Farming: Luffa Squash and It Benefits

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Crisis will never wait for preparation, it happens no matter that you are ready or not. The global economic crisis is started to affect in Indonesia, especially in Aceh for the recent year. Only a few people know where the money goes. Base on what I have seen lately, the people are complaining about the price of basic needs and the market are getting less of costumers day by day. People don’t have things to bargain and the trading rate is decreasing in both modern and traditional markets. Luckily, for most people in Aceh, they still have things to sell or at least to eat.

As I aware of this crisis, I have tried to do my best as I the farmer. The best choice right now is growing things and let myself free from relaying basic need from others. At least, by doing it I get sufficient food supply. That is the first priority at the moment, of course it will be good when I can trade my things with others to get something I need such as milk for my kiddoes. We are not a rich family, living in the remote village, and we accept it as the fact besides trying our best to do what need to be done. But, I do realize that we are luckier than our friend in Venezuela or in some other part of the world. No big deal when milk is not affordable, we still have rice and veggies to eat.

Talking about veggies, recently I am growing papaya, cayenne pepper and luffa squash/sponge and in this article I will share you my method of planting it step by step. From preparation the land until it produce as I have recorded in the photograph. Cleaning the land is always a big part of the work, especially for the first time after years, weeds, poles, and bushes are creeping everywhere. But, land clearing is something needed to be done at very first step. Thank God, I have cleaned the land for planting papayas.

The benefit of Luffa Sponge Squash

Luffa squash is kind of veggies that has delicious taste, I love to make soup or saute it with garlic and onion or even cook it in coconut milk is one of my favorite. It calls sponge, because it has the fiber inside it, where the seeds attached, but it needs to be ripe enough. The sponge can be used to clean the kitchen set or cutlery, and sometimes that is used to brush the cloth as well or in the bathroom.

This kind of luffa squash/sponge also have many special efficacies to cure some of well-known illness that I had experienced once long ago. I was gotten by typhus and the elder suggesting me to eat this kind of seed. But, the taste of it was extremely bitter. The taste remain in my throat in 3 days, any time I belched the taste came out as it was the first time I chewed it. But, it gave me a significant result. Beside of typhus these seeds are able to cure the diabetes mellitus and reduce bad cholesterol in my blood

Preparing the rack

The luffa squashes need something to climb up and to creep on the pole, because squash cannot be on the ground to avoid the insect and bacteria. The rack itself made from the wood and tie by plastic rope/ribbon. The rack is prepared for the squash when it climbs up while it tendrils grows. My rack that I made is 4 x 5 meters to accommodate 20 holes of luffa squashes/sponges.

Preparing the hole

It shows how well the soil need to be plowed, before planting the seeds. this two luffa sprouts had been 6 days.

Cultivating the soil and making the holes were the first thing I did. The holes must be made in accordance with the rack to ensure the pole for the squashes when it grows. The holes were filled by compos (organic fertilizer) and left it for a week before putting the seeds. Soil for planting the seed needs to be well plowed to accelerate the growth of the seeds. I did not buy the seed, but preserved it from the last season as I can show you in the picture below:

The ripe luffa can be preserved for years as long as it does not get wet. Behind the brown skin is the sponge that can used for cleaning the cutlery and clothes

Planting

The seed of this luffa squash/sponge has similar shape and size to the pumpkin but it has black. I took 2 seeds and put it on the plowed hole, but it does not need to be covered by the soil. Within 3-4 days the sprout would come out from the seeds. I only need to ensure the water, and I watered it once a day when there is no rain at all. It is necessary to keep the soil wet for better growing rate and for the shoots to break up the hard shell.

Putting the pole

It is importance to ensure the small shoot to be able to climb up onto the rack by giving the stick, but I use rope to connect between the rack and the sprouts. It only needs to tie a single rope from the rack to the marking stick and the shoots will climb up through the rope up to the rack.

Okay, that is my method to grow this kind of squash/sponge. One thing you need to remember is to take care the plants when it grows, at least I weed the wild unwanted weeds to make sure there is no place for insect to hide. Taking care of the plants when it grows will give me better result, and I will be able to recognize the attack of the bugs. The infected one needs to be removed immediately to avoid it from spreading to other healthy one.

Those are not healthy luffa and need to be taken off from the trees and thrown away.

Thank you for reading my blog

With my best regard

@el-nailul

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst

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