Okra

Ozark,
Use some good spicy Polish sausage, too! And, please send me a dmail notice after you've tried the gumbo. You can order boxes of Zatarain's Gumbo Mix online.

I used to swear by a homemade, smoke-up-my-kitchen, spash-grease-all-over-my-stove, big-black-cast iron skillet-roux -- until a group of 12 old-school Southern cooks sat around my mother's table one year "oooooohing" and "aaaaaaaaaahing" about her wonderful smooth, beautiful dark brown gumbo roux --

that came right outta that Zatarain's box!

And, I've never looked back...

Linda ^^_^^

FYI...you can also rinse your okra fresh off the plant and toss in a freezer bag and freeze it to use later. No canning needed! You can slice it as well and freeze it.

Yummy...I could live a whole week off that okra/gumbo recipe, GG/Linda! Course now, I might have to come back for seconds, and thirds. Sounds delish to me.

Shoe---OkraHead.

morning,
I have an okra plant that is at least 7 feet tall, and so after the freeze, should I cut it down, or let it stand and see what happens? I just know that there are some experienced vegetable growers out there that can answer my question. Thanks, Peter

Peterb713 - Okra is a heat-loving annual, so your plant will die when it freezes. Pull it out, till the ground, and get ready to fertilize and plant from seed after the ground warms in the spring.

Yeah, it'll die in the freezing weather. You can go ahead and harvest the young tender pods or leave them on the plant and let them dry. You can harvest them for seeds.

After reading this thread, I decided I want to grow okra, too! I purchased a package of seeds from WMart called "Emerald".

So far I've learned: it likes really warm soil (65F), really hot weather, grows about 6 foot tall, should have it's lower leaves removed as it grows, and doesn't transplant well.

Okay gals/guys - what else do I need to know?

Thanks in advance.

HBee

It thrives in the heat and continues to produce in the dead of summer. It will get about 6' tallor taller. Allow at least a foot or more between your final plant out. The leaves branch out about 18" or so from the stalk. I'd only remove the very bottom leaves and not worry about trimming the bottom leaves all the time. The aphids LOVE okra, so be on the lookout for them. We have these clicky bugs here (I think they are called click bugs, really) and they live on the plants, but don't do any damage to it, so I leave them alone. The okra grows off the top of the plant as it grows. It will grow in a cluster of 4 or 5 pods at a time. You can freeze the pods as you pick them until you get enough to serve.

What else do you want to know?

stephanietx - thank you.

How about a fertilizing regime? Do they need staking? Do they like lots of water, or will they tolorate dry conditions? (It almost never rains here in the summer!)

You CAN successfully transplant okra. Horseshoe and I (and others, I'm sure) have done it many times.

I'm soaking okra and eggplant seeds tonight in Hydrogen PeroxIde and will sow tomorrow. Transplant to the garden around April 15th or so.

Linda

They don't require any special fertilizing, just your regular program. They don't need staking unless you get a lot of wind. They don't require a lot of water.

stephanietx - thank you for the info. Sounds like okra is very easy to grow. The flowers are pretty, too.

Okra belong to the hibiscus family...

"You CAN successfully transplant okra. Horseshoe and I (and others, I'm sure) have done it many times."
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I do it every year when okra plants are about 2" tall. In the rows some always come up too crowded, and I move some around to fill gaps and to space all the plants about a foot apart. No problem.

I've never tried transplanting bigger okra plants - that might not work so well.

There is an adjustment period when you transplant okra, but it will work.

Okra leaves are edible. I cook them in soups and bean soups. mmmm delish...
Zanna

Really?? I didn't know that. Not that I'll try it or anything. LOL

I nhad not heard of okra leaves being edible? Belle

Ok. My okra seeds are soaking in some hydrogen peroxide water.

Zanna,
I need those soup recipes using okra leaves!

I never knew okra leaves are edible, but I should have suspected. Japanese beetles certainly think they are!

I live double-duty plants when you can eat the leaves too - I bet you can eat the flowers, just like hibiscus. When we lived in South Florida, I used to add hibiscus flowers to a salad - they taste like lettuce.

Here's my Emerald Okra in early August last year

That's as tall as they got, but the okra kept growing off of side shoots and up the top of the plant.

I'm wondering how many plants I'll need. Enough for one person, and to freeze for winter eating, too.

We ended up with about 6 plants last year. We are still eating off the frozen stuff in the freezer! LOL However, we don't eat okra frequently. I would think with 4 plants, you would be okay.

Hey, Steph!
I put Cowhorn, Red Burgundy & Emerald okra, and Black Beauty and Florida High Bush eggplant seeds to soak in some peroxide last night. Will sow the seeds today.

Glad to know I only need to keep 4 okra plants! I started ~35 okra seeds and ~20 eggplant seeds. The overage is giveaways...

Thanks, Stephanie, all your info has been most helpful.

I'm trying a bunch of Okra varieties this year. We'll probably still get a freeze or two, so it'll be May before I can plant Okra.

I'm planning on short rows of five varieties - Hill Country Red, Perkin's Long Pod, Stewart's Zeebest, Cowhorn, and Betty's White. The "Betty's White" name makes me think of Betty White, of course. Thanks again for those seeds, Shoe.

I've been told that I'll have to top the Cowhorn plants when they're 6 feet tall, or I'll have to pick it with a stepladder. Is that right?

I love the Japanese varieties. They're small and very tender. I started 6 of the Japanese and another 6 Israeli's. The Israeli's love lots of heat so they'll probably do good for you guys down south. I can never ever have too much okra. I love it stewed with lamb and spices over rice or couscous.

Steph,
I had never had a good crop of okra. Your emerald is very robust where did you get the seeds? I love okra!!! roasted!! Boiled !! Yum!! Belle

If I remember correctly, I ordered them from Bunton Seed. However, I have tons of seeds from last year if you want some, just DMail me with your address.

Yes that would be great!!! Will mail your postage. thanks. Belle

Got my okra seed in the ground last week. It should be up in a couple more days. Our weather has been unseasonably warm for this time of year. Been in the eightys for the last two weeks.

I had been to a farm to pick some okras and noticed that they are not tall at all like mine and has several branches with tons of fruits. Do they prune them before they flower? I just love okra and my favorite is grilling them and dip it with balsamic ginger dressing with olive oil and brown sugar.

Steph,

Your pictures are awesome and must harvest 100's of them !!!! Belle

I soaked my okra seeds in H2O2 water for 2 days, and they sprouted little white nibs.

My question is this: which way do I plant them? Nib UP, or nib DOWN? Is the white nib the root or the stem?

Thx!

Linda

"My question is this: which way do I plant them? Nib UP, or nib DOWN? Is the white nib the root or the stem?"
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I don't know, but I don't think it matters. With onion sets and such, it's important to plant them right side up - but seeds are normally just in a random position in the ground. They'll figure it out.

I've never soaked okra seeds before, but I've decided to this year. Without soaking I often get spotty germination, and okra is always slow to sprout. Why is H2O2 better than plain water, and how much of it do you mix with water? I didn't know about using H2O2, which is hydrogen peroxide - right?

Generally, the nib is the start of the sprout, so I'd plant it nib up if possible.

I plant it which ever way it lands when I drop the seed.

I often soak my okra seed in Clorox. You just have to keep a check on it and not let it get to soft. Usually 30 to 45 minutes is long enough. When I use water I like to soak it at least over night. If you want the seed to be sprouting when you plant then it takes about 48 hours in water.

Thanks guys!

Ozark,
I use 6 oz. Yogurt cups filled with tepid water and 1 capful of H2O2 per cup. They sprouted overnight.

Howdy, all...

I just use tepid water, overnight, and they sprout by the next day if the seeds are fairly fresh, by the second day if a bit older. Oftentimes they don't need any help with additives and such when soaking, it's when they are sown directly in the ground they seem to take forever, no doubt due to soil temperature and lack of moisture. I'd save the H. peroxide for older seeds or those much more stubborn than okra.

Linda, the white "nubs", called radicles, will be the root end. However it won't matter which way you put them in the ground/pots, they'll easily right themselves up very fast. They're smarter than we are! *grin

Shoe.