Luffa
smooth skinned luffa
Luffa aegyptiaca
Last edited on November 30, 2025. View history
Luffa
Luffa cylindrica
Also known as
loofah (EN)
How to sow luffa: Direct seed. If planting indoors, harden off before transplanting seedlings outside.
Sun requirement for luffa: Plant in Full Sun
Luffah, or Loofah, is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the Cucurbit family, which also includes cucumbers and squash. There are three main species. Fruit must be harvested when young and under 12cm long to be edible. Two are grown specifically for the use of their mature, fibrous fruit as a scrubbing sponge: L. aegyptiaca and L. acutangula. Luffah plants need at least 4 frost-free months to mature, and additional frost-free time to dry on the vine until the skin is dark brown. Germination improves if seeds are scarified and soaked for 24 hours before planting. Plants benefit from trellising.
- 2
- plantings
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- harvests
- 2
- seed packets
Luffa facts
Lifespan
Annual
living and reproducing in a single year or less
Height × spread
900cm × 0cmRow Spacing
25cm
Optimal temperature
23–27 °C
Absolute temperature
10–38 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall
1200–2000 mm/year
Absolute rainfall
300–3000 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH
5.5–6.5
Absolute soil pH
4.3–8.3
FAO EcoCrop
Crop cycle
70–120 days
FAO EcoCrop
Max altitude
1000 m
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal light
clear skies
FAO EcoCrop
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For luffa, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 10°C and a shortest growing cycle of 70 days at its best temperature, about 1050 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your luffa will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
How members grow luffa
Sunniness
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Planted from
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Varieties of luffa
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Where luffa grow
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Who's planted luffa
- pazinjanka Indoor · Almere, Netherlands
- Unalmas Garden · Somerville, MA
Luffa harvests
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Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Luffa cylindrica (L)M.Roemd.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Dilleniidae Violales Cucurbitaceae |
|---|---|
| Life form | herb, vine |
| Life span | annual |
| Habit | climber/scrambler/scadent |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium, organic |
| Optimal soil fertility | moderate |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours) |
Learn more about luffa
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