Luffa! Loofah!

As you can tell by now, my return to the garden also brought with me a few bit necessarily unique, but 'unique' side items.  A friend of mine mentioned growing loofah, while my education is fairly well rounded, who else did not know the "rough scrubbie" (not the soft squishy sponge for afterwards) was borne of a gourd instead of from a pineapple under the sea?!

Me.

I've used these silly things since I was a small child--both the luffa/loofah and sea sponge to exfoliate and smooth. It's not often that I am taken aback with new information, but more so I am taken aback that I just never thought to think more about it.  What I do know, however, is that cheap plastic scrubbies tear the skin and often leave lacerations (I recently got married with a small scratch on my forehead to illustrate this point).  While one can certainly do the same with a natural luffa, the likelihood of leaving a wound is far less is moistened appropriately before use. 

It's all good now! I've got a packet of seeds and a handcrafted masterpiece of a bamboo cane arbor I lashed together in only 5 hours!  (See post here: The Art of Handcrafted Trellis Architecture ).

The seeds were quick to germinate, seedlings quick to grow.  The luffa did not go through the hardening process well.  While one plant transitioned to the outdoors with ease, the other wilted slowly with the change.  As with all of my indoor starts, I plugged a couple of seeds in the soil when they stayed outside permanently.  A short week later, the surviving plant wilted.  It is still hanging on, but we are now relying on the upcoming starts originally planted directly outdoors.

More on growing and harvesting soon!

Variety: luffa aegyptiaca (H)
Sown: 08 APR 2013
Germinated: 15 APR 2013

My Asparagus Corral

Variety: Mary Washington Heirloom Asparagus
Sown: 8 APR 2013
Germinated 23 APR 2013

I thought these heirloom Mary Washington asparagus seeds would never give up the ghost! Really! I've never really known what asparagus looked like in the seedling stage, so it was definitely an interesting wait!  While I've had gardens since my early 20s, apparently asparagus was not on the radar--perhaps it was the 3 year wait, perhaps I didn't care for it back then.  At 40 something, I definitely have more patience and better taste. 

I researched asparagus seedling photographs and care, as well as the growth phases.  I truly thought these seeds would never give in!  I've noticed I have a bad habit of stirring around the seeds in the starter soil, but whether coincidence or not, tiny asparagus popped up soon after. After all, how would I know if they just simply rotted--that's a great justification.  I'm sure I will continue that bad practice until I potentially harm something...

When they reached about six inches, they were drawn to the heat of my hand and fell over.  I will not have perfectly pretty, little and ferny trees growing, but a tangled mass of tiny, green and ferny stalks. It was like a rodeo roundup of  their little stalks for transplant and during transplanting.

I had to manufacture, shall we call it, a corral.  An Asparagus Corral to be exact. While it likely isn't ideal, the seedlings are happy and are standing a bit more upright now.  They definitely have some curl from leaning on each other and the label stick.

As I try to harden them off, I notice a few brown ends, broken (wind blown) tips, so I'm keeping them inside for a bit longer until they can survive without my constant hand outdoors. 

Growing asparagus in a pot is a little out there, but I figure if I'm just going to be looking at it for the next three years, I may as well try.  I will try to document the growth pattern in said pots along the way.  There is definitely next to zero information out there on this particular method for asparagus.

I germinated these seeds successfully in both rich soil and some in coconut coir.  There was a notable difference in the growth in each, with the soil producing faster and heartier seedlings.  The seedlings in the coir needed to come out quickly, while the seedlings in the soil were still thriving wholly in the soil.

The Asparagus Corral is comprised of cotton kitchen twine and shishkabob skewers.  Speaking of skewers, I've discovered that they make a great gardening tool; the skewers hold up label stakes (address label wrapped around), rick out young seedlings for transplant with ease, stir soil when impatience reigns over intelligence (lol), and are great for digging earth out from under fingernails.