Julia Donagrandi-Myers has always loved gardening. About seven years ago she and her husband purchased eight acres of land in Cleveland and started tending the grounds.
A friend offered her some loofah seeds and Julia soon found herself researching everything she could about the plant. Quickly she gained a true passion for the gourd which has since turned into a full-time business called Loof’n Round Gardens.
Loofah is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the gourd family, like cucumber and squash. She said most people associate loofah with the scrubs they use for bathing and exfoliating their skin. But she was thrilled to learn the plant can be used in a variety of ways – and it is also edible.
“That first year, we only had a few vines, I quickly learned that I loved the scrubs and then went down the rabbit hole of research,” she said exuberantly. “There was a lot to it that started to fascinate me. In 2023, we really expanded. So, now on average, we have between 250 and 300 vines, and all of that has just come from what we've learned. All the different things we can utilize from this plant in various ways, whether it's for skin care or your hair care, or your dietary needs.”
Last year Loof’n Round Gardens started offering tours of their vines to the public. Julia said she wanted to expand the local agritourism. First, so people can see how the plant is grown and harvested for food. Secondly, she wanted to educate the public in the many ways the whole plant could be used.
Visitors will be greeted by Julia at the loofah rows with her stations ready to peel loofah. She also sets out all the various products derived from the plant. Visitors get a chance to harvest and peel their own scrubs.
“We start off with a presentation,” she said. “I have everything out on display, all the different types of products that we make. I will talk about what it takes to grow these plants, everything that we get from them, and then folks can come up and sample all the things that we have. At that point, they have an idea of what to look for when they go into the vines. They're more than welcome to pick one that they plan to peel and purchase or pick one to peel just to have fun. There's no obligation.”
Julia said they grow several different varieties of seeds in her garden. Some make body scrubs; others produce scrubs that can be used for general house cleaning and clean cast iron skillets.
During her research Julia learned the plant is edible and is used frequently in Asian cuisines.
“When it’s younger, we are harvesting it to offer at the farmers market so people can start introducing it into their diet cooked or fresh peeled or unpeeled,” she said. “It tastes like a combination of cucumber and zucchini, but the texture is very soft. When it's fresh it's like cooked squash, it’s soft. When you cook it, it cooks down like zucchini. There are a lot of different things that you can do with it.”
Julia said she enjoys mixing them into her smoothies.
“The gourds are good for your dietary health,” she said.
She said the plant is loaded with antioxidant properties. At Loof’n Round Gardens they use the mature leaves of the vine to make loofah leaf tea, which she said is great for the immune system and a natural inflammation reducer.
Julia said she also learned loofah is used in many cultures as a skin topical and for overall health.
“Our signature seeds get pressed for their oils,” she said. “There's a lot of value in the oil and a lot of it in each of the seeds. So, we have a cold press machine. It's just a piston that pushes the seeds through and presses the oil out. We filter the oil but don't do anything else with it. The main thing that we had learned about it was that it was meant to help with skin lesions, like eczema and psoriasis, acne scarring, and sunburn damage.”
Loof’n Round Gardens sells the oil in its natural state or as a salve. She said they’ve seen promising results utilizing the oil on its own when it comes to hair health, and they are partnering with local companies.
“We're working on a few different new trials and collaborations with that too because it's meant to help with hair growth,” she said enthusiastically. “One company is in Dalton and another one is in South Carolina. They both make hair care products and so we're starting the initial stage of research.”
The versatility of the vine extends beyond helping people. Julia said various types of loofahs are found in treats and items used for birds, rabbits, gerbils, chinchillas, and goats.
Tours are offered from July through the end of the growing season, which Julia said depends on when the first frost hits. She said the plants are young in July, but they have loofah from the previous season for the peeling demonstrations.
“Everybody gets a sample bag, so they'll get a small facial scrub, a small cleaning scrub, and a tea bag sample,” she said. “They get some Husky Loofah seeds and some seed -starting pods and a few other little goodies, but those are the main products.”
The tours are Monday through Saturday. The two-hour sessions may be reserved for 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. You can find Julia and her loofah products every Sunday at Farmers on First in downtown Cleveland.
The folks at Loof’n Round Gardens are always seeking like-hearted business owners for opportunities to work together, either with their products and/or businesses. The team has applied for the TVFCU 2025 Leap Grant funding. If selected, funds will go towards an updated workshop pavilion for their loofah tours and equipment for new products.
Learn more about the workshops at loofnroundgardens.com/know-before-you-go