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This is positively farming media.
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I think there are two types of people.
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Those that love okra and those that absolutely can't stand it.
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But I'm convinced that at least half of those that can't stand
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it, just haven't ever had it cooked properly if you've only
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ever had it in gumbo or you had an undercooked or oversized and
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it was just slimy, well, you've not really had okra.
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Welcome back my gardening friends to another episode of
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just gross. Something, I'll be honest, I
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hadn't ever even tried okra the first time I grew it.
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We just had so many customers at the farmers market asking for
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okra every year, I decided to give it a try.
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It wasn't until that next summer that I tasted it and was
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admittedly a little underwhelmed.
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Yeah I hadn't had it cooked properly yet either.
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What was not underwhelming though was the experience of
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actually growing the okra those plants were amazing.
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They were huge. They were resilient to just
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about everything our Missouri, summer threw at them.
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They had zero pest problems. And produced the most beautiful
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flowers, all season long as they just produced and produced until
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the first freeze. Finally, hit saving the seeds
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for The Following season was super easy and I even used the
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dried pods to create Christmas ornaments that year.
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And as we recently discussed on a companion, planting episode
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okra can be used to help control whiteflies.
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In the garden. I mean, come on how many other
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vegetables in our Gardens are that versatile and don't think
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if you're not in the South or at least on the edge of it, like we
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are that you can't grow okra. You can most certainly grow this
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Southern favorite in a cooler climate with a shorter season
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with just a few tricks. On today's episode, we'll go
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over at the basics of growing okra including preferred
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temperatures and conditions that are key to its success and
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discuss ways to work around some of those preferences to get
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yourself, a crop even in a short Or difficult climate.
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Let's dig in. Hey I'm Karen and I started
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gardening 18 years ago, in a small corner of my Suburban
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backyard. When we moved to a 5-acre
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homestead, I expanded that Garden to half an acre and I
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found such joy and purpose in feeding my family and friends.
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This newfound love for digging in the dirt and providing for
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others. Prompted my husband and I to
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grow our small Homestead into a 40-acre market farm.
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When I went back to school to get my degree in Horticulture, I
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discovered there is so much power in food and I want to
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share everything. The thing I've learned with as
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many people as possible on this podcast.
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We explore crop information soil, Health pests, and
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diseases, Plant Nutrition, our own nutrition.
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And so much more in the world of food and gardening.
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So, grab your garden journal, and a cup of coffee and get
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ready to just grow something. Okay, so a quick thank you to
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those who reached out and asked about my eye, after these silly
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incident with the tomato plant, I'm fine.
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Really the itching in the burning was temporary and I was
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right as rain by the next morning, what I am dealing with
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right now though. A gardening overuse injury, I
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swear, it's the truth. I have developed gluteal
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tendinopathy from the incessant amount of squatting bending
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reaching and lifting that I have been doing in the gardens.
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I think that combined with using a different vehicle for my
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weekly deliveries which sits much lower to the ground than my
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pickup truck has caused an overuse injury.
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That's normally seen in athletes that play soccer.
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And also Runners, which, of course, means, I now have to
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take a short break from running because I can't take a break
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from the gardening, have to modify the way that I'm doing
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the gardening, which was really interesting while I was
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trellising Tomatoes this morning and I need to add some strength
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training to my routine. So I can be healed up in time to
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start marathon training for the fall.
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But I mean, come on, who gets tendonitis in their glutes from
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gardening. I do.
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Now, apparently, this whole aging thing is just for the
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birds Good news is, I won't have to worry about bending or
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squatting or reaching down into my okra crop okra grows, nice
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and tall when it's healthy. And it really doesn't need much
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in the way of Maintenance, it really has been for me a kind of
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seed it and forget it. Kind of a crop, it's even done.
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Well out competing all but the tallest in the strongest of
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weeds which means I have to keep the Johnson grass out of it.
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But nothing else has seemed to give the okra Cropper run for
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its money. So are you ready to grow okra?
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All right, as always, let's start with the basics.
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The Latin name for okra is able most Gus esculenta sand.
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It's in the malvaceae family, which is the mallos.
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Now, if you've ever seen the flowers of an okra plant, this
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should come as no surprise because they look very much like
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the other species of the family, like hollyhock and hibiscus.
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But that plant family also includes cotton and cacao.
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The true origin of okra is a little uncertain because there
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is no known truly wild specimens, only naturalized ones
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the theory. Three.
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Is that okra originated in very hot areas of Africa, and Asia
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was cultivated in the Middle East in India.
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And there have been carved examples of okra found in
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Pharaoh's temples in Egypt, that seems to have made its way from
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Egypt to Europe in the early 1200s.
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And then was brought to South America by the slave trade, in
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the mid, 1600s and then made it to North America in the early
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1700s, with record of it being grown as far north as
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Philadelphia by 1748. Now, it's important to note
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here. That okra used in West Africa is
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a different variety than what we typically see in the other areas
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of the world which is part of the debate about where a
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esculent has originated because the West African okra is able
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mosca's Cali and it is considered a traditional food
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there, which brings us into a great time to discuss.
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The cultural significance and ethno Botanical uses.
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For okra remember, ethnobotany is the study of a regions plants
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and their Google uses through the traditional knowledge of a
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local culture and its people, these uses are cited as a
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historical and anthropological resource never in.
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Just the parts of any plant without being absolutely
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positive of its effects upon the human body.
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Okra is a multi-purpose crop, it is very much valued for those
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tender little pods but in West Africa leaves Buds and Flowers
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of the okra are also consumed. The dried seeds provide, oil
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protein, vegetable curd and it serves as a cop.
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Substitute dried okra seeds contain 18 to 20 percent oil and
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22, 23, % crude protein, which means it's a very important
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food. Staple, the foliage can be used
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for biomass in the dried stems. Serve as a source of paper pulp
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or fuel quite literally, the entire plant is used in its
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native regions. Now, as far as nutrition is
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concerned according to the USDA National nutrient database, one
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cup of raw okra at 100 grams contains 33 calories, one point,
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nine grams of protein, which is a lot for a small amount of a
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vegetable point, two grams of fat, seven point five grams of
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carbohydrates, just over three grams of fiber and about a gram
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and a half of sugar. But okra also contains a good
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amount of vitamin K, potassium, vitamin C, magnesium and calcium
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along with some vitamin B6. Folate vitamin A and other trace
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minerals. It is a very healthy food for
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us. Okra also contains a variety of
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It compounds antimicrobials and anti-inflammatories.
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Now, if you're an okra lover, you should be aware that eating
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too much okra can actually cause some gastrointestinal problems
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if you're not used to it. And if you have some existing
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issues okra is also high in oxalates and just like, with
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spinach folks who are prone to kidney stones, may want to avoid
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consuming High oxalate Foods in large quantities, and okras high
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vitamin K content. May affect those who use
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blood-thinning drugs like warfarin, Or Coumadin because
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vitamin K helps the blood clot. But because okra seeds can also
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provide oil and protein in regions where food is often
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scarce. The seeds can offer a really
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good source of high quality protein.
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This is also great news for vegan eaters, who may struggle
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with getting enough plant-based protein so how do we grow?
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It okra requires, hot weather, full sun, and well-drained soil.
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It is very sensitive to cold temperatures.
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So even though you will, Instructions to plant it.
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After the last frost, or even four weeks after the last frost,
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don't let that be your guide. You want your soil temperature
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at at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit and overnight lows
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staying above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Most okra varieties need a minimum of 55 to 65 frost-free
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days with daytime temperatures. Consistently above 85 degrees
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Fahrenheit or 29 Celsius to kind of meet its full, Potential and
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some heirloom varieties can take up to 75 days to produce.
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So here we generally don't even think about putting our okra in
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until after our sweet potatoes. Have gone in the ground and
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that's usually well after the first week in June, we just got
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the sweet potatoes, planted over the past weekend and we're in
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the second week of June. So now the okra seeds will go
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into the ground if you're in zone 7 or further south in the
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northern hemisphere that this shouldn't be any kind of a
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problem. You it's the rest of us in zone
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6 and further north that need to consider our varieties in our
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timing a little bit more. So unless you're in a short
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season area direct sowing your okra is the best path.
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I'll talk about all the short season tricks here in a minute
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okra just doesn't love being transplanted so it's easiest to
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sew them in place. For the first few times that you
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grow, it the seed should be planted about a half-inch deep
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and about 10 to 18 inches apart, or thinned to that distance
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apart for the best results. Now, to be honest, though, So I
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just use my little Earth way walk-behind Cedar at whatever
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spacing I can manage. I think it's usually like four
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to six inches apart and I never come back and then those
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seedlings, it really does end up as a thick stand of plants, but
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it doesn't appear to impact my yield at all.
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But if you have a smaller space, you may decide to adhere to that
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proper spacing just to make the most of what you've got.
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Now, if you are in an ideal climate for growing okra, they
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can get as tall as 10 feet tall. So be sure you keep this.
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This in mind when you're planning, where these are going
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to be growing in your garden mind generally hit around the
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six or seven foot Mark. And that's why I say there's not
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going to be any stooping or bending with this crop.
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I'm often actually ducking under the leaves though to get to the
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pods. I just can't see from above when
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they get that tall, it's a literal okra jungle and I am
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searching for the pods. Now there are dwarf varieties of
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okra though so if you need something more compact that so
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that it doesn't like shade out, the other plants being grown in
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your small area. You'll be able to find those So,
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obviously, with most crops, the more fertile soil, the better,
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but in my experience, okra can scavenge nutrients pretty well,
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and it has grown in some not-so-great soils, on my place
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I met with compost at the beginning of the Season as
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always. And if your soil is particularly
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void of nutrients, then use a continuous release plant food of
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some type, or side, dress it with a balanced fertilizer.
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You just don't want High nitrogen unless you're really
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depleted because then you'll end up with lots of vegetation and
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very few flowers. Now, I've not used Of the elm
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dirt products on my okra because I've never needed to, but I can
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imagine the bloom juice would work.
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Well, once the plants are established and blooming and
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fruiting, I've also noticed our okra tends to do just fine in a
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drought. I've never seen a substantial
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drop in yield when we've had long periods without rain and
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I've never irrigated mine. So, if you have a challenging
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area in your garden, this might be a good spot for okra.
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And then another cool thing about okra is, it doesn't need
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as an acidic. Soil as most of our other
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garden. Plants it does best in soil with
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a pH between 6.5 and 7.0, so pretty neutral, and it can do
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just fine in a pH as high as 7.6.
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Now, this is about the same as what we aim for in growing
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asparagus. So if you have an area near an
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amended asparagus bed, you can plant okra there and know that,
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the soil PH will be conducive for both crops and sin.
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So creditors, whiteflies it can be a good companion crop for the
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asparagus. And Deterring property may just
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be a reason to grow okra in the Garden or On the perimeter of
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the garden. Even if you don't like to eat
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it, we always have a white fly problem in our Tomatoes at this
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time of the year and okra also gets along well with peppers,
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cucumbers, basil, eggplant and melons, so you might just
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consider it a companion, planting or a companion crop, if
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you have a white flight issue. Now, there's really not much to
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do with okra once it sprouts, other than keeping the weeds
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down, it really is very hands off if you're trying to grow
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okra in a short season or other difficult area here, are some
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tricks to getting them to a harvest before.
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Your first Frost choose fast. Maturing varieties.
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There are some okra plants that are bred to mature in as little
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as 50 days, Blondie, Alabama, red, and jambalaya are a few
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that I know of. If you have enough Frost Days,
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which you live in an area where the Summers can just be cooler.
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Overall like some areas of the Pacific Northwest or mountainous
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regions like Colorado. You can always look for
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varieties that are specifically for cooler weather.
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These include Annie Oakley to Jing orange and Blondie again
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here. And that's Blondie with the, why
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bl0ndie why? Another trick is to start your
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seeds indoors. Now, I know I said, okra does
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best when it's not transplanted, but if you only have a short
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window of opportunity, you gotta do what you gotta do.
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Do start them indoors preferably in something like a peat, pot,
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soil block, Paper Pot or something else.
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That won't require you taking the plant out of the container
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before putting it into the ground.
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If you can just pull, open the bottom of the pot and drop the
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plant into the soil pot and all without disturbing the Taproot.
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The plant will be better for it. And then to speed up the
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germination, you can also soak the seeds in water overnight, to
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get them sprouting more quickly. You want to get your okra
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started indoors about a month before you plan to transplant
00:14:40
them. And yes, you can grow okra in
00:14:44
containers, you'll want to go for the dwarf.
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Two varieties that don't get as big because the shorter plants
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also tend to be more narrow which are both traits that lend
00:14:53
themselves better to container growing and okra is
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self-pollinating. So you don't need a ton of
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plants in order to ensure cross pollination, which means if
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you're a short season Gardner who is desperate for okra, you
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can go ahead and start some larger pots of okra indoors and
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simply move. Move them outside.
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Once the temperatures are conducive, then if an early
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Frost threatens, you'll be able to move the containers indoors
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to protect your plants and finish out the growing season.
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I'm serious when I say you can grow almost anything in a
00:15:24
container. Now, right after the break,
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we'll talk about what plagues okra, what pests and diseases?
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Are they prone to? And we'll talk about Harvest and
00:15:31
storage. These last two may just be the
00:15:34
key to converting people from okra loaders to Okra lovers.
00:15:37
I'll be right back. As we head into the summer heat
00:15:44
our garden plants may need a little help to get through.
00:15:47
Now's the Time our start using my Bloom juice from Elm dirt as
00:15:51
a foliar. Spray in my garden for all my
00:15:53
flowering and fruiting plants Elm.
00:15:55
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00:15:58
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00:16:22
So, what Hast so want to eat our okra, as much as we do, the most
00:16:26
common ones are aphids, flea beetles spider mites and
00:16:30
root-knot nematodes. Now, in most of these, we can
00:16:33
just spray the pests off the plants, no harm, no foul with
00:16:37
the nematodes, they are soil dwellers.
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So this is a case where marigolds are beneficial since
00:16:43
they deter those particular pests.
00:16:45
Of course if you have a spider mite problem, the marigolds tend
00:16:48
to draw those in. So they might be better suited
00:16:51
to be Away from the okra plants in that case, if you've had a
00:16:55
root-knot nematode problem before crop rotation and
00:16:58
solarizing, your soil can help and adding chitin to your soil
00:17:01
by using things. Like mealworm frass or mushroom
00:17:05
compost is another way to battle them but thankfully okra is one
00:17:09
crop that I've never had to deal with major damage from pests.
00:17:13
The aphids I've seen don't ever seem to do enough damage to make
00:17:16
a difference and eventually the ladybug swoop in and take care
00:17:19
of that problem. The flea beetles Is can be a
00:17:22
problem early on when the plants are still small and I've dusted
00:17:26
with first Saturday lime when needed there, but that's been
00:17:28
about it. Oh and if you have cutworms, use
00:17:31
collars around the plants. If you see their little heads
00:17:33
being chopped off, it's not as pest specific to Okra.
00:17:37
But just about any plant in the garden is susceptible to them.
00:17:40
And you likely already know. If you have cutworms hanging
00:17:43
around and thankfully, there aren't a lot of diseases that
00:17:47
plague okra the two notable ones are verticillium Wilt and
00:17:50
fusarium wilt These are both fungal diseases that will cause
00:17:54
the plant to wilt and dry up and die suddenly during the peak of
00:17:57
the Season, really the only thing you can do is remove
00:18:00
infected plants and dispose of them outside of the Garden area
00:18:03
to prevent the spread of the disease to other plants and
00:18:07
then, rotate your crop out of there for the next season.
00:18:09
So you don't get a fungal build up in the soil now.
00:18:11
Under nice hot conditions, it can take just four days from the
00:18:16
time you see the flowers on your okra to the time, you need to
00:18:19
pick the fruit. So unless you're a aiming for
00:18:22
extra large specimens for gumbo or for drying for crafts.
00:18:26
The best size for an okra pod is just about the to 24 inch
00:18:30
length. Trust me when I say you want to
00:18:33
check the plants daily because just like with cucumbers and
00:18:36
zucchini, you can blink and the Pod will be over side.
00:18:39
I think this is sometimes where people decide they don't like
00:18:43
okra. If it's harvested later, it can
00:18:46
be bitter and tough. It develops more of the sap in
00:18:50
the inside. That's responsible for that.
00:18:52
Slimy texture and then combine that with incorrect, cooking,
00:18:55
methods. And you've got The Perfect Storm
00:18:57
for just hating, a vegetable. So pick them while they're young
00:19:00
and tender use a knife or shears to cut the pods from the plant.
00:19:04
Otherwise you can damage the stocks.
00:19:06
You really also want to wear long sleeves and maybe gloves
00:19:11
when harvesting okra has these really prickly stems and they
00:19:15
can really cause you to itch. If you're in there for too long,
00:19:19
I have some pull on sleeves that I got from From sa company.
00:19:23
The same place that I got. My lovely son, flower garden hat
00:19:26
and they are really easy to just slip on when I go into the okra
00:19:30
without causing me to feel overheated gardeners defense, is
00:19:33
another brand of these arm sleeves?
00:19:36
I can say they're very helpful in the garden for protecting my
00:19:38
arms from Weeds or okra stems, or even when I'm working in the
00:19:41
tomatoes. Now, once you've got them
00:19:43
harvested, put your fresh cut okra in a paper bag in the
00:19:46
refrigerator or wrap it Loosely in a paper towel and put it in a
00:19:49
perforated plastic bag. Do not wash it until you are
00:19:53
ready to use it and if it happens to be damp, when you
00:19:56
pick it, be sure to dry it just by patting it dry before storing
00:19:59
it, it likes a human environment but you don't want them wet.
00:20:03
It will very quickly grow funky. Like I said, it likes a humid
00:20:06
environment but it likes the temperatures to be between 45
00:20:10
and 50 degrees which is warmer than most of us, keep our
00:20:12
fridge. So put it in the warmest place,
00:20:15
which is usually your refrigerator door, they will
00:20:18
last about a week in the fridge with no loss of quality.
00:20:22
Now, how you cook? It is entirely up to you.
00:20:25
I will tell you, I have converted even the pickiest
00:20:28
eaters to Okra by coating. It whole in olive oil and
00:20:32
Seasonings, and then roasting it at a high temperature in the
00:20:34
oven until it is super crispy, and then serving it hot with a
00:20:38
cool dipping sauce. The little stems act like a
00:20:41
little handle to hold. While you're dipping, it just
00:20:43
don't eat them after they've cooled though.
00:20:45
The texture is kind of weird that point and you really can't
00:20:48
go wrong with a properly breaded and deep-fried sliced okra Yes,
00:20:52
I love taking veggies that are really good for me and deep
00:20:55
frying them don't judge me. Now I have one other tip.
00:21:02
If you live somewhere really warm where your okra actually
00:21:05
stops producing because it gets too hot and dry or if your
00:21:09
plants get so big, you can't reach to harvest them, cut them
00:21:13
down. Yes, cut them down, prune them
00:21:17
down. So the plant is only about 6 to
00:21:19
12 inches tall above the soil Line.
00:21:22
This is called returning and it forces the plant to create new
00:21:25
growing points. If your plants have stopped
00:21:28
producing midst, Summer. This will give you a bumper fall
00:21:30
crop. If the plants have gotten too
00:21:32
tall for you to manage, they will start growing again and
00:21:35
producing again in about a month at a much more manageable
00:21:38
height. I hope this information
00:21:41
encourages. You all to give okra a try in
00:21:44
the garden this season, let me know if you give it a go, I
00:21:47
always love to see pictures of what you all are doing in your
00:21:50
Gardens. Until next time, my gardening
00:21:52
friends, keep on cultivating that dream garden and we'll talk
00:21:55
again soon. You just finished another
00:21:57
episode of the just grow. Something podcast.
00:22:00
For more information about today's topic.
00:22:01
Go to just grow something podcast.com where you can find
00:22:05
all the episodes. Show notes, articles courses
00:22:08
newsletter, signup and more. I'd also love for you to head to
00:22:11
Facebook and join our gardening community in the just grow
00:22:14
something gardening, friends, Facebook group.
00:22:17
So if you have an area near an amended asparagus asparagus
00:22:22
asparagus, we always have a white fly problem.
00:22:26
Grab a glass slow down. Until next time my gardening
00:22:31
friends, keep learning and keep growing.
00:22:26
Grab a glass slow down. Until next time my gardening
00:22:31
friends, keep learning and keep growing.