Okra question

I'm a complete beginner with okra. First time this year growing it in my unheated greenhouse ( zone 8 b ish). I started the plants from seed back in April and grew them on the windowsill indoors. They struggled in the poor light and relatively low temps. Planted them in the greenhouse early May, and they're hanging in there, growing slowly. Main concern is that the larger ones ( which only have about 4-5 true leaves) have started to produce reproductive structures ( flowers which didn't open and are developing small vestigial fruit) at their terminal buds, of course at the expense of more leaves. My instinct is to pinch these out to try and maintain vegetative growth until the plants get much bigger. Would really appreciate any advice. I know that okra is quite difficult to grow in the cooler temps we get here but I love to eat it and wanted to avoid Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae which I've always grown in the greenhouse in summer.

Do you ever get hot weather.? The okra is a hot weather plant. By hot , I mean 95 to l00 degrees. Only then can you grow it.

here is mine at the 79 to mid 80's not quite that high but i thing he id still in the snow thing he needs a heat lamp for the soil and plant growth thing most of what i have wih be 4inches in 3 weeks with temps in the 70's to 80's ranges and grow well in that range.


Sarge


here's a Photo

I don't claim to grow the crop sizes that the other gentlemen here do, but we do grow okra here in Maine. There are local truck farmers who do quite well.
The key is to start the plants inside, or have a really early spring, which we did here.
I don't get a huge mess, but the plants do produce if you plant a variety with shorter days to maturity. Sorta like tomatoes. The shorter the days to a ripe vegetable, the more yield you have.
Can't comment on your climate, but pinching the failed buds off can't hurt. The plants will keep flowering. They are a beautiful plant.
They like full sun, so the sooner you plant out , the better.

What variety did you plant? Some are shorter and therefore start setting fruit sooner. Personally, I wouldn't pinch them. I'd just let them do their thing. Here's one of my Emerald Velvet Green yesterday.

Thanks for all those thoughts all. The variety I'm trying to grow is Clemsons Spineless. I grew about 8 plants from seed and planted them into beds in the greenhouse. Outdoor temps recently have been between 60 and 75
( though of course higher in the greenhouse in daytime) but probabaly dropping to 50 at night. I looked at them today and my gut instinct was to remove those little fruit look things because I felt the plants would only be wasting time and energy on them. I did leave them on a couple of the plants though, just to compare.
I'll let you know how things develop

You got any photos ?

Yeah. I'll get some tomorow

ok

Ok. Three pictures. This is a plant with little fruit like things developing

This is one where I've pinched them off

This one that is still maintaining normal vegetative growth. though it has to be said, very very slowly.
Appreciate any thoughts. My only knowledge of Okra is from the Indian restaurant around the corner

i would say some food and water and heat are needed a simple 100 watt light bulb would due for heat depending on size of the crop of okra

I don't have an elecricity supply to my greenhouse so gonna have to rely on the sun. If I need to start burning oil at night I might as well just go and buy some proper okra.... but I will bump up the feeding and watering. Thanks

bump up the feeding and watering for sure it looks as if the soil is a bit dry and is forcing the plant to go in to pre mature fruiting.

Yeah. You may be right.
Weird thing is there have been no flowers so these 'fruits' are unfertilised ovaries of underdeveloped flowers I guess.
Can't really figure it out, but it seems to spell the termination of normal growth. Agree though for sure that it must be some kind of stress..... drought/cold combo perhaps.
The soil surface you see by the way is an organic mulch. Soil beneath is more mineral, but I could water more so I will.

good lock i will be watind to see the results of the water and feterlizer has on the plants it should give them a boost . Good luck Brother/ Sister

Sarge

Wo! I'm in awe. Thanks, I will keep you posted.
John

I wouldn't give up, Mr. C. Okra can be a pretty heavy feeder, I'd suggest foliar feeding as soon as you can (fish emulsion and kelp immediately comes to mind).

Also, your greenhouse air temps might be warm but what about your soil temperature, especially since you say you have mulch around the base of the plants. That mulch is keeping the sun from heating up the soil and the root system of the okra, not good. I'd pull away the mulch and even go so far as to lay clear plastic around the base of the plant to help increase the daily soil temperature as well as help hold in that warmth at night.

And yes, pick off the vestigial fruit to help keep energy in top and root growth for now. You've still got quite a bit of season yet to go in your Country, use it to the max.

Hope this helps. Keep in touch!
Shoe

Horseshoe,

Mr_Canthus,is in the Billingshurst, United Kingdom it is still cold and the green house has no heat . lil odd for us but trying to keep it simpler for over there . even for me adding more electric is hard on me .

Thanks for all this advice. Makes sense and I'll do my best. Makes me even more determined to get some kind of worthwhile crop

Keep your head up start some more seeds and be ready for the brake in weather.

Yeah I'm going to do that. Start some more seeds. They'll get of to a better start this time in the June temperatures. How many days do they take to crop in ideal conditions. Have I got time this season? Anyway,I'll try and plant them between the other ones

now that the temps have risen they should do well if you will "D-mail" me i will send you some red okra that i grow that does very well no charge just send me the address just how i need to put it on the box and ill make sure you get it . ( i have a few kinds of okra)

Sarge

Sarge, "Mr_Canthus,is in the Billingshurst, United Kingdom it is still cold and the green house has no heat"

Yes, that is true (also why I mentioned above "in your Country"). However, his greenhouse will be much hotter than the 60-70º he mentioned, that's a given. Soil temperature is coming into play here.

By the way, what do you mean by "trying to keep it simpler"? What is more simple than to remove the mulch?

Red Okra will not perform any better than green or white okra, by the way.

Mr. C... you may want to check with John Yeoman at the Gardening Guild site for seedstock. I sent him some several years ago and you may be able to get it pretty quickly since he is not far from you.

Shoe

Shoe,

true any color of okra is not the issue at hand his seed may be an issue however, i was not pushing you out of the conversation and did not mean to imply it that way and i am sorry to have done so . any seed sent or given to Mr.C I am sure would be excepted Iwas just offering some that a few of my friends and i had collected it has been done on here for me and here localy also. again i do applogize for cutting you off.


Sarge

Sarge, no need to apologize for anything, I didn't think you were cutting me or anyone else off. And yep, we trade a lot of seeds on this site (give me a holler if you are looking for anything in particular).

By the way, WELCOME TO DG. I see you are fairly new here. Hope to see you around the site more.

Another "by the way", what kind of red okra do you have? There is a "Hattie's Red" from Tennesee, or something like that, would that be the one?

Shoe

Well Shoe to bee right honest my great pa grew it and his before him and it was saved and handed down through the family and now to me each of us growing our own and saving the seed from the best pods and plants. so i am not sure the true type other than red they have a pretty yellow flower with a red center deep redstalk and red pods not real stringy even at 4 to 5 inches long when picked .

a crimson red is the other ,

and a jumbo red 3 inch pods and 3in round have not grew these yet
(not for trade or sale just got -em the seed are big like a marble)...lol

TY just got here by a DG members help.

Thanks for that info. Keep that strain going, please. Be careful though, okra will easily cross with other types; I'd hate for you to lose your Grandpa's special by letting the seed get changed after all those years.

I have a "white okra" that is local to our area, dates back to the late 1800's/early 1900's....hmmm, maybe we should share some seeds, eh?

Best,
Shoe

Shoe,

we might just have to do that . dont recalect seeing any White Okra i have heard of it bit never seen it