Help with my Okra

Starlight · May 17, 2015

Please, I need some advice with what to do with my Okra. I got the Heavy Hitter Okra since it supposed to make 50-75 branches all at once and be a good producer. Giving my folks I feed three or 4 pods at a time doesn't give them much to work with, hence getting what I hope will be a mass producer of Okra.

My so called great idea is giving me problems. The problem I am having is I don't know what size container I will need to grow these what looks like Okra trees from pics I have seen? I have to grow in containers.

I know what I feed my regular Okra plants, but with these being such bigger plants, does anybody happen to know what I will have to feed them, how much and how often?

February 19, 2016

Okra isn't a cucurbit (a member of the cucurbitaceae family, which includes such as squash, gourds, watermelons, muskmelons, cucumbers, Kiwano, and so forth). Okra is in the Malvaceae family, or the same family as mallow, cotton and cocoa.

You could try a 5 gallon container for one plant (which works for Clemson Spineless; I don't know if it'll work for Heavy Hitter), but you might be better off with a 10-30 gallon tote (they can be pretty inexpensive at Walmart).

February 19, 2016

You might also consider Burmese okra.

rhines81 · February 19, 2016

I guess if you started out with a good soil/potting mix in a 5-10 gallon container it would work out fine with just watering (no additional 'feeding' should be required). I never saw okra grown in containers but it should be fine given enough space.

Worth1 · February 19, 2016

I just dont see how you can get enough okra to amount to a hill of beans from a container.

You need around 25 plants to make it worthwhile.
When in good production this will give you about 25 or more pods a day.
Over crowding will do nothing for you they need to be at least 12 inches apart 18 would be better.

Of course my idea of heaven is vast green rolling hills of never ending okra.

Zeedman · February 19, 2016

Granted that I am not in prime okra territory... but I agree with Worth. I doubt that you could get more than a hand full of okra from a container, regardless of variety or climate. Those "trees" have huge root systems. One or two plants in a pot might be healthy, and may even branch somewhat... but you still won't get much from one or two plants.

MuddyBuckets · March 8, 2016

This is Clemson Spineless in top watered bucket last season, I overcrowded the bucket but got nice production on the main plant, the others never really took off. Had about 1 okra a day for 2 months, not quite enough to justify the work and expense.

MB

May 17, 2015	#1
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	Help with my Okra Please, I need some advice with what to do with my Okra. I got the Heavy Hitter Okra since it supposed to make 50-75 branches all at once and be a good producer. Giving my folks I feed three or 4 pods at a time doesn't give them much to work with, hence getting what I hope will be a mass producer of Okra. My so called great idea is giving me problems. The problem I am having is I don't know what size container I will need to grow these what looks like Okra trees from pics I have seen? I have to grow in containers. I know what I feed my regular Okra plants, but with these being such bigger plants, does anybody happen to know what I will have to feed them, how much and how often?

February 19, 2016	#2
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	Okra isn't a cucurbit (a member of the cucurbitaceae family, which includes such as squash, gourds, watermelons, muskmelons, cucumbers, Kiwano, and so forth). Okra is in the Malvaceae family, or the same family as mallow, cotton and cocoa. You could try a 5 gallon container for one plant (which works for Clemson Spineless; I don't know if it'll work for Heavy Hitter), but you might be better off with a 10-30 gallon tote (they can be pretty inexpensive at Walmart). Last edited by shule1; February 19, 2016 at 10:31 PM.

February 19, 2016	#4
rhines81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Zone 5A, Poconos Posts: 959	I guess if you started out with a good soil/potting mix in a 5-10 gallon container it would work out fine with just watering (no additional 'feeding' should be required). I never saw okra grown in containers but it should be fine given enough space.

February 19, 2016	#5
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I just dont see how you can get enough okra to amount to a hill of beans from a container. You need around 25 plants to make it worthwhile. When in good production this will give you about 25 or more pods a day. Over crowding will do nothing for you they need to be at least 12 inches apart 18 would be better. Of course my idea of heaven is vast green rolling hills of never ending okra.

February 19, 2016	#6
Zeedman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 313	Granted that I am not in prime okra territory... but I agree with Worth. I doubt that you could get more than a hand full of okra from a container, regardless of variety or climate. Those "trees" have huge root systems. One or two plants in a pot might be healthy, and may even branch somewhat... but you still won't get much from one or two plants.