Growing petola

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My husband and I are growing petola in our garden. This plant is an enthusiastic creeper, and has taken over the trellis my husband made.

Why petola?

Also known as sponge gourd or luffa, this fantastic local vegetable has wonderful healing properties . It’s a great source of calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B. You can even use the juice from its leaves to soothe bites and stings.

The dried fruit is actually used in spas and homes for its exfoliating effect.

What does it look like?

This is the petola in our garden – still so tiny! When fully-grown, it looks almost like a skinny, ridged zucchini. I’m still waiting for my petola mature, so for lovely pictures of harvested petola, hop over to this website .

How long does it take to grow?

Not long! Depending on the fertility of your soil, it can take just two months for your petola plant to flower and fruit. I’ve added coffee grinds and fish enzyme to help my plant thrive.

How do you use it?

My mother-in-law cooks petola in a curry dish. Other ways to cook it include stir-frying it with ginger, garlic and onion. Others prefer cooking it with anchovies, as a soup. I haven’t tried it yet, but if you like green smoothies, you can pop petola in the blender and add some mint.

Experiment and find a dish which you enjoy best.

How do I make a trellis?

It’s really simple. The version my husband made is basically a modified X shape, with the base wide and the apex narrow. Dig the two ends of the base into the soil, deep enough for it to be stable. Use raffia to secure the top and ends.

The one downside of this design is that during heavy rain, the trellis tends to fall over. We plan to reinforce the base using bricks.

Do you have any trellis ideas? Feel free to share them with me on FB or comment on my post.

References
Food Recap: Patola Benefits

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