Okra grown for its edible seed
pods, a handsome plant to have in the vegetable garden. It has showy pale
yellow flowers with red centers not unlike a hollyhock. Okra haters are not
impressed by this. They claim that the pods are prickly on the outside and
slimy on the inside, and that if they want showy flowers they can grow
petunias. Okra lovers, most of whom live below the Mason Dixon line, point out
that modern “spineless” varieties aren’t prickly at all and that the viscous
inside is the magic ingredient that thickens a good gumbo a hearty stew. “Gumbo”
is also another name for the plant itself.
Okra is popular in the south
because it is a warm weather crop that won’t bolt yellow, die, or otherwise
misbehave in midsummer. It just gets taller, lusher and more productive. It is
a little hard to get started up north but redeems itself by being, unlike
eggplant, a fast maturing crop once warm weather settles in. So even if you don’t
plant until late June, you can still pick okra two months later if you urge it
along a little. You only need a few plants for the home garden, though any
extras can be frozen sliced or whole. Dwarf varieties are available for small
spaces. It is disease free and rarely decimated by bugs.
Choose a site
Select a sunny site where the
ground will warm up quickly or even raised beds in the north. The more okra you
want to eat or freeze, the more space you need. The first time you grow it,
start with 6 plants in an area of about 40 square feet. You might put an early
lettuce crop in with it. But otherwise assign the whole plot to okra for the
season. If you grow it each year, rotate the crop.
Soil
Okra prefers a light, well
drained loam with plenty of organic matter. Avoid heavy soils that warm up
slowly especially up north. A pH of 6.0 to 7.0 is best and moderately high
fertility. It is suggested a healthy shovelful of compost or aged manure worked
into each planting hole.
Planting
Buy new seed each year and speed
up the normally slow germination process by soaking or freezing the seeds over
night or nicking the seed coat with a file. Wherever you live, make sure that
the weather is consistently above 60 degree and not too wet when you sow. the
seeds will just sit and rot in cold, wet soil. In the north start them a month
or two earlier indoors in peat pots. Sown outdoors, seeds should be planted an
inch deep in hills or rows and thinned to at least 18 inches apart. Bear in
mind that the plants get tall 5 to 6 feet in warm climates. Dwarf varieties
that grow to 3 to 4 feet are more convenient for the home garden. In the north
space them far enough apart so that the sun can shine on all the pods to ripen
them. Make sure plant either 18 inches apart with 3 feet between rows or on a
grid with plant’s two and half feet apart each way a little closer for dwarf
kinds.
Growing
It is important not to let growth
lapse. Gardeners use numerous warm up devices to bring the young plants along
if it’s chilly raised beds, hot caps, grow tunnels, portable cold frames and
sheets of black plastic slit to allow the plants to grow up. Keep plants well
watered if it is dry. Mulch is a good idea. And top dress every few weeks with
a balanced liquid fertilizer.
Pets and Diseases
So use the collars around
transplanted seedlings to protect against cutworms. Occasional pests such as
corn earworms cabbage, loopers and stinkbugs can be picked off. Aphids and flea
beetles can be knocked off with a hose. Diseases such as fusarium wilt and
verticillium wilt are best dealt with by crop rotation.
Harvest
Okra pods are ready for picking
several days after the flowers drop but before they’re fully mature. If you
wait until the pods reach full size, they’ll be tough. The stems should still
be soft and easy to cut, the pods 2 to 3 inches long. Some varieties can be
picked at about 4 to 5 inches. When the plant is in full production it requires
to be picked every other day. If some pods have gone too far, pick them anyway
and feed them to whatever will eat them, even if it’s the compost pile or the
garbage can. Otherwise the plants will stop producing. Use gloves when you pick
if your skin is sensitive to the prickles on the pods. Okra plants, if picked
regularly, will continue to produce until frost. In the south growers sometimes
cut the plants back almost to ground level in midsummer, top dress them, and
let them resprout for a whole second crop.
Varieties
Good varieties are “Clemson
Spineless” the old standby, and “Clemson 80” an earlier, more productive
version. “Emerald” is a tall, spineless, very productive variety. “Annie Oakley”
is a tall early producer. “Dwarf Green Long Pod” is a good short variety. “Blondy,
an All-America selection, is short and bushy with light green pods. “Red Okra”
has red pods; white velvet has white.
