I've grown okra in every year that I've had a vegetable garden, but I always use purchased seed. This year I plan to save some seed but I am having some reservations. I planted both open-pollinated and a hybrid and I'm now not sure which is which. I've never noticed much of a difference in quality or production between hybrid and op varieties so I'm probably reading too much into this. My gut feeling is that okra is okra and the resulting plants will have adequate production and good quality. Have any of you out there planted saved seed from okra hybrids and remember the results?
Saving Okra Seed
Why would you save seed from hybrids? It is just that and, by definition, will be either sterile or most likely untrue to its parents.
I save seed from Clemson spineless and Betty's White (not Betty White), both OP species. The former is a standard favorite here in the South and the later was shared many years ago by Shoe (Horseshoe Griffin). I grew a red variety and another green years ago and was dissatisfied with the results so I stick to the two mentioned. The difference between the Betty's White and Clemson is that BW plants stay relatively short, at under six feet, throughout the season. Clemson gets hugely tall and requires that I get up on a ladder to cut. Folks south of me can cut okra plants mid-season and successively branch but my season falls short of being able to do that. I've tried and the branches are weak while the okra is stunted. We are already starting to cool down with night temps in the low 60's. I won't swear to it but BW pods can get bigger than Clemson and still be tender. I commonly grill or pan saute four plus inch pods and they are tender. Six inch pods are still tender but I slice and freeze those for winter use.What I took note of this year, and for the first time, is that pods that have girth tend to get woody way sooner than pods that have length. So, to answer your question, I do believe there are differences in okra species but maybe more discrete than in squash or tomatoes.
Well, in rereading I might not have answered the question. I can't say about what the results would be with hybrid. Will be glad to share seed if you are inclined. It will be awhile.
Not only are the parents of the hybrid unknown but the OP and the Hybrid could have crossed to so there is no telling what you will end up with.
Like laurel said there are many differences in okra.
Since both varieties were green, I feel sure that the pod color will be green. My main concern is that it may revert to a type that is so stringy that it would be like eating a roll of boiled twine. Since I'm blessed with a long growing season, I think I'll just drop some seeds in an empty earthbox and see what comes up. I have until late November to make a crop, which should be plenty of time.
Are your night temperatures above 55 degrees until the end of November? You will need to have consistent temps above 55 to get production. Plus, the DTM listed by seed companies is generally for transplanted okra, not direct sown, even though they give you both methods. Lastly, okra can be temperamental and slow to germinate even in ideal temperatures. I'd think planting by the end of July would be your outside date. Hate to discourage garden experiments though. That's how we learn.
I don't think the DTM is for transplants, since transplanting is generally not recommended for okra. I have successfully transplanted okra in the past, but the vast majority of my plantings were direct sown. Since saved seed is as cheap as you can get, what have I got to lose, other than time and water?
Fifty five to sixty days is IMO premature for okra. That's what is usually listed. Especially if you're direct sowing. Germination time is one to four weeks with ten days to two weeks being average. I do a lot of seed saving and if time is money saving seed is not cheap. Still, its advantages are enough for me to do it.
It sounds like you have cheap and plentiful water. Though we have had an inordinate amount of rainfall this year we rely on a limited space cistern (40 gallons) that is continually spring fed by the same spring that furnishes our household water. I appreciate and embrace the concept of water conservation since during droughty weeks it's impossible to dump unlimited water onto a half acre kitchen garden and do laundry, cook, flush and shower. It's made me more sensitive to the overall national situation when I return to the big city and the excess at a premium municipal government provides.
99% of my garden is planted in earthboxes, which require only two to two and a half gallons of water per day to keep whatever is planted in them alive even when temperatures exceed 100 degrees. Other than a few herbs and other perennials, I haven't planted any thing in the open ground in years. I know I probably sound like I'm doing a commercial for earthboxes, but I truly believe in them.There's no way that I could garden to the extent that I do without them. I've rigged up an automatic drip watering irrigation system to handle most of them. All I have to do most days is turn the handle of the spigot; leave it on for a couple of hours, and the job is done.
This message was edited Aug 26, 2015 5:35 PM
The drive to garden is innate for some of us and so do whatever it takes to get there. I grew up in S. Florida with its horrible heat, bugs and nematodes. I actually determined where I wanted to spend the rest of my life gardening, and at a fairly early age, based on what I wanted to grow. Coming out of the self-sufficient and sustainable sixties food crops were of paramount importance to me. My then boyfriend, but now husband, was given the option of fitting into the plan. He is now a gardener by default. :) Meanwhile, do your other growing conditions, such as temperature and time, match what I posted above.
Our humidity is not USUALLY as high as yours. But our temperatures are considerably higher. Today, for example, it was only 99. We average 14 100 degree days in a year but in 2011 we had 90 100 degree days. Sheesh! Any time the daytime temperature hits 100, the nighttime temperature will be in the 70's. As far as bugs are concerned, we occasionally have grasshopper "plagues" and two years ago, it was stinkbugs. They were everywhere. If you took too long going out a door, a couple would fly in. Nematodes are not a problem in my soil, thank God. They probably can't deal with the high soil temperature.
This message was edited Aug 26, 2015 7:57 PM
This message was edited Aug 26, 2015 8:01 PM
Our coldest months are usually Jan and Feb. There is just no way to tell what the temps will be in the fall. Usually we have relatively warm weather with a few cool/cold days. I usually have tomatoes thru Nov.
I was hit by the stinkbug plague this year. Nematodes need sanding soils they are not a problem in this area. If okra will grow anywhere, in the fall, it will grow here. I think it's worth a try.
I stratified some seed in moist paper towels a few days ago and when they began to show signs of life. I planted them into a plastic pot. My germination times for okra have averaged 7 days and dtm has averaged 63, so I think I can pull this off. If a light frost threatens, I have some blowers that I can set up. As long as you keep the air moving, frost will not form. It's worked for me with peppers several times in the past. Of course, if you have sustained temperatures below freezing, then they're history. But a frosty night is usually followed by a sunny morning and the day warms up quickly. At any rate, I appreciate the words of encouragement.
This message was edited Aug 28, 2015 11:25 AM
Well, just to clarify, okra quits flowering when night temps hit about 55 degrees. Forget about frost. It hates even cool weather. Days can be warm, you can have hot spells but when the nights cool off it shuts down. That's wby I asked if your nights were above 55 degrees long enough for plants to produce.
Well, I now have 5 okra seedlings up and growing. I'll just wait and see how things progress. If I get a few pods from each plant, that will give me an indication of what to expect next year from this seed. Although tomatoes and okra are both warm-season crops, they do seem to diverge when it comes to nighttime temperatures. The okra may quit, .but the tomatoes will be going gangbusters. And the peppers could care less, either way.
It's a gray area,not black or white. Okra does better in the heat then tomatoes. But our fall weather is usually like a roller coaster with more warm then cold days. I don't see what harm it could do to try. Everybody's climate/microclimate is different. Let us know how it goes.
Will do.
Just wonder how your Okra is doing? The last 2 weeks have been cooler but not by much.