Okra

 

Glad I didn't get far enough with my gardening Memorial day weekend
to get the okra sown because it's turned cool and wet again.  So I
need to wait for the soil to warm back up.

I've grown okra up here once before (Minnesota, zone 4); I don't
remember if it was Emerald or Clemson Spineless but it grew over 7
feet tall by the end of the season but didn't bear very much.  This
time I bought a hybrid variety "North & South" that's supposed to be
cool weather tolerant.  But I doubt it will *sprout* in cold wet
soil.  I may germinate them in the house on some wet paper towels
then plant them when they have little 1/8" long roots sticking out.

If I pinch the tops back, will they branch out from the base and
yield heavier?  Or will that just set them back a couple of weeks
that I don't have?  My mom sows her okra in the ground but then
transplants it (I know okra doesn't like to be transplanted) and she
says it makes the plants branch.  Her okra plants always look like
upside-down candelabras.  But that's in S.E. Texas where the growing
season is about 300 days, whereas up here it's closer to 100.

Bob

 




    You might want to start with the varieties suggested here:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/Horticulture/DG1425.html#Okra
, although, at 56 days, it surely seems that Clemson Spineless ought to
do. Does your okra location get full sun all day? Except for greater
nutrient requirements, okra grows like hibiscus and, like most, demands
hours of intense sunlight in order to bloom well. It is far better
suited to more southern latitudes and, despite longer day length, yours
may simply not be getting enough solar energy, especially if it spends
any portion of its days in shade. One symptom of light deprivation is
leaves that appear to be "too green" and few blossoms.
    I garden under far different conditions than yours and scatter
Clemson Spineless amongst other moderate-to-heavy feeders as soon as
soil temp is right. I never have topped okra; Clemson spineless branches
from axillary buds naturally and frequently grows tall enough, when
pampered in a home garden, to require a stepladder for late-season
harvesting.
--
the Balvenieman
USDA zone 9b, peninsular Florida, U.S.A.
"You know what they say: Once you kill a cow,
You gotta make a burger" --Lady Gaga

 

balvenieman@invalid.net wrote:

The okra will get full sun; it's only shaded to the north, and north
doesn't matter.  We've had cold rains here all week, and the temps
are getting into the low 50's at night.  (hard to believe it was so
hot and muggy a couple of weeks ago)  So I don't know when the
ground will be warm enough to plant the okra.

Tomatoes have outgrown their purple leaves, and I have purslane
weeds and sunfowers and volunteer tomatoes coming up, so it's almost
getting warm ;)

Bob

 



 I plant Purslane rich in omega 3 I gather.

--
Bill  S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
     What use one more wake up call?  

 



I put down clear plastic, cut an X into it and planted my peppers and
tomatoes through it. I'd fold back the corners of the plastic, dig a 4"
x4" hole and plant. Afterwards, I put more dirt or potting around the
plant to seal the hole so that warm air couldn't get out. When most of
the garden soil was running 60°F, these beds were running 82°F, and 70°F,
respectively.

- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html