Hey Saint; Might think Aug for some things! We're Zone buddies. Avg 1st frost is mostly Nov 14th
Farmerdill
"I knew i would love hearing your story FD!"
Me too. More!
I like your posts. Appreciate your knowledge. Like to hear more about those younger years also.
I spent time with Uncles in tha hills of Ok. Most modren thing I ever saw back then was this one uncles Model A. Which wasn't new!
A story from me in advance.
I was caught in tha rain jus outside Augusta, GA hitch hicking from Ft Bragg NC about 1953 or 54. In uniforn, OD's. Not cold but very wet.
Augusta must have need that rain, 6 hours it was.....
Okra
Yep, Rain wise Augusta is peculiar. Good average rainfall but at times it won't rain for a month, then we get a months worth in one day. Makes it tough for a grower with out irrigation. Watermelons can handle it, as can butterbeans and southern peas, tomatoes most of the time, but I always have failures with snap beans and other drought intolerant summer veggies. Most of the time I can get them early and late, but sometimes only one or the other. Cucumbers I have to plant in the kitchen garden and water.
Thanks Farmerdill
Appreciation!
WOW look at my little okra plant...they just love the heat don't they.
Now that's a fact.
Heat is good...........
Enjoy reading your post
I am so amazed...this okra plant is growing like a bat outta you know where! He loves the heat (you know it's gotta be a man to enjoy this kinda weather) Every morning when I come out to say Morning to all the plants and see if they would like anything for the day it's grown another inch or so. How tall do these suckers get? I only planted one cause Tam said they produce enough for two people so I hope this one stays healthy.
Saint
Oh, great, so I get the blame if y'all go hungry? Hope this plant stays healthy. Height will depend mostly on cultivar, 4 to 8 ft tall. Let's just say, don't leave him under the porch...
Did you move your cukes out away from the wall? They probably need more direct light anyhow, or were those beans?
Tired and Confused, but happy to see your okra,
Tamara
I moved him away from the wall, but the beans are just my problem children...the leafminers now are munching on them and If I keep plucking I'm going to have a vine and that's it. The okra is usually out in the sun but with yesterday's weather forcast I moved him under shelter since he was still a baby. The okdra seeds I'm growing are LA Green Velvet so I think the pods are smaller but don't know about height.
The pods are long and skinny, but the plant is quite large.
Rut row...humm I've run out of sticks...and I've been cut off from the source of the $$ (ya'll men can be soo picky about a few hundred bucks on plants) I wonder if we really really need that mop...
Saint
You should not need sticks for Okra, but you can always go down the swamp and cut some skinny poles. It is a good use for Chinese privet.
ahh I don't do swamp..gators and nasty bugs hang out there. What can I say I'm a chicken *bawk bawk*
"humm I've run out of sticks"
Farmerdill sho nuff got it rite. Don't need no stakes a tall at all.
Picture is 7/30/02 and the okra is (LA Green Velvet)
"but don't know about height"
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I cut this patch back in Aug that year. about waist high!
Jus kept on a growing. Did ya know, if they have suckers, they'll produce too
"I think the pods are smaller"
Here are both clemson spineless & green velvet for a size comparison
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I think tha velvet stays more tender as it gets larger than does the spineless.
Can ya tell which is which. Ya can, betya ya can lol......
darn that stuff gets huge...only about a month and a half more and I might be fryin me up some okra and making cornbread...fresh sliced tomatoes and field peas..wait I didn't plant field peas...darn!
Did you ever check out that farmers market in Beaumont?
There should be some peas, purplehull soforth starting in June.
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Buying Us books, sending us to school never helped much!
We did read some out in tha outhouse before we used them up though.
I didn't find that one but the Jefferson County Master Gardners have one at the Jeff Regional Airport on Saturdays (think the airport is in Port Arthur) so going to try that one. Would have done it this Saturday but we had other things going on.
Saint
Ok the okra is about 3 weeks old..looks a little small to me but...
I have one leaf that is kinda curled on one side and another looks like it's been munched on...
Any idea what's munching on it? Or why the leaf is strange on one side?
Saint
and another...
I think its pretty god sized for three weeks. Give it some compost tea or other gentle fertilizer, and spray the leaves with tomato leaf spray. They'll be fine (crossing fingers behind back)...
lol..ok what's the non organic version of those directions? *G*
Miracle Grow and Diazinon??? I don't know, but someone will. Basically, give it a feeding boost, and put something on the leaves to kill what is doing the damage...
I have some dust I'll run out and I'll feed it. He hasn't had any kinda food since I just planted him. I didn't know if okra was like maters but I wanted to let him settle in some. I'll bring him in under the porch tonight and mix up some food and then give him a nice dusting.
Btw I think the kids got on the wrong plane *G* no little boys at my house yet.
Okra are heavy feeders. My best plants last year had manure spread around them when they were a foot high... Not like maters, more like flowers...
gee whiz, hope they can find their way home, hadn't seen 'em in days LOL
lol...poor babies. Ok so feed the okra like I would a flower..ahh I dont have any flowers but the box says every month..
since they are in a pot, the nutrients might wash out more, check in the container gardening forum and they can tell you for sure, I would say every two weeks...
gotta sign off, my PC is doing an update, and will restart itself....bye!
Have to start dinner...thanks for the info.
What are you cooking?
Stuffed porkchops with apples, cucumber & tomato with apple walnut and apple cider vin dressing and saute green beans. No bread cause I only felt like making loaf bread today...he'll have to deal with it.
well I dusted Mr. O last night and gave him some food (Miracle Grow) so I'll see how he liked it as soon as I'm back up to speed.
I was going to go outside today while the cage was empty, had DH move the plants under cover last night, and pull up those worthless beans I planted. I'll have to figure something out for next year but won't be these type that's for sure.
Still no cukes but a million blooms that just seem to drop off at the stem. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?
Saint
Well, they may need some MG too. Since you water in containers, possibly everything needs it every week or so. In order to make fruit, they need the proper amount of NPK...
update on my Okra
lol sure hope it starts having more than this or I'll be frying up very small batches.
Another
How large should I let this get? It's La velvet variety...I'm just tellin ya'll now that if I only get like 7 or so okra at a time the DH is so not getting it!
Well misplaced Bama Grl;
Its how top heavy ya want it ta get.
Ya know, 12'-14' aint unheard of! I know ya 'member okra likes sunshine and tha heat too.
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Of course, ya should move it on a regular basis 'cause that tap root might poke a hole in tha bucket & embed itsef where it can lol!
In the limited space of your bucket ya don't want it to dry out, not wet all tha time either.
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Either which way can cause stress!
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Pic meant ta show a lazy picker.
To0 large & too little.....I say, why ya do that? Don't wantta go back so soon!
LOL Charlie you always bring a smile!
I use a water meter with all my plants now so I stay middle of the road. I had it in full sun till it got so hot here it was cooking so I've moved it in some shade and haven't seen where it's upset it a bit. Think I should put it back out in full sun? Next year I'll plant two plants in an Earthbox and have myself enough okra for BOTH of us to have a mess of it.
Play it by ear, lol or sight. Sun shouldn't hurt it!
Hey;
Farmer D mentioned in this post earlier, up near tha top, some different types more suited to containers.
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I have seen more of a bush type that puts on lots more okra than some of the standards ie LV or green-velvet etc.
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Saint;
Let me suggest something that'll make yur Ag guy smile.
No more carrying your plants in & out!
I think ya said your yard was small. Why not make it a show place?
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I have posted this pic somewhere on DG.
After I dug through, too many old picture stored in a trunk or where ever I finally found it.
Although The grass hadn't grown between the boxes yet, It looked like they were implanted there when it did.
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The contained areas could have been done by double digging for the same result.
The boxs, containers, were almost totally, completely, absolutely, near none-at-all weed free & highly productive.
That particular garden happened back when I was a young man 15 or 20 years ago. Only a kid really; 50-55 years old then.
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Tell your man, I knew he would smile when he saw this.
No, no! Tell him my name is charlie or at least heycharlie, Not what he said!
Haha..............
I'm going with EB's next year and making a bed of gravel with a concrete border *G* less for him to mow and if all goes well no more moving in and out.
so charles, wht don't you use raised beds any more? looks great
saint, you could probably get quite a few okra in one EB. you might have extra to put oin freezer next year