Just like me. My angled luffas have gotten all spotty!
On top:
And on the underside too:
Anyone wants to dx? Dx means diagnose. I learned this from my Pediatrician. Rx means prescription. Trx means transaction (this I learned from Mummy).
Our luffas have been very active in the rain. There are about half a dozen on the vines. Here are a couple:
Do you remember my luffalife has been full of ups and downs? Well, we were saved by Grandpa’s wonderful Malaysian luffa seeds which have been setting fruit generously!
Here is the luffa that grew on our neighbour’s side of the fence, so it’s hers. She harvested it this morning (together with TWO cucumbers on her side of the fence). We put it next to the luffa that is still growing on our side of the fence. Mummy is holding it.
And here is the luffa that is still growing on our side of the fence (left), and the new luffa that Mummy just pollinated (right). It is waving proudly!
You know how you have to match the picture to the word in Chinese tests? OK. I am going to test you. Write the correct number next to each photo. When you are done, write the description IN CHINESE next to each photo. Hahahahaha!!!
(1) Big one on neighbour’s side. (2) Very hopeful. (3) Goners. (4) Hopeful. (5) Flower.
The seeds Grandpa brought back from Malaysia are finally setting fruit. I think some may not make it, like those on the right and below.
But I think the one below will make it. Unfortunately it is on our neighbour’s side of the fence, so it belongs to her. We have a rule that she gets to keep whatever is on her side because we use her airspace. I wanted to change the rule to 50:50, but Daddy said no.
That’s our luffas. Boys everywhere and Not a Single Girl. PS Just to let Novice and Curious Gardeners know that this is an angled luffa, and yes, it only opens in the evenings which makes pollination easier (Mummy can’t wake in the mornings you see), but anyway it is useless because we have No Girls.
I just blogged about my new luffa flowers a few hours ago, then I went to the airport to send my Pediatrician off to Malaysia (Home of the Truthful Plants). Maybe she will buy me more seeds?
By the time I came home, guess what. The luffa flower opened!
At Sunday School we sing a song “Climb, Climb Up Sunshine Mountain”. Mummy tells me that my eldest grandaunt used to sing it with me when I was a baby. She has gone to heaven now.
Novice Gardener let her nephew climb up a ladder to pluck papayas. We have a ladder but no papayas (Mummy dislikes growing them and considers them a big tomato). So today I did some climbing too.
First I climbed on our study table to take birds-eye photos of the okra printing that Mummy and I did this afternoon. We used 2 cross-sections of the Star of David okra. I stamped the small cross-section and Mummy stamped the big. You can see the chopped up okra at the bottom of the picture:
Secondly, I climbed up a stool to take photos of the luffas. Finally we have clusters of boy flowers and one girl. Mummy is nervous because we are not successful luffa growers, but I think these Malaysian luffa seeds from Grandpa should learn from the Malaysian eggplants. They are right next to each other in our garden.
Here is a double cluster – the right cluster even has a petalled flower already!
And finally, the one girl:
I did more climbing but will write about it in the next post, OK?
Just because Novice Gardener had her leaf miners, our luffa plant decided to keep up and have some too. Our luffas never had leaf miners before, only our long beans. But just look at the copy cataluffa:
As you know, we have tried and tried to get our luffas going. They grow like a small jungle but refuse to produce flowers or fruit. Anyway the last big jungle was chopped down by SM (Scissorhands Mummy).
Grandpa kindly bought us more luffa seeds from Malaysia. They were called Ketola or Sponge Gourd. We popped them into our seed tray and whoosh! Up they came in a day. This is how they look, 4 days old:
Growing Like a Weed 