much warmth as you can; allowing mature fruit to dry properly requires a good long season.

What you’ll receive
One established Ridged Luffa plant, ready to plant out once conditions are warm enough.