The Magic of Gardening

Growing Okra:

How do I stop this itching?

Alabama Red Okra pictured

I have only met one person in my life who said he actually enjoys picking okra. This strange man is the retired superintendent of the Cullman Research Station, Arnold Caylor. Arnold is a good friend but a strange person. Most true Southerners love okra, but hate picking it and I count myself among this majority. When we moved to the home where I currently reside, the landscape was completely bare, and I decided it was too late to start landscaping but just the right time to plant okra. I planted the entire front yard in okra. My young children were not happy with my crop choice, but it kept them busy for the summer, which was my goal. Some may call this child abuse, or a violation of the child labor laws, but I called it a good life lesson. I hope the statute of limitations has passed.

Despite its historical connection to the South, okra is not native to America but is a very well-adapted species that likely originated in East Africa. Okra belongs to the same plant family as cotton (Mallow or Hibiscus family) and like this other distinctively Southern crop, it requires a long growing season and a very warm soil for seed germination. If you plant okra seed before the soil has properly warmed it will often rot in the cool wet soil. Therefore, the wise gardener will patiently wait for the soil to warm to 75 degrees. You can start a little earlier if you grow or purchase transplants.

The impatient gardener may wisely help the garden soil to warm faster to get a jump on their neighbor. Who doesn’t want to be the first in the area to have fresh okra? Raised beds with lots of dark organic matter will warm faster by absorbing heat better. In addition, covering the soil with black plastic mulch will increase the soil temperature considerably. Apply the mulch to the loosened soil about a week before planting and hope for sunny days. As mentioned earlier you can even get a greater jump on the season by starting the seedlings indoors about three weeks ahead of transplanting or by buying the transplants ready to set in the garden. Just remember the warm soil is still a must and a full sun location is a necessity for good okra production. You may use a light application of liquid fertilizer at about half the recommended rate once the seedlings have sprouted. Regardless of whether you start seed indoors or not, it is a good idea to soak the seed overnight before planting.

In the absence of a soil test before planting in the garden, mix in about 2 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer (or equivalent) per 100 square feet. Excessive nitrogen

results in excess vegetative growth at the expense of fruit production. You may need very small amounts of extra nitrogen but don’t use more than 1 ounce of 330-0 (diluted in warm water) per 10 feet of row at a time. This can be done every month as needed to maintain good plant color and new growth.

There are several good varieties available but the most common and most popular is Clemson Spineless. You may also see Annie Oakley, Emerald, Lee, Spike or even a red pod form such as the heirloom variety called “Alabama Red.” Most okra are not hybrids which means you can save your own seed from year to year very easily and expect the same kind of okra to come back each year. They are starting to come out with hybrids such as Jambalaya, which is a good producer and several days earlier than the standard varieties. You will not be able to save the seed and expect them to come back the same from hybrid varieties.

Okra plants get quite large, and they should be allowed some space to expand. Plant individual plants about 1 foot apart in the row or plant seed about 4 inches apart and thin to 1 foot after the seedlings emerge. If you are planting in a raised bed at least 4 feet wide, plant two rows on the bed 2 feet apart. In late summer when the plants are crowding each other, cut every other plant down to about 1 foot high and add a little fertilizer. Thin the regrowth to one or two stalks per plant and once they start to bloom, repeat the process on the remaining plants. This method will greatly increase your production and keep the plants at a reasonable size for harvesting.

Okra does not have too many serious pests, but you should be on the lookout for fire ants, aphids, Japanese beetles (in North Alabama) and stink bugs. There are very few materials for controlling fire ants in the garden but the materials available are very safe. Visit www.aces.edu and search the fire ant information to get a list of products you can safely use. Ants will often be associated with aphids because they take care and protect them to harvest the honeydew they secrete while feeding. An application of mild insecticidal soap or even a strong stream of water may do the trick. Although Japanese beetles can do significant damage in a short time, the plants would likely recover without treatment. Picking them off and placing them in a container of soapy water works fairly well. Stinkbugs and their relatives can become a problem late in the season so learn to identify the eggs and nymph stage so you can crush and pick them off before they build up large numbers.

Okra disease problems are mostly below ground, which means rotation is crucial to avoid a buildup of nematodes and pathogens in the soil. Avoid planting in the same bed or area more often than once every four years and learn how to rotate all your vegetable crops. Visit www.aces.edu and search “Vegetable Crop Rotation” in the publication search area for a garden rotation plan found in our nematode publication. Unless you are as weird as my friend Arnold Caylor is, I suggest you wear long sleeves and gloves when you pick your crop in a couple of months.

Okra Bloom