OKRA, Part llI

My Hill Country Red is really doing great, but it seems to be slow growing. I'm sure I'm not impatient or anything! LOL Finally saw my first bloom yesterday.

Nice, Kev and Steph.

Kev,
Am I seeing a beginning trail of leaf miners in one or two of your leaves? Last year I kept up with them, by cutting off those parts of the leaves, after the plant grew enough other leaves to not miss the sacrificed parts.

Stay after them, cause they move through fast if left unchecked!

Linda

We have pods!! Woohoo!

The Hill Country Red portion of the okra bed.

Update II: Plucked the leaves that had the LM damage... Have noticed some holes in the other leaves... Linda, what should I use?? Just real tired, long day, and just totally out of it to look around and figure it out myself... One of THEM days....

Culled the Cowhorn 22 down to 4 plants, just hate that they're 2 pairs of seeds right on top of each other. It's still an experimental planting so at end of season will cut root ball apart to see how it fills pot.

Steph, I'm guessing okra is a plant we don't snip off the suckers???... Like I said, one of them days....

I will get all pics tomorrow... okay, today...

Kev I'm not sure what Linda is using but I use Ortho Garden Disease control (for disease) and Ortho Bug B' Gone for the bugs. I've also use the insecticidal soaps for aphids and spinosad which does help LM BEFORE they get into the leaves. Sorry I jumped in an answered but she plays piano for church so not sure when she would have answered.

I pretty much don't do anything to my okra. The "suckers" usually produce pods.

Never remove "suckers" from okra as pods grow on the tips of all branches. The more branches, the more pods.

My okra is doing real well, and my idea of planting double-rows of sweet corn between widely-spaced okra rows is turning out to be a good one. The corn will be harvested in late July, so it will be out of the way just when the multi-branching wide Stewart's Zeebest okra plants need the extra room between rows - and I'll get a bonus of about 100 ears of sweet corn from the same ground!

I climbed up on the toolbox of my pickup truck to get this "aerial" view this morning.

Great job, Ozark!

I am sooo jealous, I wish I have more room!!

Belle

Bellie, I saw this variety, Lee Okra, that is compact and only grows to 3 ft.

Can I order some next year.

Thanks

Belle,

Belle, you should have okra up and growing by now from the seed I sent.
Is it looking hopeful yet? Mine has been slow growing due to all these cooler nights we're having this year. I wonder if you are going thru the same up your way.

Shoe

Shoe,
MY okra are around 4 inches. there are nights that are still chilly here.I will let you know how they do.

Belle

After the deer ate all my cajun delight I have put some burgundy in containers and have some big enough to transplant to the other garden. The motion sprinkler is doing a good job at keeping the deer out so far so i'll put in the okra when the bush beans are done (couple weeks)



-Vaughn

Our Stewart's Zeebest okra is producing heavily now, and we've been enjoying it fixed several different ways. I saved up a couple of pickings and had about 200 pods, so I made six more pints of OKRA PICKLES this evening. I really like these!

I use wide-mouth pint canning jars as they're easier to pack with okra. In the bottom of each sanitized jar I put one clove of garlic (mashed with the back of a spoon) and one Maui Purple Pepper cut down the side so the brine can get in. I grow Maui Purple Peppers in a pot, and they're small but very hot with good flavor. Other hot peppers would work just fine for this.

Cut off the okra stems as short as possible (I use scissors), lay each jar on its side and pack okra pods into it - stem-ends at the bottom of the jar. I use the largest pods for this bottom layer and if the tips of some extra-long pods have to be trimmed off to fit in the jar, that's fine. I don't like to cut too many okra pods going into these jars, as cut okra will make the brine slimy. I pack okra pods into the jars until I can't get any more to fit with the stem-end all the way to the bottom of the jar, then I set the jar upright.

Smaller okra pods are used for the top layer, and they go pointy-end down and stem-end up. Just keep poking them in until no more will fit. This evening I was getting 30-35 pods in each jar. When each jar is full screw the lid on - otherwise the pods will raise right up out of there.

The okra I had filled six pint jars, and as a rule of thumb I pack all kinds of pickles into jars as tight as I can, then make HALF as much brine as the total volume I'm canning - three pints of brine in this case. I always have some left over this way, which is better than coming up short. For these okra pickles, I made the mixture a little less than half white vinegar, a little more than half water, and dissolved a half-cup of kosher salt in it. Last year I pickled okra with a brine of 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water - and that seemed a little too mild to me.

I filled the six jars with brine, screwed the lids on finger-tight, and gave them a hot-water bath, fully immersed, in a pot on the stove - got the water in the pot up to 180 degrees with the jars in it, turned off the heat and left them in the hot water for 45 minutes at which time it was 140 degrees. Then I took the jars out of the hot water, tightened the lids, and set them on the counter to cool.

These okra pickles are GOOD. My 10 y.o. granddaughter discovered that she loves them on her last visit, and she ate nearly a whole jar. Ever since I made these last year I've had her convinced that they're "yuck" - but she finally tasted them anyway and now the cat's out of the bag. Now I'll have to make enough to share!

Okra is still my favorite veggie, I think. We've made it roasted, fried, breaded, un-breaded, in gumbo, barbecued, pickled, and every which-way. We've settled on our favorite way to fix it, though - sauteed. Here's a video I found that showed us about that, only we just add butter, salt, and pepper - no onions. Ignore the guy in the video acting stupid the first minute, he soon quits it and the okra is real, real good fixed his way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp2pHFf_OWw

I hope you do not mind me telling you of my freaky accident.


Ozark,
I am so jealous!! I had not been outside to check on my veggie garden because i was in a freaky accident last Tuesday where I was thrown form a golf cart, breaking my left ankle in 2 places.

I had surgery last Saturday and came home yesterday.

I am back home from orthopedic procedure. Everything went well, placed a 5 hole plate on the outer break while a screw on the inner portion.
I have severe pain so I take pain pills every 4-5 hours.

The best part is a block. I was told that there are 4 young anesthesiologist who does a lot of blocks which lasted ovwe 24 hours of being pain free.I was very impressed.
these new Docs treated patients in Afghanistan where a spinal takes too long.

No wonder the hospital bills are sky high due to the disposables.There are no more basins, they use disposable wipes, looks like baby wipes but bigger and thicker. The gowns are also disposable.

i now have a walker with wheels as well as a huge wheelchair. I called the company that I need a smaller and lighter one.The walker work much better. I love it because it is easier to maneuver.

I will go back the office for change of dressing as well a colorful fiberglass cast. I will get a shocking pink.LOL!!!

Few friends will be coming to visit and offered to bring food so I might not lose few pound. lOL!!!

I had not been out to visit my garden and my pond.

Have a good day!!

Belle

Oh, Belle!

Just YESTERDAY, I was watching the Open Championship, and I thought about you saying you had "mandatory" golf events at least 3x a week. I thought, "now that's a mandatory that has some real perks!"

I'm so sorry about your accident. In between pain pills, grab some paper and pencils, and map out your strategy for the next season's garden. Call on some DGers in your area if you need planting help. The DGer's I know are more than willing to offer a helping hand.

Sorry I don't live closer!

Linda

This message was edited Jul 23, 2012 10:11 AM

Linda,
What a bad timing!!! I had been looking forward to playing all summer long.
I have friends who can help me, I have also equipment , in fact I have 2 wheelchairs, DH will decide which one I can keep.

I thank you for the kind words.

Belle

I know what your talking about with orthopedics & pain, had double knee replacement surgery last November, and was on IV pain meds for 10 days in hospital. Did the 2 surgeries a week apart. Still giving me some problems & need to go back to doc but have to make another trip to FL. but this one driving...

Kevcarr,
I am sure your pain is nothing compared to mine.
why did you have the second procedure too soon? Your Orthopedist going on long vacation? Just curious.

Belle

wow...really?

Belle, im so sorry to hear about your accident, but im glad your getting better. This maybe none of my business but how did you fall out of a golf cart? Now that's something I can image my teenagers doing but....I really think we need to know. It's much more important then Okra.

Ilisac,
It is unheard of that one can fall off a golf cart but it happened after 17 years of playing. I was driving that day but I told my partner to go ahead and tee off because three men waiting for us. we were following a twosome and we were three some. every 8 minutes a team has to tee off and we are expected to play with the phase. whoever is following slow players can tell the pro shop that a team is playing too slow so they might be asked to skip a hole so the game is not held up.
there is a time limit for 9 holes as well as 18 holes and if you play at a busy country club then you understand.
the girl who was driving made a very sharp turn so i went flying , landed on a concrete thus fracturing both tips of the 2 long bones on my left leg meaning my ankle on inner and outer part of my left ankle.
It is very freaky accident but one of the girls I play with had had 3 surgeries and few more.

It is been 13 days since my surgery and my system is going back to almost normal after too many potent pain meds

DH had been very patient driving me around and will have the cast for 8 weeks.


Have a nice day!!!

Belle



This message was edited Jul 30, 2012 4:54 PM

Belle, in no way did I diminish the severity of the pain you're going through. It's also a not widely known fact that the knee replacement surgery is the most invasive and physically demanding procedure on the body to recover from. Actually having the left knee done first wasn't too bad. It's was worse of the 2, being there was no cartilage left at all, it was bone on bone. When I would get up in the morning, my knees would sound like rice crispies. My knees have been like that for close to 20 years, gradually getting worse, so I was just used to the pain. My ortho asked me many times how I was able to walk.

The bad part was having the second knee done the next week. Rehab was going great for first knee but had complication between surgeries and it slowed the process. The doctor actually wanted to do them at the same time and I said no. Knowing now what I wasn't told then, I would have waited several months between the surgeries.

I got out of the nursing home from rehab on December 15 and within a week got a bulging disc in my neck while getting up out of the chair. So I was dealing with that while also working on getting my knees back in shape. I had to get 3 shots in the disc and it's finally settled back down.

I wish you a full & speedy recovery. I used to swing the clubs once in a while, but with the knees as bad as they were, I couldn't twist as they should. I'm just about to the point of getting a new set of clubs and start going to the range again to help work the knees into shape.

Kevin

Kev I hope you are feeling better, I've seen family members with both knee's replaced and it was excruciating for them. These were not whimpy guys either but hardened military men and fire fighters. I've had broken bones, surgeries etc and I'm sure that pain was nothing compared to what you had to and are currently having to deal with. Wish you a very speedy recovery and hope your garden cooperates.

Belle, ortho said more of the insurance companies are urging doctors to do the surgery at one time. Less hospital time, less expense. Plus Medicare increases in cost made it almost mandatory that I do this last year. A lot tougher on the patient, but that doesn't enter the equation. Week apart didn't seem to extreme, so went ahead & did it. If I didn't have the complication, I think I'd have done better on rehab. Still the average & normal rehab for knee replacement is one year.

Araness, garden has been pretty cooperative this year, wish the weather would have been a little more so. Several people have asked me how I did so good this year, and I have no explanation whatsoever. I guess it's the adage, "I'd rather be lucky than good." On top of that I know I did a lot of things wrong, and still did good. No idea, just what a lot of people here have done, just copied it. And thank you very much for your good wishes....

Kevin

Kevin,
I am glad you survived your ordeal and doing much better. how is your neck. Did you go for surgery?

At least you can garden this summer. I will not be able to do much till October and and the one that bothers me most is doing fig preserves and donate the proceeds to buy supplies for the health screening where we give flu vaccine, cholesterol and diabetic screening .

It is no weight bearing till they remove the cast but managing to go around with my walker and wheelchair when we go out.

I do miss my game Dh gave me a set of RBZ last May and with lessons my game was much improved.The ladies league plays from April to end of October. I plan to continue to go to the meetings.

Take care and have a good day to all.

Belle

I've only had minor pain.

Just before I left New Orleans in 1984 to move to Texas, I had bunionectomies done on both feet, to deplete my insurance coverage and get 'er done!

The procedure back then was to saw a pie-shaped wedge from the toe bone, then tap it over to close up the wedge and straighten the big toe,. I was in an ankle cast on one foot, and a cast up to my knee on the other foot.

It was an Olympic year, and I stayed in bed for 4 solid weeks at my Aunt and Uncle's home, enjoying all the games, the meals, the care, and attention. It was a glorious Olympics!

When I could finally get up and back to work (still in both casts for another 8 weeks), I had to cross a MAJOR wide street every morning to get to the building in two casts, on a pair of crutches.

Thank God the drivers let me live to tell the story! By the time it was over, those drivers were waiting for me every day, waiving, and smiling, and being oh so kind!

I feel for ya'll!

0.0
Ok so that did it for me...I don't care what the doctor's are saying no foot surgery!

Off I go to try and finish cleaning up the yard and earthboxes...getting ready for fall and I can't wait!

At this time my neck has quieted down considerably from what it was before Christmas. For better than 3 weeks the only way I could sleep was with my left hand tucked behind my head touching my right shoulder. On top of that, we have a pillow-top mattress, and it was way too soft for me to sleep on. Whenever my wife would just touch or bump me I'd go through the roof. An extra bedroom is set up & it's got a real extra firm mattress in it and that's where I had to sleep for about 3 1/2 months. I still can't get a decent nights sleep in our BR with the wife, the bed's just too soft. Actually, I never liked the bed from the start, but she wanted it and had to have it, so she won... On the surgery I said no, but I guess I'd have to do it eventually if it gets worse.

They did 2 steroidal shots in the cervical disk material about 8 or 9 weeks apart, but the second shot did hardly anything, so I didn't get the 3rd. Still have tingling all the way down to the fingers occasionally, and this is also the same hand I busted up in '88 in a concrete truck accident. With that I've got about 80% feeling & use of the thumb. I joke with people that I've changed my Facebook Profile picture from mine to Humpty Dumpty...LOL....

I've also had more than a few severe gout attacks. Those things are incredibly painful. Had them in the ankles & also elbow and my hand. Nothing much helps except very strong pain meds. Primary doctor finally figured out the problem after the 4th ER visit, and I gave him the med list they pumped my full of at the ER. Too much uric acid causes it and it's finally under control. They'll still flare up but now I know when they're coming on & I can beat them to the punch.

Araness, don't make a rash judgement... A good friend of our's, an Austin Police officer, had the bunionectomy done about 5 or 6 years ago, and she had put it off for years. She regrets for not doing it much, much sooner. She was off her feet for less than a week, and back to work full-duty in about 4 weeks. She hasn't had a problem since the surgery and her Mom had the same thing about 2 years ago, and she's in her mid-70's...

Linda, isn't it nice when strangers root for ya, just getting across the street....LOL...

Kevin

TOTALLY!

Saint,
The new bunionectomies use laser. Much cleaner, faster, better, stronger, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound....

On another note, I had one doctor working on each foot, side by side. I was given only a local anesthesia, so I could hear all the jokes and such. The running one at the time was the irony of either Euwel (sp?) Gibbons dropping dead from a heart attack after years of eating Grape Nuts or Jim Fix dropping dead after all his years of running marathons! (I forget exactly which health nut dropped dead...)

I felt like I was between Hawkeye and BJ in a MASH unit! All they needed was a radio blaring at full volume.

Linda

Kev,
This one's for you!

http://www.weekendgardener.net/vegetables/brussels-sprouts.htm

Kev,
How many spaces is involve? Surgery is the only way and the soon you have it done the better for you. i am a retired OR RN and had done several of cervical disc. I hope you think about it. Go to a good neurosurgeon. Good luck!!

Belle

They have spoken about a Plantar Fascia Release and removal of bone spurs so not as serious I think as yours GG. Still don't want to have it done!

Time for a quick shower before Serg gets home..why did I pick the hottest part of the day to clean outside...not bright at all!

Linda, thanks for the link. Just perused it quickly, but will read it thoroughly at first opportunity.

Belle, C5 has calcification, C6 has the bulge, and C7 is slightly out of alignment. Really stupid how it all happened. Did the knees, went to nursing home for rehab, came home and was there about 4 or 5 days. Just pushing up to get out of living room chair felt pop in shoulder. Didn't hurt all that bad to start, but after about 2 days thought I may have pinched nerve, since the shoulder & neck were hurting. Finally got into ortho's office after Christmas, with my head basically sitting on my shoulder... Pain management, scans, electroshock evaluation, then the pair of shots. Another thing they told me was had some carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. While still doing PT for knees, started for neck also.

We were given a referral to an Austin Spinal group, but with it somewhat subsided, never really pushed to go. Of course, when it gets real bad, then it will be too late & I won't have much of a choice.

Kevin

They are Supposed to have developed a way to fill the spinal discs if you have burst them,rather than pinning them- I doubt seriously this will happen on govt plans tho, I have gout, sigh, you have my sympathies and I've done a lot of studying on reducing ulric acids in the diet- it bumps into a few other gastric issues I have so I spend a lot of time balancing foods. I avoided allowing Drs to fuse my spine in the late 90's since it starts in my upper neck and never quits. I figure I am turning into a concrete garden statue eventually, so try to stay in motion, but I notice all the time I am less and less flexible. You guys hang in there with us! Were glad you're here!

The morning of my first knee surgery my ortho walked in and asked how I was doing, not too bad, ready to go... So I asked if we could say the Shepard's Prayer, Alan Shepard... "Lord, please don't let me screw this up..." Everyone burst out laughing, and I guess they didn't screw up....

Uh, I picked okra today and I'm getting ready to pickle a bunch. Yep, okra. lol

Kev,
Please get a reputable neuro surgeon and if you know of a OR nurse who works under the neuro specialty you can talk to them. The sooner you have it done the better for you.
there are 2 spaces and there are several ways: using your own bone, dehydrated donor bones, plates and screws. The bulge they will remove and might put a bone wedge or bone chips.
Good luck to you.

Ozark,
We are harvesting few okra and we just microwave it and eat it with fresh tomatoes and fish sauce. Yum!!! I had been out 2 times since my accident and it is killing me. I am starting to get depressed but will attend the ladies meeting tomorrow. .

Kitt,
I have few friends who has gout and if they have attacks it can be very painful. A lot of them does not follow the diet , depends on the medications.

Have a good day to all!!
Belle





This message was edited Aug 3, 2012 7:20 AM

Just need some morning sun, watch the flowers workman you' ll get to feelin better! I know for a fact I could be hurting worse! Stay safe!