Best time to plant luffa in Melbourne
Luffa species
Also called loofah, loofa, Chinese okra
Sow luffa in Melbourne in Oct to Dec.
Eaten young as a vegetable, luffa is the fruit of a vine in the pumpkin and gourd family. Once fully ripe it turns too fibrous for the table, but the mature fruit can be processed down to its fibre network and used as a sponge for the bath or kitchen.
When to sow in Melbourne
Melbourne, VIC is in the cool zone. Its months for luffa apply here without a frost adjustment.
Not yet checked against a local guide.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Melbourne
Frost usually arrives in Melbourne around mid June and finishes by late August. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as late May or as late as late September, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From the average of its 2 Bureau of Meteorology stations, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: needs a lot of room
A big climber that needs a strong frame. Check where its shade will fall.
Growing details
- How to start
- Raise seedlings, then transplant
- Sowing depth
- 15mm
- Plant spacing
- 50cm
- Row spacing
- 25cm
- Height
- 900cm
- Germination
- 14-21 days at 25-30°C
- Frost
- Frost tender
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.