and today you can find a fresh batch of them ready for harvest at deanne coon's unique farm in nipomo. >> right now currently we have the 2 greenhouses going. and they're like raising little children, so you never know what you're going to get. one greenhouse may average anywhere from 4,000 to 7,000. the other one 3,000 to 5,000. there's no rhyme or reason. they're like raising kids. they can be 2 inches, 6 inches, 24 inches. you never know what the luffa's gonna actually end up being at the pickable stage. >> the luffa sponge is actually a member of the gourd family and kind of looks like a small zucchini before it's harvested. deanne says they tend to like the nice warm greenhouses she has and the nice warm growing season she has along the central coast. but even that doesn't guarantee a good harvest because, as she calls them, they are plants with an attitude. >> if it likes you, it'll grow very, very well. we've discovered that you can give a handful of people in the room a full handful of seeds. out of 5 or 10 of them, only a few of them will actually get a vineage. out of that v