The First Luffas of Summer

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After anxiously waiting and watching all summer, we spotted the first luffa fruits on our plants! Luffa, or ridge gourd, is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family along with crops like cucumbers and squashes. When harvested young, it has a mild sweetness with a spongy texture. If it’s allowed to fully mature and dry out on the vine, it becomes fibrous and yields a natural scrubbing sponge (you can see what it looks like in this post). We plan on harvesting our luffas young so that you can experiment with them in your kitchen. If you look at the photo above, you can see what one of the female luffa blossoms looks like before it has opened and been pollinated. Below you can see what a young luffa looks like just before it reaches harvesting size.

We planted a little taste of fall for you last week: winter squashes! We have both butternuts and Autumn Frost squashes growing in the field. We’re particularly excited for the Autumn Frost variety as it is one that we haven’t grown on the farm before. It is a specialty butternut that is said to be as beautiful as it is delicious. It produces squashes with dusty terracotta colored skin and flesh that is sweet and earthy. We can’t wait to share them with you!

Last week we sowed seeds for banana, Scotch bonnet, and ghost peppers in the greenhouse. And, they’ve already germinated as you can see in the photo below! Since fall in our climate is typically mild, we’ll be growing this succession of peppers to supplement your autumnal meals. These peppers will be great for making a big batch of fermented hot sauce that will last you through the colder months. In the meantime, if you’d like to get your pepper fix, you can try any of the sweet or hot pepper varieties that are listed below at the farm stand.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Delicata Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Egyptian Spinach, Roselle Greens, Malabar Spinach, Sweet Peppers, Jalapenos, Habanada Peppers, Fresno Peppers, Cayenne Peppers, Bolivian Peppers, Okra, Armenian Cucumbers, Korean Melons, Cantaloupe, Long Beans, Italian Eggplant, Asian Eggplant, and Basil.