Okra

[cdntomato]

Not sure where to post this

I'd like to grow Okra. I'm north of the M-D line so know that some varieties will work better than others, as in, will produce.

Comments on Burgundy and Emerald as suitable candidates? Any other suggestions?

Also, have hort friend in Florida looking for seeds for Abelmoschus tuberculatus and Abelmoschus var tetraphyllus. Okra research project.

Thanks muchly!

Jennifer in Acadian/Cajun mode

[Worth1]

Green velvet.
Is a good one as long as they have water they can get long and still be tender.

[NCTIM]

Clemson Spineless is pretty much what everyone grows around here. It is a super productive plant if you keep the okra cut. The ideal length is about 3 inches. I love it.

That said, I'm going to try something else for the very first time. Bowling Red, (i think that's the name) is what i'm going with this year. I got the seed from Baker Seed. It's a family heirloom from Virginia. I believe it's a cow horn type that is similar to what a lot of folks in Texas grow.

I'd love for others to chime in this.

Tim

[scr]

What about varieties for those of us in the north? I have ordered Cajun Delight and Annie Oakley. Anyone have any experience with these?

Sally

[cdntomato]

Sally, those are hybrids. I am curious if F1s are more successful than OPs in the north. The northern catalogues which carry okra seeds tend to hybrids anyway (Johnny's being one), so this question becomes one of great interest for seedsavers like me. Please those with growing experience in the 'north', chime in.

And thanks to those above who offered variety tips!
Jennifer

[2FrontFeet]

I grew Clemson Spineless last year.
Started garden far too late, unfortunately. Had 6 plants, harvested 1 pod.
Smallest bowl of chicken gumbo I've ever had. sniff.
Trying again this year.

[Fusion_power]

Clemson spineless is a marginal cultivar for your purposes. Here are some others that are too long season and too much heat required: Burgundy, Cowhorn, Longhorn, African, Mammoth, Emerald, Star of David, etc.

Burmese would be my first choice for an okra you can grow. Lee is also a commonly available variety that should work. Bakerscreek has Burmese!

Burmese in my garden was 2 weeks earlier than my mainseason varieties. The plants topped out at 3.5 feet tall but each plant produced 20 to 30 pods. Don't expect eye opening production but do expect an acceptable crop especially given the climate you are growing in.

I would suggest pre-starting seed indoors but warn that you must be very very careful with the roots. Okra has a brittle and easily damaged root structure and if it is damaged in transplanting the plant is slow to recover. Burmese can be planted closer together than my other varieties. Cowhorn for example needs at least 1.5 feet between plants and 4 feet between rows. Burmese can be productive with as little as 8 inches in-row and 3 feet between rows.

Fusion

[Earl]

Here's some info.

{}Plants For A Future--About Us

Plants For A Future is a resource centre for rare and unusual plants, particularly those which have edible, medicinal or other uses. We practise vegan-organic permaculture with emphasis on creating an ecologically sustainable environment based largely on perennial plants.{}


Pentagreen'
The five-angled, slightly spiny pods are medium-green in colour and up to 15cm long, though for best quality they should be harvested when about half that size[183]. An early and high-yielding cultivar, producing sturdy, compact plants from 45 - 75cm tall[183]. They are very productive, even in areas usually considered too cool for okras[183]. They can produce a crop within 55 days from sowing the seed[183].

'Long Green'
An early-maturing variety that is more tolerant of cooler temperate conditions, it is worthwhile trying it outdoors in Britain[200].

'Green Velvet'
An early-maturing variety that is more tolerant of cooler temperate conditions, it is worthwhile trying it outdoors in Britain[200].

'Emerald Spineless'
An early-maturing variety that is more tolerant of cooler temperate conditions, it is worthwhile trying it outdoors in Britain[200].

'Dwarf Green Longpod'
Plants are up to 90cm tall with pods to 20cm[264]. A fast-maturing plant, it can crop within 50 days from seed[264].

'Clemson's Spineless'
An early-maturing variety that is more tolerant of cooler temperate conditions, it is worthwhile trying it outdoors in Britain[200].

'Cajun Queen'
The bright, spineless, tapered pods are about 12cm long with 6 well-defined ridges[183]. They have an intense flavour and a rich colour, so do not fade into the background when cooked in stews etc[183]. An early, productive, very hardy cultivar, it grows up to 1 metre tall and can produce a crop within 50 days from sowing the seed[183].

'Burgundy'
Growing about 1 metre tall with pods up to 20cm long[264]. It tolerates cooler weather than many other cultivars, though still requires warmer temperatures than are usually experienced in Beitish summers.
'Blondy'
The spineless, ribbed pods are an attractive creamy-lime in colour[183]. They are best picked when about 8cm long and are crisp and firm yet tender and not stringy[183]. A short-season cultivar for cooler regions, it can produce a crop within 48 days from sowing and has performed well in trials as far north as Canada[183]. The short, compact plants are up to 90cm tall and are very productive[183].

'Annie Oakley'
The slender, five-angled pods are light green in colour and 18 - 22cm long[183]. They are spineless and remain tender as they grow to a large size[183]. An F1 hybrid, it ripens earlier than open-pollinated cultivars and can therefore succeed in cooler climates, though it is still more suited to protected cultivation in Britain[183, K]. The plants are compact, uniform and heavy yielding, reaching a height of about 1 metre[183]. A harvest can be produced within 45 days from sowing the seed[183].

[Worth1]

I still can't find my green velvet seeds.
Worth

[Earl]

Worth,
check out this Google search

http://www.google.com/search?num=100...ce&btnG=Search

[GrowSeeds]

I got seeds last year to grow Alabama Red Okra from Baker Creek but I think it likes warmer weather.

Kinda ot but have any of you growing okra heard of White Lightning Okra a white okra sold by the Hastings Co starting in the 1930s -40s? And do you know of anyone growing them? I ask as I wrote SSE about them and they are belived to be gone. I heard it was mostly grown in the panhanle of Florida and the costal of Ga and Al and maybe a few others.

Here is what I could find on the internet

White Lightning - Breeder and vendor: H.G. Hastings Company, Atlanta. Parentage: White Velvet. Characteristics: long, slender, white pods, tender. Similar: White Velvet. Adaptation: southern U.S. Hastings Catalog, 1939.

[Worth1]

Earl
I can get them from a feed store in Austin but I had a few pounds that I had harvested from plants last year.
These seeds go back almost 25 or so years with me and I hate to lose them.
Not the same seeds but from the same stock, they are like losing an old friend.
I think my brother still has some and a lady in the east got a really big bag of them from me.
But I can’t find mine darn it all.
Thanks for the links though.
Now for this green velvet okra, I have grown all kinds of okra and this one consistently puts out nice long pods that are tender, as long as it doesn’t frost it grows great.
I have had plants 10 feet tall.
My brother swore up and down his plants got to the top of his house and were 3 inches at the base of the trunk.
I can’t prove this though I just have to take his word.
You can grow them as close as a foot or so apart and they still do good, I have grown mine even closer with good results.
If anybody out there hasn’t tried green velvet and grows okra it may be the only okra you grow from now on.

At the end of the year just let the pods dry up and collect the seeds for next year, they will always come back true.

A real winner!!!!!:wink:

Now I sound like some seed catalog sales pitch.
Worth

[Fusion_power]

I'm 6'2" tall and took this photo standing up and pointing my camera nearly straight up. This plant was about 9 feet tall at the time the photo was taken. By the end of the season it and about 6 others were over 15 feet tall. I would tell a tall tale about using the stalks as fishing poles and catching monster catfish but you are in texas and probably would just think it was another one of those stories. Its Cowhorn okra if anyone is curious.



Fusion

[Grub]

Wow!

You guys love your okra... but how do you keep it from going slimy when cooked?

[bitterwort]

Here in Minnesota we started with Little Lucy in pots and then moved on to the good stuff. We've grown both White Velvet and Aunt Hettie's Red from Victory Seeds and to our tastes, Aunt Hettie's can't be beat! Very flavorful pods and absolutely gorgeous plants that are ornamental in the way that castor bean is. White Velvet bore more heavily and had gorgeous pods, but had milder flavor.

The first year I started some seeds in large peat pots and then direct seeded a few more. The transplants were 6-7' or more by season's end, and the direct-seeded ones weren't too far behind. Last year, a bad cold snap shut down my transplants so I had to direct seed late--the result was shorter plants. If you have room to grow transplants do, but do try some either way. Good luck!