Handmade Loofah Soap

I promised a post about the outcome of my Loofah harvest.

If you have been following my blog then you know I grew a small loofah garden this past summer. Loofah is a natural sponge. It grows on a vine and in the same family as the gourd. They grow large and dry out in the Fall. Once they skin is hard and dry, you peel it off to reveal a loofah sponge ready to remove seeds, rinse and use. 

My harvest was small. I had many loofahs appear but never reached maturity. I blame it mostly on the size of the trellis I had it to climb. They need a lot of space to spread. I was a little disappointed. I wanted to have an abundance of sponges to share, but it didn’t happen. 

I found a way to share the small harvest of loofahs with friends by cutting them into pieces and making them into soaps (not my friends, my loofahs). For Christmas I was able to give each neighbor a couple homemade loofah soaps and a set of my crochet washcloths as gifts. They also received homemade cookies. 

The process was easy. 

I first had to find a a silicon soap mold which I ordered off ebay. Then headed out to Hobby Lobby for some melt and pour soap. I chose the natural goat milk soap base. I have never made soap before. I could never accept the process of buying soap to make soap. It just doesn’t make since to me. 

But I did it anyway.

I placed a cut of loofah into the molds. Then I melted the soap and added a drop of fragrance. I used some soap fragrance but you can use essential oils just as well. I poured the melted soap over the loofah in the mold. I actually only filled the molds half way as I failed to get enough soap. I refused to buy anymore and made due with what I had. Once the soaps dried, I popped them out of the mold and they were ready for use.

My husband was my guinea pig. He used one for a week in the shower. He said he liked how soft it made his skin and liked the scrubby texture of the loofah. 

I want to grow more loofah this year on a bigger trellis. They were fun to watch grow and attracted lots of friendly bees. 

If you would like to grow loofah this summer, I have a few packs of loofah seeds for sale if you would like to purchase them from my  Etsy shop or contact me via email or contact form. 

The money made from these will go toward my garden fund.

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Loofah Reveal

At the beginning of spring I mentioned growing some loofah plants. Now let me introduce you to my loofahs!

Loofah is a natural sponge that grows on a vine. You can actually eat loofah when they are young but once they mature, the inside turns into an all purpose sponge.
You thought all sponges come from the sea, didn’t ya? 

I started off with four loofah plant. These little twigs fought each other in my window seal until the ground was warm enough to plant outside.

    

Nick built me a little trellis and a planter box in an area where they would get lots of direct sun. I wanted to plant them directly in the ground but for unknown reasons, he was against it. So a planter box it was. I could hardly wait to watch them grow.

Once I transplanted them into the soil, they must have gotten soil shocked because two of them died (They are known to do this). This left me with only two vines, but I figured that was enough for a trial run. It was fun seeing these plants finally take off and climb the trellis. They grew beautiful flowers that attracted some cute bees. 

I have always been afraid of bees, but not these. I somehow felt a friendship with these little stingers. They were working for me so I had to respect them. We got along great. 

I learned there are male and female flowers. The male flowers grow in clusters while the female flowers grow between the branches. 

   

The female flowers have to be pollinated to produce fruit. A loofah is ready to harvest once it turns yellow and the skin starts to loosen. They house hundreds of seeds that can be planted the next year. 

I read that just one vine will give you up to 20 loofahs. That was not my case. I was rather disappointed in my harvest this year. I only got six loofahs off two plants. Though I had many start to grow, they simply were eaten by some kind of critter or dried up and died before maturing. I plan to give it another shot next year and have a larger trellis and deeper dirt. I hope to plant them in the ground next year instead of a box. 

What next? I plan to cut them into pieces and make loofah soaps something like in this.... 

(Source)

Below is a video showing the timeline of my loofahs. Hope you enjoy 

Loofah Garden

I mentioned earlier in the year that I was wanting to start a loofah garden. 

A loofah is a natural sponge grown on a vine. They have the shape of a cucumber but are in the gourd family and grow really large. In order to grow these things, it requires a trellis for them to climb. In the Fall they will dry out and then you peel the skin to find a nice natural sponge inside. I'm pretty excited.

I ordered some seeds from a garden in the mountains of North Carolina. I had read where it takes a while for the seeds to sprout. I started them in February and they sprouted in just two weeks!

Afraid they would die before I could plant them, I started some more seeds in March. They have already started climbing the windows and are begging to be planted. I can hardly wait to get them outside.

I came home from work the other day and my sweet husband had built me a frame and trellis. He did a really good job. The next day he had me some fresh dirt. After our afternoon walk, I could not wait any longer so we put on our garden gloves, poured the dirt and planted the tiny plants. Now my loofahs are ready to grow. 

I contacted the nursery where I purchased the seeds and she said one plant will get big and will produce lots of loofahs. She said each plant will give me 10 to 12 loofahs, so only 3 or 4 plants is all I need. I hope this works. I have never had any luck growing things. I’m actually thinking about taking up two of them. I am just waiting to see if they thrive without being eaten by squirrels, bunnies and birds. 

I added some string to train them to grow up the trellis. They started grabbing hold within 15 minutes of planting them. 

Now we wait. I hope they do not get shocked from being transplanted outside.

Loofah plants will produce large yellow flowers before the loofah gourd begins. These flowers will attract lots of bumble bees, butterflies and humming birds. The plants will need them for pollination.
I will keep you updated on the progress. This is going to be fun.

On My Mind

Hope everyone is enjoying April so far and the beautiful weather it's brought with it. We saw snow on Tuesday and it was 74 degrees on Wednesday. That's what we have to deal with here this time of year.

I have loofah plants started that are itching to get out in the yard. I can not plant them until the threat of frost is gone. I had read where it takes them a while to sprout so I actually started some in February. They were 2 inches tall in 6 weeks! Afraid they will die sitting in little planter cups, I started a few more seeds the first of March. They are all doing good. I have already thinned them out to only 6 plants. The first ones I started are as high as the window and are trying every way they can to get their little twigs through the cracks. “Sorry guys but those are insulated windows”. 

I plan to get a trellis and plant them sometime in the next two weeks. 

I have a bit of bloggers block so I have been slow at writing any new post lately. I think its because I actually have a lot on my mind right now. I get overwhelmed really easy. I’m trying to learn not too.

We had two friends loose their wives last week. One lost her battle to cancer and one lost her battle with dementia. Both only in their 60’s and both very sweet ladies. I did not know the ladies as much as I knew their husbands as they were more friends of my Husband. Any friend of his is a friend of mine. 

I have written a crochet pattern I am anxious to try. It’s for wash clothes. If they turn out as I expect, they will not be ordinary and quiet funny. I can't wait to see and share the results. 

Then here comes the overwhelming part, It's been on my mind all week on top of other things.

I have a video interview with Nutrisystem this afternoon. It’s to answer a few questions and share my weight loss story. I do not know what it is about me, I can talk to a stranger like I have known them forever. I can act a part if I am told what to say, and I can pose for a photo, but if you put me in front of a camera to speak my own words, I freeze up. I am not a good speaker. I draw a blank. You can put a camera in my face and ask me where I live and I'd forget what to say. Seriously! Then I see others doing so well with speaking from their minds in front of a camera and I get intimidated. I beat myself up over these things. I need to just chill and go with the flow. I think that I "over think" and that's where I mess up.

I have a phobia of public speaking.
I need to just breathe in and breathe out, relax and go for it.
I love sharing my success with everyone and I think the more I do this, the better I will get at it.
Wish me luck..My daddy says I'm just as good as the rest of them.