Okra up north

So why are there hungry people in this world? Ya'll need to start a co-op or a food stand on the corner, or something. ^_^

Unbelievable! In a totally wonderful way. That is a VERY, VERY good friend!

We live in the boonies. No corners here. I give a ton of stuff to the folks in my church.

Now thas' what ahm talkin' bout!^_^ keep on keepin on Jim41!

Hi all!
Question re: saving okra seeds. Do the seed pods have to stay on the plant to dry and become seeds? Reason is, I got my hands on some lovely green seed pods that are obviously FILLED with seeds. I put them to the side. Can I leave them out to dry into viable seeds?

Thanks ^_^

Linda

If the pods are mature enough, they may be ok. When the pods dry out and you shell them, you should be able to look at the seed and pretty well determine if they were fully matured. I find it usually best to let the pods dry on the stalk.

Did you get to plant the okra seed I sent you? If so, how did it do?

Jim41,
I DID get the seeds! Unfortunately I didn't get the timing right. I actually have 5 plants growing that are about 3' tall. They were just starting to make some buds when the temps dipped into the low 90s. Not sure there's enough heat left to encourage them to make some pods.

Besides that, I processed two 5 gallon buckets a friend gave me, and have another package of homegrown on the way to my house this evening! I got 9 gallon-size Ziplok bags from the 2 buckets.

Sounds like you are in business. Happy eating. No meal complete without okra.

Jim,
When do the okra shut down for real? Should I hold out hope to get at least ONE okra? The plants are standing tall and healthy as all get out! Or are they just gonna look good and pout cause of the chill in the air these days? I believe our temps are around the 90s right now. LMK.

I sure hate to rip such lovely plants...

On the other hand, my half dead Black Beauty eggplants that I brought back to life simply by WATERING them, are actually throwing out new buds faster than I can count em! Even the lone Beatrice that had all sizes of neglected and decaying eggplants still hanging from her branches (which have since been trimmed off) is looking like she just can't wait to throw out some new fruilts!

Life wants to live!

Linda

We Have Okra!
went out yesterday and took a good look, the 12 plants are giving me not only enough for a plate of fried okra, but it looks like enough for a pot of catfish gumbo and blue crab for me and the freezer!

your okra should be fine, up north it takes a lot of time and a good fall heat wave.. nights are in the 50's and 80's during the day.. they took almost 5 months... this is my second year for okra and they seem to always come just after the eggplants.. i am in a different climate but I assume they will be similar for you. Okra just shows up right when we decide they aren't going to make it on time.

-joe-

Leave that okra until the frost kills it. It is just fixing to bear. The cool won't hurt it. We've been in the 70's and mine is going crazy.

i m going ot have a hard time saying good bye to my okra , the flowers are just so pretty !

Thanks, Jim41! They're forming pods, slowly but surely!

Hang in there girl. Worth the wait for one good pot of gumbo, Louisiana Style.

I planted my okra on July 18, only have 6 plants. last week, I started picking my okra, yesterday got another 11. I had a hard time to evaluate one little okra, trying to make the harvest a dozen. Haha.

Looks great, Ivyao! I've been following this thread here and there since I decided to grow okra for the first time recently. I planted way late, Aug 16th, but decided to go for it anyway. My plants are almost 3' tall and I saw the first blooms just a few days ago and can already see some okra taking form. Won't be long, huh?

Here's a pic of my cajun delight hybrids (I planted 8.)

I sadly pulled all my plants today, the weather has been getting into the lower 40's at night and not looking to change. I got maybe a few gallons threw out the summer, but should be plenty for me to use for a while. Next year I plan on starting the plants out before hand to get a jump start on the short summers up here. It didn't even seem like we had one this year. I think it was august before we hit 90's.

My orka is starting to peter out. We've had lots of rain and cool mornings and production has obviously slowed down. On one hand I'm sad, but on the other I'm glad. There's only so much okra two people can eat! LOL

I'm with you guys. I've had it running out my ears but with the cool rainy weather it has slowed down. I will probably leave mine to the first frost, since it is not in my way.