Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus

Scientific Name: Abelmoschus esculentus

Why grow Okra?

This is one of my favorite plants to grow each year... and I'll be honest, I don't usually eat it. I like growing okra because of it's flowers, companion plant compatibility & ease.

Beautiful  3" pale yellow flowers have a deep burgundy throat. Like many of it's relatives (Hibiscus, Marshmallow), Okra flowers last about a day. However, happy plants can bloom every day all season long. Okra quickly grows tall with large tropical looking leaves. Unlike most tall plants, it is pretty sturdy & can support itself. It's perfect for areas where you want some height variety or a quick green wall.

Okra makes an excellent companion plant. For being a rather large garden plant, it isn't greedy. Okra can develop large root systems, so the caveat is choosing companion plants with different root systems. Think of their roots like the letter "T". The thick taproot can reach a depth of 4.5' & grow horizontally up to 6'. Most roots only get 2-3' long. The majority of the okra roots exist horizontally between 4" & 12" deep. I've grown it all over my garden & okra never seems to stunt the growth of it's neighbors. This makes it excellent for food forests where dense plantings & ground covers are used. Okra is sturdy enough for vining beans and grapes to use it like a trellis. Furthermore, by the time it gets hot & dry in the garden, Okra is tall enough to provide some shade relief & protection. Strawberries, Marigolds, Zinnia & Snapdragons make good companions.

Germination

Scarification: Okra seeds have a thick outer shell that requires scarification before it can absorb water & germinate. The seeds we sell have already been scarified for you. If you've collected your own okra seeds you will notice a dark satin olive shell with a small cream area. You do not want to damage the cream area. Hold the seed between two fingers, cream area pointed up & protected. Then rub the seed down a strip of sandpaper a few times using medium pressure. You should see a slightly dark & shiny burnished area appear on the satin olive shell. In our tests, it was better to err on the gentle side. When we used a metal file or firmly sanded, less seeds germinated.

Okra will germinate quickly (2-6 days) in moist soil, sown 3/4" deep at a temperature of 70-80F. It does really well when sown directly into the garden, which is what I normally do. Here in the St. Louis region, the soil doesn't get warm enough for okra to take off until mid or late May. Okra takes about 2 months to mature. If you want a longer growing season, start germination a few weeks early in a warm, sunny, indoor spot. You must pay attention to the roots if starting in a container. In just 3 weeks okra taproots can grow up to 16" deep, making it difficult to transplant. Don't wait to long & be very gentle transplanting it into the garden. If you need more time, consider using a deep & narrow tree pot. Make sure any chance of frost has past, before gowing okra outside. Humidity can help the seedlings fully emerge from their shell. If the plant's first leaves are still stuck in the shell after a couple days you may need to gently help it escape. Most do fine on their own.

Culture

Okra prefers a moist garden spot in full sun. It will grow in a variety of soils, including poor. However it loves some fertile garden soil. Okra is tolerant of overwatering & drought once established. Cooler weather, especially when young can slow it's growth. Otherwise okra germinates then grows quickly reaching several inches in the first week. It loves hot & humid weather, thriving when other plants shut down during a heat wave.

At about 2 months old, happy okra will bloom most days. The blooms die in about 24 hours and an okra pod quickly grows in it's place. Leaves can make your arms itchy, so you may want long sleeves when harvesting pods. I like to prune off any leaves that block pod access or stick out into the path where you might brush up against them. Pods are only tender for a couple days. Okra will keep growing until it gets cold, often until a hard frost. It is technically a perennial, but can't survive a cold winter & is often grown as an annual. Once winter is here it's leaves will slowly drop off. Any okra pods left on the plant will dry out and blacken. The pods will remain on the stems till spring. Dry pods make cool fall decor, or can be left in the ground for visual interest all winter. When you are ready to remove them you can just snip the stem off above ground & let the roots become organic matter in the ground. I like to leave 8" or so of stalk sticking out of the ground for beneficial insects to burrow in.

Harvest

Vegetable: Okra grows fast, so after it starts flowering you will want to check it every other day. Test the readiness of the pods by bending the tip. If it's flexible, it will still be tender. Raw pods have a mild green pepper flavor & store for a few days in the fridge. They make great pickles, deep fried sides & of course gumbo!  If the tip of the pod is stiff, it will probably be too tough to eat.

Seeds: pods that are too stiff  to eat can be left on the stalk for fall decor or to save your own seeds. Once the seed pod has blackened and dried out you can snip it off the plant. Wearing gloves, crush the dry pod between your hands. Twisting the vertical pod fibers back and forth will cause lots of seeds to fall out. They are easy to collect. Seeds can be stored in a cool, dry spot or in the freezer for a few years. By year 3 the germination rate will decline to 30% or less.

History

Okra originates from Africa, specifically around the upper Nile river in the Ethiopian highlands. It crossed the Atlantic ocean with enslaved Africans, hidden within protective hairstyles. Okra's growing ease & love of heat allowed it to be commonly grown from Brazil, through Central America & across southern U.S. states. It remains a part of many cultures & cuisines today.

You can purchase this product & others at our online seed store here