Okra

[dale2242]

Setting here in the house looking out the window at the snow has me thinking about spring and my garden.
Which variety of Okra does the best here in the NW with our sometimes short and not so hot growing season?

[Lloyd Smale]

what kind of animal is an okra???????????

[MUSTANG]

Meee Tooo Meee Toooo. Want to grow our own in Kalispell. Had one success out of 4 years. Tired of buying frozen at the Grocery/Chef Store.

[chuckbuster]

I gave up
Moving to Texas so I can grow my own
Long story short my Daughter taught me her Granny’s recipe
Local grocery does have fresh most of the time here in southern Michigan though

[gwpercle]

CurDog reported to me that he had successfully grown enough Red Okra from the seed I sent him last year to have it in a vegetable soup ... he didn't say anything about freezing any ... he lives in Southern Illinois ...
In Oregon Okra isn't really suited for cool weather but with black plastic mulch and black plastic wind screens you can help raise the ground and air temperatures enough to raise some in a home garden .
Truth is you don't need a lot of okra , easy to freeze , slice into a zip lock and throw in freezer ...soon you have more gallon bags of frozen okra than Carter has Little Liver Pills in there .
The Oregon State University Ag Dept . has growin hints and tips on their website ...
Some of the varieties they recommend to grow :
Green Varieties -
Blondy (48 - 50 days) 36"-48", dwarf bush
Clemson Spineless (55 days) 60" tall , most common variety available
Cajun Delight (60 days) 6' to 10' tall , 7"-8" pods , intense green color .

Red Varieties -
Red Okra (55 to 65 days) 48"tall , bushy , 6"-7" long pods and not fuzzy , my favorite !
Red Velvet similar to Red Okra with a little fuzz on pods .
Burgundy

Plant seed or transplants and give them as much heat and sun as you can ... a greenhouse that gets a lot of sun would be worth trying ...okra thrives on heat and humidity.
Let some of the okra mature on the plant ...they will get Hard , eventually drying out and turning brown then the pod will begin to split open ...save the seed inside and plant next year .
I've been doing this for about 25 years with what started out as one red okra plant ...the wife thought the plant was pretty , dark red and dark green with bright yellow flowers that look like Hibiscus flowers ... she wasn't aware it made okra's ... I've saved seed every year and it has remained true to the original plant except now they grow a little taller than the original 4 feet .
Dale ... It looks like you can grow okra ... if you can't find any seed or plants local to start ... PM me with a mailing address and I will look and see if I have any seeds around that I can send you . 4 to 6 plants will usually fill your okra needs .
I know I have some ...finding where I stashed them is the problem ... I had so many bags of okra in the freezer I didn't grow any this year ...no new seed ... but I know I have some ... I sent CurDog some !
Gary

[OldBearHair]

Hey gwpercle You took me back in time talking abour Carter's little liver pills. I don't recall how long ago they had to quit advertising Liver pills and just call them Carter's little pills. Now I don't see them anywhere. Hey again my okra growing is similar to Mustang's every year or so or longer between successful harvest of Okra. One year I had two beautiful rows of 10 inch tall plants. Next a deer walked between the rows cutting the plants off at ground level both sides. Next came the electric fence wire . You can imagine what happened, the wire was jerked loose from it's moorings and the signs showed somewhat of a melee had taken place. That was a few years ago and no deer ha
ve come visiting since. Love to eat Okra boiled the best .
'

[chuckbuster]

OldBear
The fried recipe my Daughter taught me is the BEST
Just saying

[MaryB]

Friends grew it here in MN one year but summer here is pretty long and hot.

[jaysouth]

Fried okra is better than popcorn with cold beer on a hot day.

[gwpercle]

I discovered my daughter will not eat Gumbo without Okra in it ... she honestly believes that Gumbo is the African word for Okra .
I tried to explain the many different gumbo's that can be made ... and about dark roux Cajun Gumbo with meat , sausage and okra compared to a Creole Gumbo made with seafood , tomato , sausage and thickened with file' (fee-lay) powder ... but she wasn't believing a word of what I said ,
Oh Well ... I tried !
Sheesh that girl is hard headed ... takes after her Mom !
Gary

[curdog]

Gary thanks again for the okra seed. I had about 6 good plants and they took off good. They grew up to about 7 foot tall. The more i cut the okra the more it made. The stalks got about as thick as my wrists. We ate quite a bit of it in soup and jambalaya, and fried some. I got about a gallon freezer bag left and saved some pods for seed. I had the best luck with the red......................Curdog

[gwpercle]

Gary thanks again for the okra seed. I had about 6 good plants and they took off good. They grew up to about 7 foot tall. The more i cut the okra the more it made. The stalks got about as thick as my wrists. We ate quite a bit of it in soup and jambalaya, and fried some. I got about a gallon freezer bag left and saved some pods for seed. I had the best luck with the red......................Curdog

That's Awesome :drinks:

I swear ... I didn't think it would grow well in Illinois !
Plants 7' tall and as thick as your wrist ... that's just as large as mine get ,
you must be doing it right !
Gary

[Thundarstick]

not sure where "Southern Illinois" is, but it's only about 60 miles North of me. I'd think anywhere Harrisburg south would have absolutely no problem growing okra, as it gets plenty hot in the summertime! Heck, the furthest north cypress swamp is in Southern most Illinois.

I grow the red okra, and it seems to do better in the cool than the green variety. I'd say try starting plants indoors about six weeks before frost free date. If you've got a brick building, planting on the south side of that building may be advantageous. Growing okra in some climes is probably about like trying to grow brussel sprouts here, your just not going to have much success no matter what you do!

[762 shooter]

Bacon, okra, rice casserole!

The three basic food groups in one dish.

762

[quack1]

I tried growing it here, 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. Tried for four years and only got plants big enough to flower one year. That year, the biggest plant got about 4' high. Did get enough pods to fill a gallon plastic bag about 3/4 full. Biggest surprise was the size of the flowers, I had never seen an okra flower before. I was expecting flowers like sweet or hot peppers, since okra pods resemble peppers.

[sharps4590]

It grows great here in central Missouri. I can't imagine southern Illinois being any different. As a friend of mine once said, "I don't believe it can get too hot for okra." We've had it producing pods when there wasn't a leaf on the stalks. The darn stuff is prolific!! I grew up on it, fried, I don't like gumbo. When we got married the wife had never eaten it. Now she likes it.

Okra is a member of the Hibiscus family which is why the big, showy blossoms. They are pretty.

[MT Gianni]

Neighbor grows it @ 6200 feet elevation, 5 miles E of the Continental Divide. I don't think they are too picky about varieties.

[BJK]

Thanks for the okra thread. I researched it and I can eat it in ketosis. One more veggie gets added to the list! I like okra and had forgotten about it.

[JoeJames]

Pickled Okra is dern good with a cold beer.

[shtur]

Neighbor grows it @ 6200 feet elevation, 5 miles E of the Continental Divide. I don't think they are too picky about varieties.

I tried growing it in the Bitterroot Valley at 3400 feet elevation, it may have been during our coldest summer.

[375RUGER]

I had no problem growing it in Western North Dakota on a south facing hillside. That was in the early 80's, I don't remember the variety, I've grown many varieties over the years. I'm growing it at 6500' here in NM now. Just plant it where it can get the most sun. If you think your season is short or the ground is too cold, start the seeds indoors a few weeks before the season.

[gwpercle]

I had no problem growing it in Western North Dakota on a south facing hillside. That was in the early 80's, I don't remember the variety, I've grown many varieties over the years. I'm growing it at 6500' here in NM now. Just plant it where it can get the most sun. If you think your season is short or the ground is too cold, start the seeds indoors a few weeks before the season.

That's good advice !
Start the sprouted seeds in peat pots and have them 3 or 4 inches tall for when the ground gets warm enough to plant . Black visqueen ground cover can be used to help warm the ground and it can be used to make a wind break in windy locations .
Okra seedlings do not transplant well ... so plant them , peat pot and all into the ground ...their little root systems damage easily .
Planting the 4 inch seedlings gets you a big head start if you have a short growing season .
Place a few seeds in a dish of water in a warm place , in about 12 - 24 hours , the good ones will sprout a little white sprout ... only plant those .

North Dakota ... I wouldn't have dreamed okra could grow that far North !
That's amazing
Gary

[gwpercle]

OldBear
The fried recipe my Daughter taught me is the BEST
Just saying

Fried Okra is hard to beat ... even those who say they don't like okra , once they try fried okra will eat it ... It's Good Eats for shure !
What's her / your secrete ... I could use a good recipe .
Gary

[BJK]

Yikes! I was going to buy some today but they wanted $7/lb. and I wasn't going to pay that.

[Hogtamer]

I agree with your daughter! Can’t make good vegetable soup without okra either. Thickens the soup a bit. So there! And pickled okra (with a chile pepper and couple of cloves of garlic in every jar) made from 2 - 3” pods is outstanding.

[redriverhunter]

I do not mind eating okra but if I ever have to pick it again it will be too soon.

[gwpercle]

I do not mind eating okra but if I ever have to pick it again it will be too soon.

You don't "pick" okra ... you have to cut it ... down here you have to " cut and come again" ... harvest every other day or the pods get too large and tough ...some times I have cut pods every day during June , July and August ... the more you cut the more they bear .
Cutting Okra is much easier than picking it .
Gary

[farmbif]

okra needs a lot of summer heat to grow well. even here in ne Tennessee have to wait till about the first of June just to plant it.
jambalaya variety is a good one to try in northern places with shorter summer heat. its a 50 day variety where as traditional variety like Clemson spineless is 60 days.

[curdog]

I want to add that I use that Jobes tomato and vegetable fertilizer around my okra plants every couple of weeks. I also put my old coffee grounds up and down that row of plants. My little garden gets alot of sun so that helps alot.......................Curdog

[gwpercle]

I want to add that I use that Jobes tomato and vegetable fertilizer around my okra plants every couple of weeks. I also put my old coffee grounds up and down that row of plants. My little garden gets alot of sun so that helps alot.......................Curdog

LIKE !

I use the Jobes Ferterlizers also ... granular and spikes ... they are good.:drinks:

Gary

[Half Dog]

I had a year where I had too much okra, that grew in my backyard. The stalks grew to just over 6’ tall, my freezer was full, so I began giving it away. I haven’t seen that happen since then. I don’t know what I had but I would love for it to happen again.

[gwpercle]

I had a year where I had too much okra, that grew in my backyard. The stalks grew to just over 6’ tall, my freezer was full, so I began giving it away. I haven’t seen that happen since then. I don’t know what I had but I would love for it to happen again.
Did you happen to let some pods mature and dry on the stalk so you could plant the seeds to grow that variety again ?
It may have been the variety or it may have been the growing conditions...
or some of both . Okra is one of the few things that grows easily in my back yard from seeds saved from the year before .
Another thing that grows easily is Sweet Bay ! Nothing seems to hurt it even freezing weather... bugs don't infest or damage it either ...
Gary

[Half Dog]

Gary:
No, I didn’t save any for seeds; I didn’t know better. I remember using mushroom compost. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing but it seemed to have worked that year.

[Thundarstick]

My only caveat on saving seed from okra. I plant my red okra as early as possible and save the seed from the first blooms, hopping to avoid cross pollination from other varieties in the vicinity.

[gwpercle]

My only caveat on saving seed from okra. I plant my red okra as early as possible and save the seed from the first blooms, hopping to avoid cross pollination from other varieties in the vicinity.

That's a good idea , I will start doing seed okra this way .
I have been growing the same variety of tall red okra from two plants bought 20 years ago (or longer) and saving seed every year . 3 years ago I planted a low growing Green Bush Okra ...
Low and behold if last year I didn't see some cross over plants ...tall red with green bush around the base of the plant and some green -red leaves ...when I planted the green okra I didn't even think about cross pollination with the tall red ...them bees was busy !
I guess I could give it a name and call my own variety ...Gary's Green-Red Tall Bush .
Doesn't seem to hurt the production ...the stuff grows like all get out in our heat and long hot summers . I sent seeds to Curdog ... I hope they were Okay !
Gary

[GregLaROCHE]

I love okra. I never tried to grow it nor thought there were different varieties. Live and learn.

[jaysouth]

Fried Okra is hard to beat ... even those who say they don't like okra , once they try fried okra will eat it ... It's Good Eats for shure !
What's her / your secrete ... I could use a good recipe .
Gary

I will take fried okra with cold beer over popcorn any day.

[Flogger]

Save the breading for da fish. I like it sliced appx 1/4" and slowly sauteed in butter until it carmelizes. you won't believe the flavor and you'll never want to cover it up again!!

[GhostHawk]

Local Walmart in Fargo ND had both fresh whole and sliced frozen Okra for sale.

I did a pretty much day long creole style seafood Gumbo. Mighty fine, mighty fine.

12 pz of fresh Okra, 1.5 lbs raw Jumbo shrimp, peeled, cut into 3 pieces each.
A package of mussels frozen, boiled, de shelled, cut in half.
A package of bay Scallops, a pound of artificial crab flakes, 2 cans of real crab meat water and all.
A lg can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of tomato paste. A stalk of Celery chopped, and a large onion.

4 large containers went into the freezer labeled and dated. 2 into the fridge, and a big batch of Rice. Royal Bismati Rice extra long grain.

Takes a lot of Okra and Oregano to get the flavor right. Along with a good dark Roux.