Okra - Page 8

upcountrygirl · April 18, 2019

If they haven't already been mentioned Sow True Seeds out of Asheville, NC have an interesting selection of varieties and they state they intend on trialing more....

DonDuck · April 18, 2019

I'm anxious to get my okra transplants planted. I've never grown okra, but I often bought it fresh at the grocery store. I also like some canned okra like Margaret Holmes okra and tomatoes. My only complaint is the cans are sometimes long on tomatoes and short on okra. Today I found some canned okra, corn; and tomatoes. I never eaten that combination. I always grow so many tomatoes, I find it difficult to give all the excess away. Growing my own okra, I may not have any excess tomatoes this year. I already have some friends wanting my excess okra if I have any. I'm really looking forward to it. (thanks rajun).

When harvesting okra, will it snap off the plant or is it always preferable to cut the stem from the plant? How irritating are the spines on okra leaves and pods to your skin when harvesting? Is it common or necessary to prune the lower branches and leaves from the plant as the plant grows and produces from the new growth?

GoDawgs · April 19, 2019

We cut and freeze our okra. Tray freeze first then bag it. It's often added to a jar of home canned tomatoes with some diced onion, garlic and celery, dash of hot sauce, black pepper. Good stuff! I've even sprinkled mine with parmesan cheese.

You need to cut off okra pods as they don't snap.

Okra leaves/stems don't make my arms itch but other people do have that problem. I don't know if it's a variety specific problem or if it's just a difference in people. Kind of like allergies; some have them, some don't.

It's been my experience that the lower leaves will fall off on their own, just dry up and fall. New shoots will appear at the axils where the old leaves fell off.

Scooty · April 19, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tormato

Now the big question, and okra lovers don't get insulted, but...

is there any variety that actually has any flavor?

Okra .... tastes like... okra.

It's quite flavor neutral in some respects, like an eggplant or a squash. IMO, what it tastes like depends on cooking method a lot.

I'm not a native southerner, so my preferences aren't probably with the majority that enjoy okra. Not a huge fan of the deep fried, stir fried, sauteed, or baked. The slimy-ness is something that seems to vary with cultivar (maybe Rajun can jump in here), which is why I think I've had such a mixed experience with okra.

For me, I almost will almost always prefer gumbo to any other form.

GrowingCoastal · April 19, 2019

My working mom would buy campbell's chicken gumbo soup and it became my favourite. I knew what all the regular veggies looked like but couldn't recognise the okra seeds. I found out what they were by reading the ingredients list. I never buy canned soup but do use some okra for the subtle flavour it brings to home made.
Okra has not had much success in my garden but I keep trying. One good year I got 5 pods!

roper2008 · April 19, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scooty

Okra .... tastes like... okra.

It's quite flavor neutral in some respects, like an eggplant or a squash. IMO, what it tastes like depends on cooking method a lot.

I'm not a native southerner, so my preferences aren't probably with the majority that enjoy okra. Not a huge fan of the deep fried, stir fried, sauteed, or baked. The slimy-ness is something that seems to vary with cultivar (maybe Rajun can jump in here), which is why I think I've had such a mixed experience with okra.

For me, I almost will almost always prefer gumbo to any other form.

I think it does have a milder flavor snooty, but it does have a flavor, especially if you
eat it the way I do. A lot of people can't handle the slimmyness. I am not a southerner really, since I was raised in Southern California, but my dads family is from Louisiana, and I was born in New Orleans. My dad would make chicken gumbo, so that must be where I got use to okra. I'm hoping to grow a Okra that I really like.
The Jing Orange is a new variety I will be trying this year.

Gardeneer · April 19, 2019

I direct sowed my okra, about 10 days ago. They have popped up..
Probably that is the last item that I have planted, corn is up, cucurbits are up.
About eatink okra. I even eat them fresh out of the bush
I like them in beef stew, fried (both deep and breaded). But got to be tender before getting woody.that is why i check and picked them twice a day.

Worth1 · April 20, 2019

First, if young and tender and under good growing conditions okra will snap off the plant without using a knife.
Second, I trialed several okras a few years ago and Star of David has a rather odd pungent like taste.
Cant say as I like it or not, pickled some and wasn't too enthused about it.

DonDuck · April 21, 2019

I'm looking forward to eating okra as part of different dishes or as a dish alone. I'm probably most anxious to eat a few straight off the plant. I do that with almost everything I grow. I don't know why, but if I don't like it fresh in the garden, I probably won't like it cooked in the house. This morning, I ate fresh green onions and asparagus in the garden. My Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, and lettuce are mostly in the compost pile, but I really enjoyed eating them fresh in the garden as I walked around checking and fixing things.

MrBig46 · April 26, 2019

I got from MdTNGrdnerd seeds of Beck's Big Buck Horn and Jing Orange. I sowed four seeds from each variety. Jing Orange 100% Beck´s Buck Horn nothing yet. I'm waiting.
Vladimír

Scooty · April 26, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBig46

I got from MdTNGrdnerd seeds of Beck's Big Buck Horn and Jing Orange. I sowed four seeds from each variety. Jing Orange 100% Beck´s Buck Horn nothing yet. I'm waiting.
Vladimír

I think I still have your address from the seeds you sent me. Do you want Eagle Pass and or Hill Country Red Okra?

Ken B · April 27, 2019

Some heirloom okra varieties have a slower/more staggered germination period, so it may just take longer for the Beck's to come up. (20th century okra breeders selected for earlier/more uniform germination -- pre-modern irrigation, that wasn't necessarily a useful trait.)

Scooty · April 28, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken B

Some heirloom okra varieties have a slower/more staggered germination period, so it may just take longer for the Beck's to come up. (20th century okra breeders selected for earlier/more uniform germination -- pre-modern irrigation, that wasn't necessarily a useful trait.)

Some are simply lighter producers though.

Kerr Center Okra Trials 2008 in Poteau, OK.

Of the handful of okra I've grown on this list, the results do match up with mine.

@Tormato

Glad I sent you two: Eagle Pass in addition to Hill Country Red. Looks like EP is a high producer.

MrBig46 · April 29, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scooty

I think I still have your address from the seeds you sent me. Do you want Eagle Pass and or Hill Country Red Okra?

Scooty thank you for the offer.Beck's Big Buck Horn started to germinate, I have two plants. This year I just want to try growing okra and its taste. Only then will I decide if I will still grow it. If so, then I'll look for other varieties. Then I would call.
Vladimír

DonDuck · May 1, 2019

Since I am a new okra germinator and grower, I was under the impression okra was very sensitive to root damage during repotting and planting out. I haven't found that to be the case at all. I initially experienced some early germination problems in a few cells so I planted more seed in those cells. At plant out, some cells had two and three seedlings in them. I decided to plant some of the very small seedlings which had been yanked out of the cells without any thought of protecting the roots. A few of the small plants had no roots on the stem when I planted the stem in the damp soil. They seem to be developing new roots and producing tiny, new; leaves.

April 18, 2019	#107
DonDuck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Corinth, texas Posts: 1,784	I'm anxious to get my okra transplants planted. I've never grown okra, but I often bought it fresh at the grocery store. I also like some canned okra like Margaret Holmes okra and tomatoes. My only complaint is the cans are sometimes long on tomatoes and short on okra. Today I found some canned okra, corn; and tomatoes. I never eaten that combination. I always grow so many tomatoes, I find it difficult to give all the excess away. Growing my own okra, I may not have any excess tomatoes this year. I already have some friends wanting my excess okra if I have any. I'm really looking forward to it. (thanks rajun). When harvesting okra, will it snap off the plant or is it always preferable to cut the stem from the plant? How irritating are the spines on okra leaves and pods to your skin when harvesting? Is it common or necessary to prune the lower branches and leaves from the plant as the plant grows and produces from the new growth? Last edited by DonDuck; April 19, 2019 at 12:04 AM.

April 19, 2019	#112
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	I direct sowed my okra, about 10 days ago. They have popped up.. Probably that is the last item that I have planted, corn is up, cucurbits are up. About eatink okra. I even eat them fresh out of the bush I like them in beef stew, fried (both deep and breaded). But got to be tender before getting woody.that is why i check and picked them twice a day. __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !

April 18, 2019	#106
upcountrygirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: south carolina Posts: 562	If they haven't already been mentioned Sow True Seeds out of Asheville, NC have an interesting selection of varieties and they state they intend on trialing more....

April 19, 2019	#108
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	We cut and freeze our okra. Tray freeze first then bag it. It's often added to a jar of home canned tomatoes with some diced onion, garlic and celery, dash of hot sauce, black pepper. Good stuff! I've even sprinkled mine with parmesan cheese. You need to cut off okra pods as they don't snap. Okra leaves/stems don't make my arms itch but other people do have that problem. I don't know if it's a variety specific problem or if it's just a difference in people. Kind of like allergies; some have them, some don't. It's been my experience that the lower leaves will fall off on their own, just dry up and fall. New shoots will appear at the axils where the old leaves fell off.

April 19, 2019	#110
GrowingCoastal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC Posts: 1,253	My working mom would buy campbell's chicken gumbo soup and it became my favourite. I knew what all the regular veggies looked like but couldn't recognise the okra seeds. I found out what they were by reading the ingredients list. I never buy canned soup but do use some okra for the subtle flavour it brings to home made. Okra has not had much success in my garden but I keep trying. One good year I got 5 pods!

April 20, 2019	#113
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	First, if young and tender and under good growing conditions okra will snap off the plant without using a knife. Second, I trialed several okras a few years ago and Star of David has a rather odd pungent like taste. Cant say as I like it or not, pickled some and wasn't too enthused about it.

April 21, 2019	#114
DonDuck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Corinth, texas Posts: 1,784	I'm looking forward to eating okra as part of different dishes or as a dish alone. I'm probably most anxious to eat a few straight off the plant. I do that with almost everything I grow. I don't know why, but if I don't like it fresh in the garden, I probably won't like it cooked in the house. This morning, I ate fresh green onions and asparagus in the garden. My Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, and lettuce are mostly in the compost pile, but I really enjoyed eating them fresh in the garden as I walked around checking and fixing things.

April 26, 2019	#115
MrBig46 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Czech republic Posts: 2,541	I got from MdTNGrdnerd seeds of Beck's Big Buck Horn and Jing Orange. I sowed four seeds from each variety. Jing Orange 100% Beck´s Buck Horn nothing yet. I'm waiting. Vladimír

April 27, 2019	#117
Ken B Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: central Virginia Posts: 243	Some heirloom okra varieties have a slower/more staggered germination period, so it may just take longer for the Beck's to come up. (20th century okra breeders selected for earlier/more uniform germination -- pre-modern irrigation, that wasn't necessarily a useful trait.)

May 1, 2019	#120
DonDuck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Corinth, texas Posts: 1,784	Since I am a new okra germinator and grower, I was under the impression okra was very sensitive to root damage during repotting and planting out. I haven't found that to be the case at all. I initially experienced some early germination problems in a few cells so I planted more seed in those cells. At plant out, some cells had two and three seedlings in them. I decided to plant some of the very small seedlings which had been yanked out of the cells without any thought of protecting the roots. A few of the small plants had no roots on the stem when I planted the stem in the damp soil. They seem to be developing new roots and producing tiny, new; leaves.