Thanks for the info!
You use the petals in salads, etc, just like any other edible flower. They supposedly taste really good though I haven't eaten one yet. By the time I get home the blooms are not what I would want to eat inthis heat - lol...
Finally! I have a veggie garden!
I agree on the heat. We are bumping three digit temps here too ~ yuk! I think all Hibiscus are edible either in teas or other means of eating. The Roselle is high in vitamin C in particular. Anyone here ever eat the Okra blooms?
The Roselle is pretty to boot! When I have some time I bookmarked the link to your journal info to read. I may have to try and grow me one of those now too.
Never eaten the Okra blooms, but I bet you probably could.
I used to eat the hibiscus flowers when I lived in south Florida - they tasted like lettuce.
oooh, thanks for the pics - such pretty flowers!!
kelly your veggies are beautiful!
I don't know that I could bring myself to pick the blooms off of the hybiscus to eat. They're too pretty to look at.
Ok, this is a milestone here....I ate THE tomato. Did y'all feel the earth move? I had one ripe tomato and today I picked it and ate it while it was still warm from the sun. It was quite a moment. It wasn't very pretty but what it lacked in looks it made up in taste.
I also picked and ate THE yellow squash. Steamed it with a few slices of onion. It wasn't much but it was yummy. I don't know what's going on with the squash. They've taken off and gotten big and are covered with blooms but hardly any fruit. Maybe a lack of pollination? Last year I had scads of bumble bees but this year, not a single one and I sure have missed them. I loved watching them pig out at the hummingbird feeders last year.
And, I picked and ate a whole bowl of okra! Unless something happens, I'm going to have lots of okra!
Yay! Congratulations! How exciting! Doesn't it all just taste SO much better than the stuff in the shops?!
I am having a terrible time! We had dreadful storms on Thursday - wind gusts in excess of 70mph. Watched the wind blow our furniture on the deck right across the deck - table, chairs, umbrella & iron stand - in about 2 seconds. Our pretty painted pots and window boxes knocked over and some sent flying. Other debris whirling around, our flower bed pretty badly beaten. No power or water for 28 hours and we had guests arriving on Friday & Saturday! Anyway, got that all cleaned up, saved most of the plants (veggies were ok, flowers not so great) eventually got the power back on and everything was fine. Went out to the Philadelphia Union soccer game today, lovely day - SO hot - but sunny, calm and got home, there's been another storm and the damage is even worse. Although my veggies are still holding up ok!
From Thursday - taken mid afternoon, furniture was at the other end of the deck:
And when we got home tonight (again, furniture had been at the other end of the deck. stupidly left umbrella up, but no rain was even forecast):
And our poor flower bed - some of these flowers are 3+ feet tall
But miraculously(!) my veggie garden - with my hand-lashed bamboo fence - is still standing!! It's a bit mis-shapen now, but hasn't fallen over.
At least we have power.....!! And I've spend a few summers in Florida and never seen anything like this from thunderstorms!
LizaMouse - only the Bumble Bee Queen winters over. If it was very wet in your area, she may have been flooded out and died. If it was very cold, she may have died of that. Without a queen to start a "nest" there will be no bumble bees :(
Although bees will drink "sugar water" it is not good for them.
Congratulations on your tomato/squash/okra. I didn't feel the earth move, but I did think I heard thunder somewhere off into the distance ^_^
LizaMouse, have you considered helping the pollinators out? Squash is one of the easiet...just rip the petals off a male, and squish it around inside a female flower....
Good heavens, gmun! Your poor flowers did take a beating. That's so disappointing when bad weather wipes them out like that. Sometimes if you can prop them up they'll eventually stand on their own again. I had a ton of ginger at my old house that I was forever having to stake or tie up after it was blown over. Good thing your veggies are all snug and secure! The bamboo "pen" is awesome! You put a lot of work into that! And yes, my own veggies were SO much better than the store bought ones. That tomato was.........wonderful. And I thought about your tomato crowing your salad when I picked it! I was also surprised how sweet the okra was.
Honeybee, our winter was very cold for this region and extremely wet so I guess she died :-( . I had 8 hummingbird feeders out last year and the bumbles went crazy for them. I'm sorry to know that the sugar water wasn't good for them but even the ones with bee guards were always covered with bees so I gave up and took the guards off. They also loved the big purple flowers on the sweet potato vines. I was looking forward to having them again this year but I've seen only a very few on the flowers.
Now catmad, all of that ripping and squishing doesn't sound very romantic! One of the veterinarians I work with is routinely called upon to help English bulldogs mate. That's not particularly romantic either with all of the snorting and slobbering. Sometimes we do turn the lights down a bit for them. I think I'll try the pollinating. Maybe I'll hum the theme to Love Story while I do it.
Going to storm here all week due to Alex. I'll be fighting the water battle all week.
Sorry, LizaMouse,
Let me try again.
LizaMouse, you might be able to encourage a romantic interlude in your squash patch, and thereby enable an increase in the children born to your squash. Choose some soothing, gentle strains of perhaps Mozart, or Bach, and play them softly in the early morning (the appropriate time for Squash Romance). Choose the partners for the dance carefully. The male flowers should be open to the idea, and will be happy to make the ultimate sacrifice for the Contiuation of the Species. They are doomed at the end of the daty, regardless, and prefer to be able leave children to carry on their lines. They can be gently divested of their glowing yellow outer garments, and remains of their finery allowed to float gently towards the girls. When they choose one, they can be allowed to swirl about the center of their chosen partner, once, twice, three times, or more. Then their dance is done, and they may be gently laid to rest, under adjacent mulch, so they can watch their babies grow...
Better?
LOL--Have I stumbled upon the Dr. Ruths of squashland?
LOL! Catmad! You made my day, squash romance! Tee hee hee.
OH! That was MUCH better!
And so I did go out there this morning to arrange the romantic interlude. My dog Abby sat nearby and politely averted her eyes. The first flower I came upon was a male. So I did gently divest him of his outer garments. The next flower was also a male. With a bee in it. So I moved on to the next, which was also a male...no bee. Next plant, first flower...male, with ants. Second flower, male...weird little bugs and a bee. See a pattern emerging? I had probably 10 to 12 flowers and they were ALL boys. So to avoid having the one flower throw himself upon the compost heap in vain, I mated him with some cucumber flowers. Indiscriminately. I'll try again tomorrow.
Why would they be all boys? My mother would say it was that hippie, communist, new age ORGANIC fertilizer that caused the problem.
Vortreker, if you haf anything to add about zee mating of zee squashes, pleess share wis us your experiences!
Hilarious!!
So, really I know nothing, but is it possible the male flowers appear first like with zucchini and you will get females later? That is what I've found out about my zucchini plant at the moment...
I have to admit that I really knew nothing about okra (don't get the tropical/ southern plants/ veggies growing up in Scotland!) but after this thread I've been looking it up and think I might try it... and hopefully I will like it because then I can add it to my future veggie growing and have some of those beautiful flowers.
Liza, hope those storms don't hit you too badly this week.
Good grieve Lisa--I never intended to present myself as a squash mating expert--
I am still working on tomato interludes--:)
*G*. Some varieties the males come first, but this year I had one where the females came first. I'd guess it is individual to each variety. Having the males first makes better sense...I couldn't bear to let my first female blossom go unloved, so I finally found a male of a different type. The squash (obviously my first) was delicious :)
I'm glad the poor boy's sacrifice was not in vain.....
LOL! You guys are a hoot!
gmun, Oh my goodness. You got some Texas weather! Send it back, I need some rain where I am!
I should probably brag about this on the fruit and nut forum as they know about all of my travails in getting some fig trees up and going....but....I have little bitty figs on one of my little bitty trees! We'll see what comes of this!
Oh, and little bitty watermelons on my great, big, honkin' watermelon vines! Wooohoo!
Terri-this is the fruit and nut forum---------LOL
No VORTREKER. Vegetables are the focus of the this particular Forum. Says so at the top *G*.
But, we are equal opportunity, I guess. In addition to Veggies, we do seem to attract Fruits and Nuts in one form or another...
Not me, of course.
quiet, all of you...
And to think that I almost deleted this thread before anyone saw it because I was afraid everyone would think I was weird.....
Terri, BIG congrats on the figs!!!! I love fresh figs right off the tree. And further congrats on the watermelons!
So maybe since my squash is just now taking off, I'll have girls to follow these boys. I'll keep checking but for today it's water, water everywhere and it's supposed to be this way through Friday at least. Terri, aren't you getting any rain from Alex? If not, I'll be glad to send some your way.
My daughter will be in tomorrow evening for further bird watching. Not sure how a waterlogged garden is going to inspire her to plant anything. I did pick enough okra today to cook tomorrow. gmun, you've got to try okra.
Just took Abby out for night time potty. It sounds like a frog opera out there.
well gosh, you can't see her. try again...
Congratulations! The best hobby and more that you could have. Fresh veggies are king! The only thing better is working in the garden its-self.
Abby looks adorable :)
Liza, what should I do with the okra - what is the best way to eat it? Any recommendations?
Baby watermelons sound so exciting! Do you have photos Terri? And yes, we got "Texas weather"! We just moved here from Florida last year - got 40+ inches of snow in 5 days in Feb, everyone says that's so unusual; now we had these storms, our neighbours say they've never seen anything like it and this weekend it's to hit 100 - again! - also told that's pretty extreme for here - guess it has been a year of extreme weather for this area!!
I have lots of cherry tomatoes turning red now, have eaten a few more and they are SO good! I also have quite a few roma tomatoes on the plants now which just keep getting bigger - I am very excited about them, romas are my favourite. I bet they will make the best pasta sauce!!
Okra can be cooked many ways, but my favorite (and I had it this was last night) is sliced lengthwise and fried cut side down in butter/OO. I let them go until they're browned and crispy an that side, add a little sprinkle of salt, and that's it. By the time the cut side is browned, they're cooked thru.
Now that sounds excellent and worth a try.
I liked stewed tomatoes with okra.
And okra pickles.
And, and, and....
I like okra just about any way but my favorite is bhindi masala (spicy okra). I love to cook Indian foods. It's very simple and you can scale back the spices if you want to. For me, nothing is too hot or too spicy. But here's the basic recipe I use. You have to stir this almost constantly to avoid sticking. If it starts to get too dry or sticky, add water or oil in small amounts until you get it like you want it.
1/4 cup oil
1 large onion, chopped
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh green chilies, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
3 lb okra
Slice the okra into rounds. Heat the oil in large pot. I use a cast iron dutch oven because it heats evenly. Add onion, garlic & chilies. Fry over medium heat 'till browned. Stir in turmeric & cumin & fry for 2 minutes. Mix in okra. Keep frying and stirring until okra is somewhat browned...or to your taste. I like it pretty well browned for this recipe.
Daughter is still sleeping so I slogged through the squash row this morning hoping to spread a little romance. There are tons of flowers. And yep, every single one of them is male. What is going on???
OOOhhhhh, if the okra is young and tender.... Just steam it until tender and drizzle melted butter with lemon juice over top of them.... Quick, simple and oh so good!
Mmmmm all sound great, thanks! Will def keep a look out for okra the next time I'm in the supermarket. Thinking of Liza's recipe - can you add okra to stir fries then? Sounds like that would be a pretty similar way to cook it... would it mix well with other stir fried veggies? (Sorry if that's a dumb Q.) Will definitely try it on its own though to get a proper taste. Thanks!
Liza, my zucchini is still only producing male flowers, I know (now) it depends on types, but I'm eagerly waiting on the first female too!! Had a full home grown salad today though, was delicious!
LizaMouse, love that dog!
And, yes we are getting rain! Woohoo! Sorry for the delay in response. We were delivering pumps this past weekend....and then I took a break and napped for one sollid day! Joy!
I did take some photos over the weekend and I really need to get those up and posted! Then I need to stop being lazy and bake zuc bread and more! Oh well, at least I have lazy company at my house!
Terri, they're really sacked out. It's hard to be productive with them lazing around like that. Makes you want to join them. And I napped for one solid day too! Yesterday, as a matter of fact.
gmun, did you try okra yet? I don't know about it in a stir fry. It "slimes". I know that sounds gross.
Well, sad to report that I have officially lost the battle with the water. Most everything, with the exception of the okra which is obviously indestructible, has drowned and died. I have two squash plants left. Even after five dry days, there is still water standing in one end. I now have crawfish AND tadpoles living in there. It's a bit yucky.
Sooooooooo, I'm going to keep picking okra and watching these two squash plants. And start shopping for the best price on garden soil to start raising the whole thing up. Real top soil that is, not black sand that so many of the places here sell as top soil. I may divide it into 3' x 21' sections and frame them with landscape timbers. Then start filling.
And next month I'm going to put some tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets. I am NOT giving up. Not, not, not!
Geez, it's hot out there people! Went nursery hopping to make myself feel better and bought a sea grape which I've wanted for forever. Came home to find hot cats melted all over the front porch. I warned 'em but they were determined to go out there. Miss Abby doesn't do hot. She appreciates the finer things in life like air conditioning.
Oh no Liza!! That's awful! What a shame. After all your hard work.... I really feel for you. At least you still have your okra (which I have not tried yet!) and hopefully the squash will do ok! My tomatoes are doing great in containers though so that sounds like a good plan - at least you have a bit of control over them that way!
It's HOT up here too, can't imagine how you must be feeling with the added humidity there!
Fresh lettuce with fresh garlic chives & salad onions for dinner tonight here - delicious! I'm amazed my lettuce seems to be doing really well, it's in a shady corner part of the (south-facing) deck that "only" gets the sun about 5 hours a day, but it's been over 100 here a few days and 85+ for a good couple of weeks with night time lows in the high 70s and it seems to be flourishing!! So I think I've just been really lucky there, but not complaining, I'll just keep eating it!!
Thanks for the sympathy gmun. I'm trying hard to remind myself that I said from the beginning that this year was an experiment. And to not be too sad about it. I knew I would be fighting water but before I invested in a lot of soil being brought in, I wanted to try it at ground level and see how it would do. Now I know. We get so much rain at one time and the ground gets saturated. Right now I could turn it into a great bog garden. Even though I have to slog through the muck to get at it, the okra is still going strong. So that's something!
Keep me posted on your own garden! I'm going to put some tomatoes in containers and maybe some herbs. If I can get at least one section raised, I can still plant things. The growing season down here is so long.
Your fresh salad sounds so good! What kind of lettuce did you plant?
okra thrives on hot humid, okra is loved raw as long as it isnt any longer than your pinkie finger, an doesnt slime, tastes more like a raw green bean, chuckl, at least my okra wasnt totally destroyed by hungry crawdads, Okla name for mud bugs, always gets me ready to get the gumbo started. Squash doesnt like water, would rot if it did survive this wet summer, its cool enuff u might replant the squash...lettuce will keep going in the heat, (cept for Iceburg) as long as you are keeping it trimmed and it doesnt bolt( go to flowering/seed. Ever tried frying a vine okra? good stuff, different tho. Bon Appetite
What is a vine okra?
I've reported on another thread and will report here that we've harvested our first watermelon over the weekend. It was delish and as good as touted by Texas A&M. A hybrid called Diablo. The vines are taking over, though. Next year I will definitely grow this one again, but give it way more room. The directions on the seed packet said to give it ten to fifteen feet. It needs more.
Vine okra, a memory, had some in the 80's when i lived in Wichita Falls, Tx, it covered my chain link fence, was also an ornamental, had to catch them young! or they could turn into a cousin of a loofa gourd, chuckl, I know there are a couple var aroun now, will try to look them up for you.