This heat-loving vegetable is as nutritious and versatile as it is ornamental.
Traditionally a favorite in the South, okra is growing more popular in home gardens everywhere.
Its easy to see why.
Okra is a nutritious vegetable thats easy to grow and has ornamental value.
Harvest fresh okra from the garden and enjoy it breaded and fried, baked, grilled, or pickled.
Choose a location where you havent grown okra in at least the two previous seasons.
Be sure to plant okra where you’re able to enjoy the beauty of its golden-yellow blossoms.
Make the most of your garden space by succession planting.
Or, play off okra’s tropical look with the flamboyant edible flowers ofnasturtium.
How and When to Plant Okra
Okra is a warm-season annual vegetable that loves summer heat.
Use biodegradable pots because okra has a deep tap root that does not like to be disturbed.
Plant the seeds 1 inch deep and place a seed every 4 to 8 inches.
Keep the soil evenly moist.
Okra seeds take 12 to 14 days to germinate.
Okra Care Tips
Once the plant is established, okra is a low-maintenance vegetable.
Soil and Water
Okra does best in rich,well-drained soilwith a pH between 6.0 and 6.8.
Okra has a tap root, which helps it survive drought conditions well.
However, regularly watering your okra deeply will help ensure steady harvests all summer and into the fall.
Water the plants deeply and keep watering in the absence of rain.
you could plant a single okra in a 5-gallon container or grow three plants together in a 15-gallon container.
Fill it with well-draining organic potting mix and check that the container has large drainage holes.
It can also get a range of fungal diseases including powdery mildew and fusarium wilt.
For propagating okra from seed, follow the instructions for how to plant it above.
Harvesting
Pick the fruitthe seed podswhen they are young, about 2 to 4 inches long.
If you wait too long, they will be tough and stringy.
Even spineless okra varieties cause skin irritations so wear gloves and use pruners to harvest the seed pods.
Plants grow 3 to 4 feet tall and produce spineless green pods.
50 days
‘Burgundy’ Okra
This variety offers deep red stems and pods.
The pods turn deep purple when cooked.
The plant grows 7 feet tall.
Spineless plants grow to 5 feet tall.
For a fall crop, count back three months before the first fall frost date.
The tiny worms live in the soil and parasitize okra roots.
