Okra 2024

[karstopography]

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The fire ants and I have reached an accommodation over which party has control over the okra. I ceded two okra plants to the ants to do whatever they wish with those and in return they have refrained from molesting any of the other okra plants. Heck of a deal is my viewpoint.

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[pepperhead212]

Something I do, that helps keep ants off okra is brush the lower 4 inches or so of the stalk with tanglefoot. As long as there is nothing else from the plant touching the ground, they have to crawl up the trunk.

[karstopography]

I had to look up tanglefoot. So that’s what that sticky stuff is called. Good tip. Good to know. Ought to work.

I’m about to let most of the okra go to seed and the bed with the ants is going to be ripped up mid October to make room for cool season crops. The other okra bed free from the ants will be ripped up in November (for to plant garlic and bulbing onions) and hopefully the okra pods will be dry enough by then to save some seeds. I’d have ripped up the okra bed with the ants this week but the feedstore was out of the compost I like and then I’m going to have a week or so of no gardening or even being around to nurture seedlings so I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer to plant the cool season stuff.

We are about sick of okra anyway. I mean it is good, but enough is enough.

[pepperhead212]

As for the tanglefoot, what I do is put a stake into the ground, a couple of inches from the plants, and brush the tanglefoot on that, as well - otherwise, the ants would use that to get to the okra. I keep those thick, long stakes for the okra, and wash off the lower end, and the next season, brush another layer of tanglefoot on it, in that same section (the old TF is still sticky, but not enough for the whole season). Get the TF on your hands, or anything, you need some solvent like acetone or Goof Off - even isopropyl alcohol doesn't remove this stuff, and it stays on pretty much the entire season.

[JRinPA]

I should have a couple more pickings but the stalks that are still alive definitely started their end of season push, pod pod pod pod real close with hardly any leaf growth.

[karstopography]

I ordered Heavy Hitter okra seeds today, AFAIK, Heavy Hitter is a extra productive selection of Clemson Spineless.

[rdback]

I ordered Heavy Hitter okra seeds today, AFAIK, Heavy Hitter is a extra productive selection of Clemson Spineless.

Yes, indeed. It was developed by a fella named Ron Cook, up in OK.

Here's HH history, as told by Ron.
https://seedsavingnetwork.proboards.com ... itter-okra

[JRinPA]

ordered heavy hitter from where?
I wonder if we have enough heat here for that variety.

[JRinPA]

nevermind, I figured it out from the last pages of the proboards thread.
$9 for 50 seeds to PA.
$14 for 100.
$15 for 150.
or
$3.50 for 15 from baker creek. which sounds good to me.

[karstopography]

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Planted my first okra of 2025. Heavy Hitter. Should end up with eight plants. Direct seeded, no presoaking. Soil isn’t especially moist. I’ll water this area tomorrow.

Probably about as early as I could have direct seeded okra considering the recent cold snap.

[karstopography]

nevermind, I figured it out from the last pages of the proboards thread.
$9 for 50 seeds to PA.
$14 for 100.
$15 for 150.
or
$3.50 for 15 from baker creek. which sounds good to me.

My seeds came from Baker Creek. Had to be more than 30 seeds, more like 40.

[pepperhead212]

I'm trying Heavy Hitter this year, too, in addition to Little Lucy. I had trouble with Emerald, last season, and that is usually my other variety; I don't know if I got it from a different source, or what it was, but this year, I'll just grow these two.

[karstopography]

I think I’ll plant Eagle Pass okra next. Okra is going into the north side of my 16’x 9’ in the ground original bed. The first planting was where the soft necked garlic were just a couple of day ago. The next will be maybe as early as this weekend when I finish up harvesting the Texas Legend Onions. I’m putting down and mixing in some Cotton Seed meal just prior to planting. Might do eight or so Eagle pass okra plants. Generally, six okra plants are enough once they get cranking to keep us in sufficient fresh okra, but I like to have some extras just in case. I like something red in the okra so I might do one more planting of Sea Island Red or Jing Orange or Okinawan Pink. The whole 16’x9’ bed will be available before too long and there’s another 4’x8’ coming available within a couple of weeks. Really the only other thing I want to plant is Pink Eye Purple hull peas. I might put those in the 4x8’ or I more likely will put those where the granex onions are finishing up. Decisions.

[karstopography]

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My heavy hitter okra is up. I will thin to 6-8 plants eventually. I also planted Burmese, Eagle Pass, Burgundy, and Okinawan Pink. Enough to do two or three of each. That will be all the okra I plan on doing in 2025.