Okra

About Okra

Okra is a tall, hibiscus-like plant grown for tender green or red pods and a Southern kitchen staple. It thrives in heat and keeps producing all summer if picked often.

Grown as a summer annual, but it needs a long, hot season: it grows best at 75 to 90F and can take about 90 days in cool-summer areas, so it is most productive in the South and challenging in short northern summers.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

• Sow seeds outdoors: 1 to 3 weeks after the last frost

Days count from seeding. Sow 1 inch deep once the soil is warm; in short seasons, seed can be started indoors 4 to 5 weeks before transplanting. Frost blackens and kills the plants.

Soil

Well-drained sandy loam; okra does not tolerate wet soil.

Follow a soil test and keep pH 5.8 to 6.5; without a test, work in about 2 lb of balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 per 100 sq ft, or 1/2 to 1 inch of compost, 3 to 6 inches deep.

Feeding

• 3 to 4 weeks after planting, when plants are about 6 to 8 inches tall: nitrogen fertilizer such as calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0), or balanced 10-10-10. Use 1 to 2 lb of calcium nitrate per 100 ft of row (or about 3 oz of 10-10-10 per 100 ft of row) beside the plants and water it in.
• 6 to 8 weeks after planting, while pods are forming: nitrogen fertilizer such as calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0). Repeat the same amount beside the row and water it in.

Too much nitrogen, especially early, gives leafy plants with few pods; pick pods every few days so plants keep producing.

Harvest

Pick pods at 2 to 3 inches long while tender, at least every other day; a pod whose stem is hard to cut is too old.

Pick pods at least every other day; pods left to mature on the plant slow new pod production, and well-picked, watered and fed plants bear for up to 12 weeks. For a fall crop, cut plants back to 6 to 12 inches between mid-July and mid-August; new pods follow in 4 to 6 weeks and continue until frost.

Varieties (27)

Good neighbors

Sweet potato

UMD Extension shows okra with a sweet potato ground cover in an intensive garden; this is a space-saving idea rather than proven pest control.

Pests to watch for

Aphids, Corn earworm (tomato fruitworm), Stink bugs, Root-knot nematodes, Whiteflies, Harlequin bug, Red imported fire ant, Leaffooted bugs

Diseases and problems

Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, Root rot, Pod rot, Damping off, Sooty mold

In the kitchen

Used in gumbo, stews and curries, fried, roasted or pickled; the pods thicken soups.

Keeping it: Keep dry, unwashed pods in a plastic bag in the fridge and use them within a few days to a week; okra doesn't like being too cold for long.

Safety: The pods have fine hairs that can irritate skin; wear gloves when harvesting (the hairs wash off).

Pets: Not listed as toxic by the ASPCA