Master Gardeners: Is it luffa or loofah? | Home And Garden

Master Gardeners: Is it luffa or loofah? | Home And Garden

Editor’s notice: Luffa vegetation will be sold at the VCMGA Spring Plant Sale on April 2.

Last September at Rockport’s Hummingbird Celebration, my close friend Janet pointed to a substantial vine with very long cucumber-shaped gourds. She mentioned they are luffas and our learn gardener colleague Noreen was growing them.

Noreen claimed she purchased a packet of luffa seeds as an experiment. She planted 4 seeds previous February just after the previous frost and didn’t see green shoots right up until late June.

Noreen planted the seeds in raised backyard garden beds from 8-foot PVC pipes. To secure the plants from squirrels, she protected them with fowl netting. Her yield was 20+ luffa.







Luffa seed packet

Luffa seed packet




Luffa (Luffa aegyptiaca and Luffa acutangula) generally called loofah, sponge gourd or dishcloth gourd, are grown for their fibrous skeleton. Youthful fruits fewer than 7-inches prolonged and inexperienced can be eaten like clean squash or cucumbers.

Luffa has escaped cultivation and grows planet-vast in tropical woodlands, thickets and grasslands. It is a quick-increasing, generations-aged, once-a-year vine that is indigenous to tropical Asia. Vines can be 30-50 ft prolonged and need to have to be spaced 2 to 3 ft aside.

Luffa’s sunshine yellow blooms can be 4 inches wide, when its leaves can arrive at 10-inches vast. The 1- to 2-foot-very long fruits are cylindrical, easy and eco-friendly with a lot of flat, spherical black seeds.

Right before planting luffa seeds, scrape the seed coat with a file or make it possible for seeds to soak for 24 hours. This treatment will facilitate germination. Seeds are incredibly sluggish to sprout and demand gardeners to be client.

Sow seeds 8 to 12 inches aside together a robust fence or trellis immediately after the past frost. Luffa plants thrive in organic and natural soil in total solar. Hold vegetation moist but not saturated. To keep soil dampness unfold mulch all-around the vegetation but absent from the stem.

As soon as the plant starts to increase, clear away the very first bouquets and the to start with 4 lateral branches. This practice will consequence in extra vines and sturdier stems for much better fruit. The vines do want to be experienced on a sturdy trellis or tall fence for assist.







Harvested luffa

A harvested luffa.




Whilst luffa do not need pruning, trimming them retains them at a manageable sizing and will make it less complicated to prepare the stems. Trimming youthful luffa crops allows the stems to develop in an orderly pattern and generate much more buds. In addition, pruning promotes air circulation and minimizes pests and health conditions.

Prune luffa with extremely sharp and thoroughly clean chopping tools. Hold out right until the plant has at minimum four stems and minimize all the first stems back to the major stem. Continue on education the stems to the trellis or fence and permit them mature. Pinch off the 1st flowers which are male. The woman flowers will acquire up coming and will kind the fruit.

Ahead of harvesting luffa, make sure the fruit is totally ripened on the vine. As the fruit matures, it loses drinking water fat and its color lightens. The shell hardens and begins to separate from inside fibers.







Luffa "infants"

Luffa “infants” developed from seeds.




A typical rule is to take out the luffa fruit from the vine prior to the initially frost. Gardeners ordinarily break off the fruits outer shell by slamming it on a tough area or crushing it with a hefty resource. Once in a while soaking the mature fruit in h2o will make it a lot easier to peel. The spongy fiber within the shell wants to be eliminated, washed and squeezed to take away excess h2o. To curtail mildew, set the sponge in the sun right until it is absolutely dry.

Loofah is the fibrous inside of absolutely created fruit and the scrubbing sponge. Although the youthful luffa gourd is harvested as a vegetable. Same plant, two employs.

The Gardeners’ Dust is written by associates of the Victoria County Grasp Gardener Affiliation, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your queries in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901 or vcmga@vicad.com, or remark on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.

Master Gardeners: Carolina jessamine | Home And Garden

Master Gardeners: Carolina jessamine | Home And Garden

Below in Texas, it is essential to know why indigenous vegetation play these a valuable function in our landscapes. As our inhabitants grows, land is created for housing, subdivisions, roadways and buying facilities. We see and truly feel the worth of drinking water and weather with these developments. We are not the only ones who are impacted by environmental modifications. Wildlife are pushed to unique places and their foodstuff sources and habitats are ruined.

The standard garden has a garden, shrubs and flowers that often require drinking water and from time to time fertilizer and insecticide. These chemical compounds can runoff into drinking water wells and poison our atmosphere and get rid of advantageous insects and animals.

The Carolina jessamine, Gelsemium sempervires, is also termed Yellow Jessamine, Bad Man’s Rope and Evening Trumpet flower. It is a gorgeous native vine located in the southeastern section of the United States, where there are moderate winters and incredibly hot summers. It grows all the way north to Virginia, south to Florida, east to Arkansas, down through east Texas and south to Mexico and Guatemala.

The vine is an adaptive, woody perennial that grows in USDA zone 6-9. Its indigenous habitat is dry to damp thickets. The leaves are waxy dim eco-friendly. The yellow horn or trumpet like bouquets develop 1 to 1 1/2 inches and are extremely aromatic. The vines have a tendency to entwine on their own in substantial shrubs and trees.

In wintertime, the dark eco-friendly leaves take on a slight yellow or purple solid. Carolina jessamine grows finest in a abundant fertile soil that drains nicely, but it is an adaptive plant. They actually want a soil that is a little bit acidic. They need to have moderate drinking water but are drought tolerant as perfectly as chilly hardy.

The vine can tolerate some partial shade, but blooms finest in a sunny location. Depending the place one particular lives, Carolina jessamine blooms in December and January by May.

Their stems can exceed 10 to 20 toes and have a distribute of 4 to 15 feet. The vine can be minimize back or pruned in the spring. A gardener can fertilize the plant two to 3 instances during its developing year with rose foods.

This vine has no major disorder or pests. Even so, all sections of the vine are toxic and potentially lethal to people, animals and livestock. If pores and skin arrives into get hold of with the sap of this plant, pores and skin can turn out to be irritated.

Carolina jessamine appeals to bees, hummingbirds and spicebush swallowtail butterflies. It may be harmful to bees if they eat as well substantially and the honey could be toxic to people if as well a lot is consumed. Gardeners are advised to plant this vine with warning.

Vines are a excellent way to suit in colour in a modest house. This vine presents the gardener a visible beauty and a sweet fragrance. Carolina jessamine is a colorful vigorous grower and can be grown on a fence, arbor, trellis or pergola.

Migratory paths and habitats can be restored to make a risk-free haven for bees, butterflies, birds, hummingbirds, lizards and squirrels with the use of native crops. Sally Wasowski, co-creator of “Native Texas Gardens,” said “A correct indigenous plant (tree, shrub, grass, wildflower, groundcover or vine) is 1 that has developed in a individual place devoid of obtaining been brought there by people, in no way had its genetics tampered with by people and can survive extremely wonderful devoid of any enable from us.”

As a chook and butterfly watcher, I have manufactured it my target to plant extra native crops in my lawn. This follow applies Wasowski’s advice for optimum backyard attractiveness with minimum amount repairs. Will not you sign up for me?

The Gardeners’ Grime is composed by members of the Victoria County Grasp Gardener Association, an academic outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your thoughts in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901 or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.

YARD AND GARDEN: Get ready for spring with Master Gardeners | Home & Garden

YARD AND GARDEN: Get ready for spring with Master Gardeners | Home & Garden

Join Master Gardeners for a fun morning of door prizes and engaging speakers both beginning and expert gardeners will enjoy.

The new year seems to be going by fast and I realized this week that the 12th annual Spring into Gardening Conference is just around the corner.

The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners of Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Moultrie, and Shelby Counties will present this conference from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at Broadway Christian Church, 1205 S. Ninth St., in Mattoon. The doors will open at 8 a.m. for check-in. The cost for the workshop is $30 per person.


YARD AND GARDEN: A gardening project for February

This event is planned and presented each year by the master gardener volunteers in our area to serve two purposes.

First, the conference is designed to provide a continuing education opportunity for gardeners, homeowners, and landowners in East Central Illinois.

Secondly, the revenue from the event helps support the local outreach efforts of University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener volunteers, bringing you workshops and learning opportunities throughout the year.

Last year, master gardeners offered a fruit tree pruning workshop, a guided park walk series, a “How to Grow Potatoes in a Bucket” workshop, and much more.

At Spring into Gardening, educators from Extension will share their passion for growing plants, attracting pollinators, and composting how-tos. I think you will find the 2022 Spring into Gardening event topics very informative and entertaining.

Horticulture Educator Ken Johnson will present information on how to use raised beds to maximize your space and produce your favorite vegetables. Ken will discuss where to place your garden and proper plant selection. Horticulture Educator Jennifer Fishburn will explain pollinator plant options that will produce a beautiful and fruitful space important to creating a habitat for pollinators. Energy and Environmental Stewardship Educator Duane Friend will talk about how to produce high-quality, nutrient-rich compost by selecting the right mix of materials to add to your compost.

In addition to this great lineup of speakers, the Master Gardeners will be offering a silent auction and delicious refreshments throughout the morning. Garden novelties will be available for purchase and resources are included with admission.

If you are interested in attending the 2022 Spring into Gardening event, keep in mind that registration closes on February 21 or when available spaces have been filled. To register visit go.illinois.edu/SPRIG22.

For more information or for assistance registering for the event, call the extension office in Coles County at 217-345-7034. 

Master Gardeners: Going from lazy to seed | Home And Garden

Master Gardeners: Going from lazy to seed | Home And Garden

Over the years, I became lazy and acquired most of my vegetation in pots and packs from large-box suppliers and nurseries. Since of a very noticeable raise in price ranges, I am slowly and gradually drifting toward starting up my crops from seed.

Whilst this procedure does demand far more time and energy, I have been really joyful with the benefits. Looking at the seedlings come up and grow into maturity is really gratifying. The additional bonus is I have additional zinnias, much more hollyhocks and more herbs than when I was acquiring transplants. And we all know extra is superior.

Think about developing with seeds

If you’ve by no means experimented with expanding from seeds you should really take into account giving it a whirl. Don’t go crazy at the starting, I suggest starting with just one or two seed packets. For instance, if you have a few of huge containers and you want a colorful presentation, then plant zinnias. They are easy to increase, bloom from summer to frost and will reseed. They arrive in many types, measurements and colors. Some packets element stunning combined shades.

Factors to consider

Looking through the again of the seed packet is important. 1st of all, get notice of the stamped packing date right before invest in. It really should be for the recent 12 months mainly because more mature the seeds are, the poorer their germination amount.

The packet will include a brief description and illustration of the plant and if the plant is an annual, biennial or perennial. Also involved will be information on times to germination, depth to plant, spacing involving vegetation, peak and days to bloom. It could show when to slender, when to transplant soon after the past predicted frost, and could advise a hardening off period prior to transplanting exterior. Each seed packet has a shade-coded map indicating the advised interval for planting outdoors.

When acquiring seeds at a store or via a catalogs think about the USDA plant hardiness zone which for the Victoria place runs from 8 to 9b. The zones reveal the lowest winter season temperatures in the area based on historic file.

About these annuals

When obtaining once-a-year flower seeds be knowledgeable that only a handful of them expand efficiently when planted right into the ground. These include alyssum, bachelor buttons, larkspur, marigolds, periwinkle, poppy, sweet pea, sunflower and zinnia.

A speedy commence and preserving dollars

If you have a warm space with lots of light indoors, you can get a head begin on growing your plants. Later on you can transfer them to containers or into the ground.

To save funds, you can plant seeds in paper egg cartons, plastic jugs, paper cups, beforehand made use of plastic pots and handmade newspaper pots (go on the net to www.gardenbetty.com). Make sure the containers have sufficient drain holes.

You may use no matter what potting soil you now have or a seed starter blend. Gently h2o every single day until eventually seeds have germinated. You also can set the pots in trays of drinking water for a few of several hours and then eliminate them. Never make it possible for soggy soil.

If you have a location or two outdoor with correctly well prepared soil, you may well want to sow seeds there at the time the threat of frost has passed. Make sure the space is raked stage. Overplant to guarantee a very good stand, and yet again, gently water each day, but do not saturate the soil. As the plants expand you will have to water significantly less and a lot less, but constantly preserve a sharp eye out to make absolutely sure the soil does not crust in excess of.

In closing, study up on the crops you are going to expand and the facts of suitable soil preparation. Plenty of on-line information is out there at agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/soil-preparation and thespruce.com. Extra expertise can make a huge distinction among good effects and no results at all.

The Gardeners’ Grime is penned by associates of the Victoria County Grasp Gardener Affiliation, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your inquiries in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901 or vcmga@vicad.com, or remark on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.

IN THE YARD: What can gardeners do in January? | Home & Garden

IN THE YARD: What can gardeners do in January? | Home & Garden

The temperature we have experienced for the past two weeks has designed it tricky to go outside and do everything in the back garden.

It is just as well considering that there genuinely is not significantly we can do with our crops in any case. So what do we do to get rid of time until finally we can get back again out there and get some soil beneath our fingernails?

I read or read through a statement recently that would seem acceptable: “Gardeners can shell out this time dreaming and preparing.” This can be time very well put in or at least time spent on points we get pleasure from performing.

If very little else, just sit and feel about what you want to do as you are viewing the snow appear down. Assume about every tiny element of your landscape or each individual different back garden spot and what you may check out the exact same as final calendar year or what you will do in another way this coming spring. For example, I strategy to place in a small cottage backyard garden this spring in a spot I have hardly ever experienced a backyard garden in advance of. A few of trees uprooted and fell, and created an open up and sunny location that I want to get benefit of.

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Between the two snowstorms we have had so much, I took some rough measurements. Now I am seeking by catalogues for concepts of what I want to test. I am leaning towards a mix of black-eyed-Susans and purple cone flowers. This will be near my vegetable backyard, so possibly this mix will draw in some pollinators.

Due to the fact I am starting up a new back garden, I will have my soil analyzed at Virginia Tech (get hold of your local cooperative extension business office for information). Components of my lawn have not been examined for lime and fertilizer requires for far more than 3 decades. As quickly as the climate will let, I will go out and dig up some soil samples. The soils will almost certainly however be wet, so I will need to unfold it out in a dry site considering that the soil tests labs want dry samples. Maintain soils from every single place separate so you can get meaningful outcomes.

Lawn soils are examined otherwise from flower garden and vegetable backyard garden soils, and each has certain suggestions that are identified by what you point out you are setting up to do in that soil.

If you have any edging all over your beds, you can glimpse at that — immediately after the snow melts — to see if any maintenance do the job is desired. Wood timbers are inclined to rot above time and need to be replaced as required. If bricks or other “hard” products have been made use of as edging, make guaranteed every little thing is in which it belongs, Freezing and thawing soils will often press these matters up and often out of the soil.

My wife and I have been seeking a bench where we can sit in the shade and just chill out and delight in our lawn. I was going to glimpse for one this January but a person gave us just one as a reward. It is in a box and it will choose some time to assemble but that is not a difficulty. I love to set matters jointly and I can value the bench additional if it is at the very least partly the consequence of my labors. As soon as the weather conditions is this sort of that I can do the perform with no my fingers likely numb, I’ll go out underneath a shelter where I park my auto and begin functioning on it.

I planted a great deal of new grass previous fall on a new area of garden that we have made. Soon right after we sowed the grass, the rains stopped coming and we only got about ½ the grass coverage we require for the garden. I have remeasured the spots that need far more grass and labored out how numerous pounds of seed and fertilizer I will will need to use once it is warm sufficient in late February or early March. I know that tumble is the very best time to sow grass, but because the very first attempt didn’t operate as properly as I required, I will need to test this spring to stop erosion in that new lawn.

I guess you can however yard in January but it will be extra of a recliner style of gardening. Delight in sitting down in the heat indoors, sipping sizzling cocoa and make your designs for the coming spring. We will be obtaining chaotic shortly plenty of so just acquire this time to unwind.

For questions or to recommend a subject for this column, electronic mail inyard2019@gmail.com.

Master Gardeners: Flowers for a winter garden | Home and Garden

Master Gardeners: Flowers for a winter garden | Home and Garden

What flowers in the dead of winter in Napa County? With few pollinators active then, it’s not a great time to have flowers that need pollination. Also, the weather is dicey. It could be cold or icy or raining and blowing. But surprisingly, many plants do bloom between late fall and very early spring. So with a little planning. you can have flowers in your winter garden and fresh-cut flowers to bring indoors.

Camellias, cyclamen, primroses and pansies are all blooming in nurseries now. But don’t be fooled. Some of these plants have been forced into bloom using light or greenhouse conditions. They may not repeat that winter performance once naturalized in your garden.

The camellia shrub’s glossy evergreen leaves provide a wonderful contrast to its flowers, which bloom in various shades of pink, red and white. The flowers come in many color patterns and bloom times and the shrubs take a variety of shapes. According to the American Camellia Society, there are more than 4,000 cultivars. You can search the society’s website for a camellia that suits you, basing your search on up to 14 plant characteristics.

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To find other hardy winter-blooming shrubs with low water needs, I turned to the UC Davis Arboretum All Star listing and the Sacramento Master Gardener’s website. The Arboretum All Star plants have been grown and evaluated at the UC Davis Arboretum and are designated as All Stars based on their ease of care and low water needs. Many are California natives but others are from locations around the world that have similar climates and seasonal drought.

Plants from areas that have a Mediterranean-type climate like ours, such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, often do well here. When choosing plants from these lists, pay attention to the specific cultivar or variety. The variety may have been developed for specific conditions, such as low water availability, low light or heavy soil. Or it may have other characteristics that distinguish it from the norm, such as smaller size or early bloom time.

Among the California native shrubs that bloom in winter, consider manzanita. It produces its small pink urn-shaped flowers in late winter through early spring. Bees love them. Mahonia is another possibility. It offers large sprays of small aromatic yellow flowers from fall through early winter. Witch hazel blooms from October through March and can tolerate temperatures in the single digits.

For low-growing plants in shade, consider hellebore, also known as Lenten rose, or Algerian iris (Iris ungulicuarus). Both bloom from late fall through early spring. Algerian iris make wonderful cut flowers for bringing indoors.

For bedding plants, you could choose primroses, which bloom in many colors. Make sure they are English primroses if you want winter bloom.

Cyclamen is another great bedding plant that flowers in many shades of pink, red and white. The plant themselves come in various sizes with leaves that may be variegated, rufflee or plain. If you’re looking for annuals, viola and pansies bloom all winter in a variety of colors.

Last but not least, there are many bulbs, corms and rhizomes that will bloom from winter through spring and into summer. Many of these can naturalize, given some summer shade under deciduous trees or shrubs. They provide a surprise in the garden each winter and spring when they reappear after being dormant all summer. Bright blue-purple crocus, white narcissus and yellow daffodils can create swaths of color over long periods if you plan well.

Winter does not have to be a dull, dreary, colorless time in the garden. Many easy-care plants can bring you flowers even in the dead of winter.

Library Talk: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a free talk via Zoom on Thursday, January 6, from 7 pm to 8 pm, on “Introduction to Espalier.” The espalier technique is a great way to grow fruit in limited space and makes care and harvesting easier. Learn how to plan, plant and maintain an espaliered fruit tree in your landscape. Register at http://ucanr.edu/2022JanEspalier.

Got Garden Questions? Contact our Help Desk. The team is working remotely so please submit your questions through our diagnosis form, sending any photos to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a detailed message at 707- 253-4143. A Master Gardener will get back to you by phone or email. For more information visit http://napamg.ucanr.edu or find us on Facebook or Instagram, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.



Listen to the Sounds of Christmas Brass players perform “The Marie-Golde” by Anthony Holborne.