[ garden ] :: how to grow okra

If you live in Georgia and have a garden, you should be growing okra. It is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and it is very prolific. I abused my poor okra plants last year and still had a great yield! Okra plants from Bonnie are available from Home Depot for $3.98 each, but this year I decided to save some money and start them from seed.

Okra plants are gorgeous! They are a relative of the Hibiscus and their yellow and burgundy flowers are among one of my favorite buds. But, they get very tall - I'm talking 8-12 feet tall. They may need to be staked, and make sure you plant them in a location where they won't shade other plants.

How to germinate okra: To begin, you will need to soak your okra seeds for 24 hours. The easiest way to do this is to place them in a bowl on top of a coffee filter and cover with 1" of water. They will swell a bit and you'll know they are done! Plant 3 seeds per pot, then thin to 1 seedling after germination.

Now, this step is very important: choosing where, when, and how you will grow your okra seedlings. Check your region's best seed planting dates in the Farmer's Almanac - I am in Zone 7, so the best time here to sow the seeds outdoors is in mid-April. I started my seeds indoors last week and be warned: they grow astonishingly fast. These okra seedlings are 3 days post-germination and are already taller than my 1-month old tomato seedlings. If you start them indoors in mid-March, have a sunny spot ready for them. They will be ready to transplant after the last frost date (here, that is mid-April).

How to grow okra: Plant it in the ground, water it well, and let it grow! The okra plant will need 1 square foot of space. The roots of the plant  are not very deep, so okra does well in raised beds, and maybe even in containers. Once it reaches 3-4 feet tall (by late May) it will produce okra for you to harvest. Fertilize lightly with a 5-1-1 fertilizer (fish emulsion is awesome for this) every few weeks.

How to harvest okra: Harvest okra when it is about the length of your index finger. If it grows larger, it can be woody or stringy. When the plant is young and tender, the okra can simply be twisted off of the plant. However, use sharp scissors to cut the okra off once the plant ages and becomes more woody.

Clemson Spineless okra. Photo c/o Burpee.

I chose the Clemson Spineless variety. Sometimes when the okra gets very large it can get stringy, but this variety is supposed to have less "strings." Check it out at Burpee ($4.95 for 100 seeds) or from Botanical Interests ($1.69 for 80 seeds). You can buy the Burpee seeds at Home Depot, and the Botanical Interests seeds (that is what I purchased) from Pike Nurseries. In my experience, both seed companies provide excellent seeds with great germination rates....I just happened to be at Pike!

Last year, we only had two okra plants and had a fairly large serving of okra each week, but this year I'm growing sixteen okra plants. The Hubs is super excited about it and even helped me pick up soil for the new garden bed they will be in. We are looking forward to having okra to grill (it's delicious with just salt and pepper), stew with tomatoes, and even pickle! It should go without saying that we are planning to fry a few batches as well.

Enjoy!

- Maggie White