Loofah Surplus

The (luffah) loofah (luffa) gourds have been drying all winter, some on the vine still, most on a rack in the shed for the whole winter…… looking pretty rough.

Well, a few days ago the sun was out and I had a few minutes to do something but wasn’t really looking to do something that felt like work, so I decided to clean some of these.

The way it goes: pick the bottom of the shell/skin off (it is easy), shake out the seeds into a container (beware, I found dropped seeds are kudzu by mid July), then peel the rest of the skin off.

Once this is complete, I soak them in a water/bleach solution for a few hours then rinse and place back out to dry.

How do the nasty, crusty old brown gourds look cleaned up and naked?

But high above the shed one last gourd remains. Did I mention these vines grow like kudzu?

(And after showing a picture of the worst view of the worst corner/border of the back yard, I am sure I will catch some grief from mrs cohutt. Don’t worry, I will post picture of my newest fence of penance when it is done this summer.)