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Post by woodeye on Aug 17, 2022 3:19:49 GMT -6
I'm awake early this morning, so I came to look at these pictures of your luffa plants again because I've found that these pictures open my eyes as far as they will open.
Also, I noticed the electric wire in the sky of the 1st picture this morning. Must be an optical illusion, but it appears that your luffa vine is wrapping around it.
It's just startling to look at the unbridled growth of those plants...
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 17, 2022 11:00:06 GMT -6
Those luffa plants look wonderful, George! That's really an accomplishment with the rough Summer we've had here. Thanks, for posting those photos.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 17, 2022 12:54:52 GMT -6
Those luffa plants are looking magnificent, macmex,, though perhaps a little scary as if they might reach out and grab you if you walked by. I can see why you’re having to do rescue work for the beans. What kind of beans are they? I need to check on my luffa that was drying down. It’s probably dry by now, but I need a ladder to get to it, and it just hasn’t been a high priority this week with illness in the house.
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Post by macmex on Aug 18, 2022 8:10:44 GMT -6
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 18, 2022 13:54:59 GMT -6
I picked my second luffa this morning. It turns out that I didn’t actually need a ladder, but I did have to climb up on the sides of the raised bed, and I don’t like to do that too much. I should have brought pruning shears with me as the stem was too thick to snap. It might have been easier had it been out in the open, but it was in a forest of vines behind the trellises. I ended up just breaking the skin at the top and leaving the stem on the plant. The luffa is just beginning to rattle, but I wanted to bring it in since there’s a chance of much-needed rain this afternoon or evening.
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Post by macmex on Aug 24, 2022 8:41:37 GMT -6
My loufah continues to grow rampantly. Every time I look at it I have to cut off branches which want to overrun the beans I have next to it. This is one of the qualities of loufah which I love. It grows like a WEED!
Now it's setting lots of little fruit.
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Post by woodeye on Aug 24, 2022 12:30:06 GMT -6
Outstanding! macmex
That's either an amazing plant that the gardener has there, OR An amazing gardener that the plant has there.
My guess is that it's a combination of the 2.
Between you and the plant, a Perfect Storm has been created...
P.S. I agree with chrysanthemum , that plant looks like it might get 'ya. It reminds me of the intro to the TV show "The Munsters". Their house has vines all over it and the vines move all around like they are gonna grab something, or somebody...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 25, 2022 19:53:53 GMT -6
Hurray for baby luffa fruits, macmex ! Your plants sure are amazingly vigorous. We’ve had two storms this week, one on Monday that gave about a half inch of rain, and one yesterday that gave nine tenths of an inch. The bed where the luffa plants are gets runoff from the roof in a corner (unless the rain is really hard in which case it overshoots the bed entirely, and that may have happened for a portion of yesterday’s storm), so they get extra water. They are looking as though they are loving it. The plants have put on new growth, and the leaves on that new growth are much bigger. They have shoots now that may resemble those on the the Munsters’ house. They are going up my windows, but I wonder if they’ll be able to cling to the stucco when they get there.
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Post by woodeye on Aug 25, 2022 20:28:25 GMT -6
Boy those plants are reaching for the sky chrysanthemum. They are definitely Munsters' House worthy. Between you and macmex, I'm gonna have to grow one of those next year. Good Job!
Oh by the way, isn't that your 3rd luffa that is growing there by the pole? It looks like a dandy...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 26, 2022 8:44:05 GMT -6
Oh by the way, isn't that your 3rd luffa that is growing there by the pole? It looks like a dandy...
That is the third luffa, Woodeye. Good eye! It started growing over top of the trellis, but there was a little loose end of the fencing wire that was poking into it. I was worried that it would cause a wound, so I gently moved the luffa off of it the other day, probably when I was standing on the cinderblocks to harvest the second luffa (which I’m sure we need to peel by now.). As I’m typing this I just suggested to the ten year old that she harvest seeds and peel the luffa, so she’s on that now. I noticed this morning that I have four new female luffa flowers and a couple of males. I did not climb up to hand pollinate, but there are ants busy all over the vines, so I hope they’ll do the job for me. I’ll be really excited if I can get even more. I was happy even with just one since it gave me more seeds for the future, but since I’ve had to hand water these plants virtually every single day, it’s nice to have the possibility of more. (It’s also telling, I think, how much better God’s watering is than human watering. Even though I use rain water and water just about every morning, a thorough soaking of the entire area and atmosphere with rain has perked these plants up so noticeably.)
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Post by woodeye on Aug 26, 2022 10:26:10 GMT -6
It's great to see a success story like that, chrysanthemum, especially the way the heat and drought has been this year.
Whatever recipe you used for successfully growing luffas this year is well worth keeping and using again!
And yes, nothing beats water falling from the heavens, it improves everything...
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 26, 2022 19:24:07 GMT -6
I just now zoomed in on that luffa plant and saw the fruit hanging --- Nice!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 31, 2022 18:58:50 GMT -6
I’ve got more fruit starting to grow on the luffa now. It just needed that rain to get it to take off now. macmex, how are your luffas doing? Are your beans surviving the onslaught?
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 4, 2022 14:09:41 GMT -6
The luffa plants keep on growing, and they’re blooming a lot more now that the weather is cooler and more humid. I’m really enjoying having them climb the walls. (The ones that were climbing just the glass window fell down and had to start back up the walls.). The other day there was a little green lizard hanging out on one of the large leaves. We enjoyed watching him from indoors. One thing I should perhaps note about luffas is that ants seem to adore the flowers. I’ve had ants all over these plants all summer. Thankfully I haven’t seen them come into the house, but it does make me wonder whether I’ll grow them this close to the house again. Maybe the ants love the flowers so much, though, that they have no interest in coming into the house.
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Post by woodeye on Sept 4, 2022 14:56:45 GMT -6
That plant doesn't care how tall the house is, the determination that it possesses has punched the "top floor" button.
It was sort of like a Hidden Object game, but I found that 3rd Luffa after a bit. Looking good...
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