Fun with Okra

If you live in the South, you have to know okra, it really does seem to be a rule. I moved down here from Maryland at the beginning of the year. During my job interview I was given a list of everything that had been grown for Piedmont Produce in the past. Most of the stuff was pretty standard. I have plenty of experience growing strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, corn, etc. but at the end of the list I was told “oh, and you have to grow some okra.” I followed that with “Sure! What’s okra…?”

In Maryland our growing season isn’t long enough or hot enough to support growing okra. I had actually never seen it before moving down South. I have been given a crash course in okra growing, which actually is pretty easy. For those of you that don’t know a lot about this interesting plant I thought I’d enlighten you!

I know I know, you all (y’all) know what okra is. I don’t need to explain that, but it sure is a fascinating plant. First off, it is related to cotton, cocoa, and hibiscus; two of which are inedible plants.

It is the easiest thing to grow in the garden. When it came time to plant the okra I asked what I needed to do to grow it. The answer was “just stick it in the ground and wait.” Most things in the garden need a lot of tending to. Squash and cucumbers attract bugs. Tomatoes are notorious for disease. Strawberries can’t handle cold or wet weather. Okra doesn’t need anything. I just put the seeds in the ground once the weather was warm enough and the plants shot up. When they are blooming, the flowers actually look like a hibiscus flower. We could probably sell them for bouquets if we didn’t need them to make the okra!

Most plants create what is called a canopy. Lots of leaves fill in at the top of the plant, and sometimes the sides, and they all work together to power the plant. Okra however, has one leaf above each pod. The entire job of that one leaf is to power the growth of the pod. The canopy on top is to grow the plant itself. It sounds like an efficient system to me! So when you pick okra make sure you cut the leaf along with the pod. It won’t harm the plant to leave it there but it will thin out the bottom of the plant and make future pickings a lot easier on you.

When you pick other indeterminate (produces all season) plants, they usually just flower and crop again later. Not okra! There seems to be a theme of okra not wanting to fit in with the other veggies… Okra likes to continue to grow vertically. You can start picking okra when it is about knee height. It will continue to crop the whole way up until it reaches its final height of up to 6’6”! Once you finish picking at knee height it will not produce any more pods at that level. It will instead start producing at about thigh level. Then hip and so on until you need a step ladder to pick your okra plants.

If your okra plant doesn’t seem to be producing, there is a way to jump start it. It might sound like an old wives’ tale but there is some science behind it. I was told about this method from an experienced grower and some quick research online confirmed it. I was told “if your okra isn’t producing as much as you’d like, go out at night and beat it with a stick.” I know, it sounds silly. Like any living thing, if the okra plant feels any trauma to its system it releases a chemical similar to adrenaline in humans which amps up its production. I’m sure most of you are wondering why you have to do it at night right? Well that’s so the neighbors don’t see you!

Get to know your farm!