For the Love of Luffa

A photo journey of gourd growin'

The luffas come out of the ground and immediately start putting out tendrils, climbing the trellis.

Once the plants are mature, flowering begins. These beautiful blooms attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

When the fruits are young, they look sort of like a cucumber. At this stage, they are edible!

Some years, the plants are really lush and leafy. Other years, not so much.

The gourds slowly dry on the vine until they're harvested for processing.

After being peeled and washed, seeds are removed and the luffas are cut to size.

These rounds are air dried and ready to be covered in soap!