Backyard Self-Reliance: Luffa

Prepping doesn’t refer to any one specific act. Some buy and stockpile. Some elect to grow things. Creating a crop, whether for cash or use, builds pride in independence and skill. Even those with limited space can produce a worthwhile harvest.

A loofah gourd, for example, is easily grown and harvested, even in a relatively
small area. All of us are used to thinking of a loofah as a vanity product. In reality, however, it has an array of useso, not limited to skin buffing.

The texture of a loofah isn’t merely useful for exfoliating dry skin. It can be used on virtually anything you would normally scour with a brush, even for scraping boots. Add it to facial scrubs, or hand soaps. Make the chopped up vines into serviceable insect hotels to reduce pests. It’s also,compostable, so at the end of its life it can go back and enrich the soil it came from.

Key Takeaways:

For those with the limited space of a terrace, or balcony, a luffa crop is a viable option.
Although a staple of the beauty industry, luffas are good for much more than exfoliating dead and dry skin.
Luffas make primo scrubbers, boot scrapers and soap and facial scrub additives.

“Once we’re done with them, they’re compostable, creating not only a steady stream of household and homestead scrubbies, but also a zero-waste product.”