This heat - bed vegetable is as alimental and versatile as it is cosmetic .
Traditionally a favorite in the South , okra is growing more popular in home garden everywhere . It ’s easy to see why . Okra is a alimentary veggie that ’s easy to produce and has ornamental economic value . While gumbo is often associated with gumbo because of its thick , viscous texture , there are a potpourri of other ways to relish it , too . glean fresh okra from the garden and savor it bread and electrocute , baked , grill , or pickle . And if you do n’t eat it , you could still relish its textural hand - form foliage and attractive yellow bloom that appear all summer long . While most okra variety show have green cod , there are a few varieties that have edible and delightful semen pod in a grasp of other colour , let in burgundy and red .
Where to Plant Okra
industrial plant okra in a location where it gets full sun and the soil is well - drain and slightly acid . pick out a location where you have n’t farm gumbo in at least the two old seasons .
Okra is a comparatively large vegetable ; it can develop as much as 7 groundwork tall depending on the salmagundi and produce conditions . It is ideal for growing in the back of the garden mixed in with other summer efflorescence and veggies , or featured by itself or combined with other veggies incontainer gardens . Be certain to engraft okra where you may enjoy the peach of its golden - yellow blossoms .
Make the most of your garden place by succession planting . plant life lettuce early in natural spring , then once summer heat arrives and the wampum slice , plant okra in its home .
Okra pair beautifully witheggplant , another summer vegetable whose pretty royal flowers and fruit demarcation with okra ’s jaundiced blooms . Or , bring off okra ’s tropical feeling with the flamboyant edible flower ofnasturtium .
How and When to Plant Okra
Okra is a quick - season annual vegetable that make love summertime heat . Whether you start it from seed or bribe transplant , wait to engraft it outdoors until night temperature reliably stay consistently above 55 degrees F.
Ideally , okra is direct seeded in the garden but if your growing time of year is short , you’re able to alsostart it indoorsthree to four calendar week before your last average frost date . practice biodegradable pots because lady’s-finger has a cryptic tap root that does not like to be disturb .
Before planting , soak the come for 12 to 18 hours in elbow room - temperature piss to soften the difficult seminal fluid coating . establish the seeds 1 in cryptical and set a seed every 4 to 8 in . Keep the soil equally moist . Okra seeds take 12 to 14 days to shoot . Once the seedling are 4 to 6 inches tall , thin them out to 18 to 24 column inch aside , which is also the spacing if you are using organ transplant from a glasshouse .
Okra Care Tips
Once the flora is set up , okra is a low - maintenance veggie .
Light
Plant okra in a spot that stick full Lord’s Day , at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunshine .
Soil and Water
Okra does best in copious , well - drained soilwith a pH between 6.0 and 6.8 . If your garden has a lot of Baroness Dudevant or clay , remediate liberally with compost will help keep your okra plants looking their better and staying generative through the season .
After planting , spread a 2- to 3 - column inch - deep layer of mulch ( such as pine phonograph needle , shredded bark , or drinking straw ) over the land around the flora to avail keep the land moist and forbid weed from sprouting .
Okra has a tap base , which helps it survive drought conditions well . However , on a regular basis watering your okra plant deeply will help ensure regular harvest time all summer and into the fall .
Temperature and Humidity
Okra is a heating plant - have sex crop that thrives in temperatures between 80 and 90 degree F. The plant tolerates ironic and humid conditions without problems but it is highly sensitive to cold and will do poorly in a nerveless clime .
Fertilizer
If your garden grease is rich in organic subject , there is generally no need to fertilise okra . If you have nutrient - poor soil , fertilize regularly with awater - soluble fertilizeror mix a prison term - release fertilizer into the soil at planting sentence , harmonise to product label instructions .
Pruning
It is not necessary to prune okra , unless your climate is mild and you desire to encourage a second harvest in the early fall . In that case , when yield production considerably decelerate down in the summertime , cut the plants down to 6 to 12 inches and add up a granular fertilizer that is gamey in nitrogen and K , such 9 - 0 - 9 . body of water the plant profoundly and keep watering in the absence of rain .
Pollination
Okra is self - pollinating ; it does not call for insect for pollination and it only takes one plant life to produce fruit .
Potting and Repotting
Okra can be grown in containers but modest or dwarf change such as ‘ small Lucy ’ or ‘ Baby Bubba ’ employment well . Because okra has a deep tap beginning , choose a container that is at least 12 to 15 inch rich . you could engraft a single gumbo in a 5 - congius container or develop three plants together in a 15 - congius container . Fill it with well - draining constitutional potting mix and make trusted the container has enceinte drainage maw . Like all potted plant , okra in a container require more frequent lachrymation than plants in the garden ; in hot summertime weather condition , you might need to irrigate daily .
Pests and Problems
While okra is a fairly rugged crop , its foliage is susceptible to cuss that feed on farewell , such as aphids , thrip , whiteflies , and mites , and caterpillar larvae of fall armyworm , scratch inchworm , and corn earworm . It can also get a range of fungal disease let in powdery mold and fusarium wilt .
How to Propagate Okra
Okra is propagated from seed , which you could collect from your plants and keep open for next class if it ’s an open - pollinated heirloom motley . For propagating okra from semen , travel along the instructions for how to plant it above .
Harvesting
plunk the fruit — the seed seedcase — when they are new , about 2 to 4 column inch long . If you waitress too long , they will be ruffianly and stringy . Once they have reached the fledged stage , okra plants continuously produce flowers and yield briefly afterward , so harvest the pod oft . Even spineless okra diversity cause skin irritations so wear upon gloves and employ lopper to glean the seed pod .
Types of Okra
‘Annie Oakley II’ Okra
' Annie Oakley II ' is a good variety for northern mood because it matures faster than other okra varieties . Plants farm 3 to 4 pes magniloquent and develop spineless unripe pods . 50 days
‘Burgundy’ Okra
This miscellanea offer deep red fore and pod . The pods turn rich purpleness when cooked . The plant raise 7 feet marvelous . 60 days
‘Clemson Spineless’ Okra
' Clemson Spineless ' is a popular green variety that produces pods up to 9 inch long before they become tough . Spineless plants grow to 5 feet tall . 56 days
‘Little Lucy’ Okra
This diversity has the same colour as ' Burgundy ' but grows only 2 infantry tall and produce 4 - inch - long pods . 55 days
Frequently Asked Questions
The planting fourth dimension depend on your last frost in the spring and your first frost in the fall . In the springiness , the general pattern of thumb is that soil temperature need to be at least 60 degrees for the seeds to germinate . For a fall craw , look back three months before the first drop hoarfrost engagement . If your first fall frost is around October 31 , you should get the seed for the autumn crop in the ground by August 1 .
Do n’t set okra next to eggplant , squash , tomato , or sweet white potato , because just like gumbo , they are extremely susceptible to root knot nematode worm and could transmit them . The flyspeck worm be in the grunge and parasitize okra roots .
Updated by Nadia Hassani
