Okra 2022

[karstopography]

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More on the size of Star of David Okra. This is the size I like them, but I have not really let them get any bigger. At the end of the season I’ll let a few mature for seed stock and I suppose I’ll see how big they can get.

I have three Louisiana 16” pod okra that I want to grow one more day then I’ll pick and weigh them. They ought to be 8” or so by tomorrow and are said to be tender up to 10”. I wonder if short and fat will weigh more or will it be long and slim?

[GoDawgs]

More on the size of Star of David Okra. This is the size I like them, but I have not really let them get any bigger. At the end of the season I’ll let a few mature for seed stock and I suppose I’ll see how big they can get.

I have three Louisiana 16” pod okra that I want to grow one more day then I’ll pick and weigh them. They ought to be 8” or so by tomorrow and are said to be tender up to 10”. I wonder if short and fat will weigh more or will it be long and slim?

Are the fat stubby okras like Star of David more gooey than the slim type pods?

The Jing Orange I've got stays tender up to 7-8" if you get them while they're still slim. If they're that length and start to get fatter they're getting woody.

[karstopography]

@GoDawgs I don’t really know. The only way I have made the Star of David is to cut it lengthwise and roast in the oven. I haven’t notice any appreciable different in the two types of okra, slim or fat, when I cut them raw or when I eat them when done.

[karstopography]

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Three Louisiana 16” okra. They are actually 6-7”. The seed catalog description of Louisiana 16” says tender to 10”. I usually don’t let okra of any type get over 4 or 5”. I’ll see if they are actually tender at 7”. So a 7” long Louisiana 16” okra weighs what the 3.5” star of david variety weighs.

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[JRinPA]

For me up here the tenderness depends on the rate of growth. If it is wet and they are growing fast, the clemson stay tender to 6-7". Fast is about a 2" baby pod to a 4"-5" pod in two days, then a 6"+ pod in two more days. When going "great" I can continuously pick a good 5-6" pod from each stalk every two days. At that time there will be 4 pods developing on the stalk - a flower, a dying flower falling off a 2" pod, a developing 4" pod, and the 6" to pick that day. But that is nearing outlier-good territory. A couple weeks in each season, usually. If slow growth, they might start getting a hard nose at 4-5". If the nose hardens I can still cut that back and sometimes eat some of the base of the pod, but it is not as good as picking it on time. This year it is more like picking a pod at 4" from 1/2 or 2/3 of the stalks every 2 days to stay ahead of the hardness.

I still have those two choppee plants, the originally larger plant is still throwing pods that curl the nose and change color to a reddish brown. The brown is a bit hard and off flavor and texture. The other plant has caught up in size, but the pods do not do the curl and brown. I'm pick those pods about 4".

The cowhorn has a 6" pod on as of the other day. I'll check it tomorrow and see if it is hard or not. I felt a spine poke me on that when I touched it recently. Hand watering, the back of my hand got spined - I think it was a leaf edge.

[karstopography]

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I pulled the plug on the okra for 2022. Once the more or less hot weather gets inconsistent, it’s time to try and dry the pods for the seeds. The recent weather has tended to defoliate the okra and stop most of the blooming. I haven’t picked any okra in about three weeks or so. There’s a ton of big, tough pods out there, but they take a long time to fully dry out. The weather has been dry and that does have to help. I broke the main and many of the side stems on most plants to help hasten the drying process. With a few others I removed the pods.

Some seeds will be saved for next year’s crop, but I might try and press the rest for the oil, that is if I get a lot of seeds.

[JRinPA]

Were the 7" pods above still tender?


I wish I had seen this post yesterday...I got in some sweet potatoes but forgot about okra seed. I have a bunch that were about dried out.

Not a great year for okra here, even with the heat. Too dry. I won't be growing choppee again. Maybe try the cowhorn again; I really should do a pot with bottom open for tap root of a bush.

Have you made or had okra seed oil before? What is that like?

[karstopography]

https://www.scielo.br/j/cta/a/CNg5j3qZM ... format=pdf
https://oliverfarm.com/store/okra-seed-oil
Evidently, okra seed oil is a thing with chefs and such, but I haven’t yet had any or pressed my own. Supposed to be a good and tasty finishing oil. I bought a little oil press so providing my okra dry successfully, I’ll press some oil. I could see trying okra oil in place of olive oil on Caprese salad. Okra oil is also said to be helpful to fight high cholesterol. If I get a few ounces of clean oil I’ll consider it a success, providing it tastes good. If it is really good, maybe I’ll turn over most of the summer garden to growing okra.

I don’t think I let the pods get much more than 7” before harvesting. The Louisiana 16” topped out at about 12” in my plot when I let them go here recently. I didn’t eat any tough pods during the season, but I did toss into the compost a few pods that seemed tough when I cut into them. I composted some of the harvest as we couldn’t eat it all and I was low on space in the freezer to store any.

[JRinPA]

Okra oil, $35 a cup. Who knew? I cannot imagine what that tastes like.

[karstopography]

https://www.atlantamagazine.com/dining- ... nta-chefs/

More on the flavor of okra oil.

[pepperhead212]

Don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon, at that price. Or making my own, with the few seeds I get.

I cut out my okra a few days ago - it slowed down considerably in our cool September, and especially that cold snap we got, when it got in the low 40s, and lows in the low 50s - okra doesn't like that!

That new Nirmal did well, in the beginning. First one to produce, and good when it would get 6" long (8" it would start getting some fiber) but it was another one of those types that would not grow lower sprouts, once I cut the top, when it would get too tall - a problem with many of the varieties I've grown. Little lucy was still the best producer. Emerald was OK, but seemed to loose a bunch leaves, while others had no problems. Clemson Spineless the least productive, so I won't try that again. Even with the second hottest summer for the area, it wasn't a great year for the okra.

[karstopography]

Star of David does significant production on side branches, I didn’t even cut the tops, it formed side shoots with flowers and pods on its own. So did all the rest, hill country red, jing orange, Okinawan pink, I planted except the Louisiana 16”. Louisiana 16” might have eventually.

Okinawan pink is essentially a dwarf plant for me, but fast to produce. I didn’t give it a fair shot as the others grew so much taller and shaded the Okinawan pink type. I’ll save some seed for it and give it its own space next year.

My daughter also grew okra and she’s dried a “bucket full” of pods and is supposed to bring those to me next week. I should soon have seeds to squeeze for oil.

[Whwoz]

Roughly how large do Okra plants get under reasonable growing conditions. I ask because I am getting some dropped off tomorrow and have no experience with this crop. Expecting maximum temperatures to build from mid to high teens that we are currently getting to around 30C/85F with weekly rain events until January most likely. Soil they are going into is free draining black sand. Any help appreciated

[worth1]

Depends on the amount of fertilizer and water.
Given space they can get really huge.
Like way over your head.

[karstopography]

Some types are semi-dwarf or dwarf. Okinawan pink, baby bubba, blonde are like this, 1 meter or less tall. Spacing for okra can be about what you want, but I would not put them much closer than about 30cm apart. Clemson spineless is a little bigger. Other types get really tall, Star of David in my garden were almost 3 meters and sprawling.

If you can find out the specific cultivar that will be helpful.

[pepperhead212]

What variety or varieties are you getting, @Whwoz? As noted above, they vary greatly in size, but here's a problem many have - they grow straight up, and that's it! Some branch out down below, even before snipped above (like a lot of plants do), but some just stop growing. I've learned this with many, when they would get to where I could no longer reach them (I'm 6'6", so it's pretty high), and I would snip the top; some would send out shoots below (some do this before the cut), but some would just sit there, and not ever produce another flower!

[karstopography]

There’s so many cultivars, various DTM, sizes, colors, okra might not be as diverse as tomatoes, but there’s a still a wide range of sizes, colors and such. Cooler and shorter your summer is, the shorter DTM, smaller plants might be the way to go. If tropical heat is rare and short lived where you are, then I’d recommend the shorter days to maturity types.

Here, we have tropical conditions prevailing from the middle of May into October. I can get away with growing the giant types like Star of David and Louisiana 16”.

[Whwoz]

Thanks folks, plants will be dropped off this morning, so will post variety names then. Sounds like staking will be the go here.

[worth1]

You really don't need to stake okra if given proper space.
2 to 3 feet apart is a good distance 3 better if you have the space.
They will hold themselves up easily.
Many people plant too closely together and they become crowded and we all know how that works.
I've done it myself.
Another thing these plants transplant very easy.
I've literally pulled them out of the ground and moved them with no real ill effects.
The plants being about a foot tall.
Just water the devil out of them.

[Whwoz]

Ok, drop off just occurred, varieties received were
Evertender
White Velvet
Bowling Red
Jade
Red Burgundy
Burmese Jing
White Queen, which is probably correctly known as Silver Queen

Now for a read up session