Bag and label a couple of pods on each of your healthiest plants and you’ll have more than enough seed for planting and trading. Once the flower dies the bag can be removed and a ribbon tied around the pod’s stem so you’ll know which pods have pure seed. The flower will open inside the bag and wind or a slight tap will be enough for successful fertilization. Sow True Seed has 2”x3” isolation bags which fit over an unopened okra flower. If you or your neighbor are growing another variety then you will need to bag your flowers. your Clemson Spineless okra seed will continue to grow Clemson Spineless okra. All the seed you save will grow true to type i.e. If you are just growing one variety of okra and your near neighbors are not growing okra, then don’t worry. This can present a challenge for seed saving because okra will cross pollinate with other okra varieties over ½ a mile! Okra flowers are also big and beautiful, meaning they attract pollinators. As seeds savers this is good news because it keeps things pretty easy. Okra flowers are perfect, meaning they can fertilize themselves. However, if you can’t keep up, remember you can eat the flowers, or let the pods go big and woody so you can process the seeds for eating or saving. In peak production it is best to harvest every other day to stay on top of production. Pod production begins about 2 months after planting and, if you keep harvesting, will continue until the first frost kills the plant. The okra flower opens for one day only, after which a small pod will form and grow behind the dead flower. Okra is self supporting and rarely needs staking, although some varieties are prone to lodging under heavy yields. Okra is drought tolerant and can cope with relatively poor soils (although as with most vegetables, it will be happier with better soil). Because of the aggressive and expansive root system I mentioned above, 12-18” spacing will increase your yields (don’t skimp on the spacing). It prefers to be direct seeded when the soil has had a chance to warm, and soaking the seeds overnight can improve germination rates. Okra is an easy to grow frost sensitive annual. The center of the stalk has been used to make fine quality paper.Īs I said, okra is amazing! So, how do you grow it? The top growth can support beans in season, peas during the winter (I’ve had dead stalks stand all winter) and the bast fibre makes a very strong cordage. The opportunity for injecting organic matter deep into the soil is huge. Structure: Okra has an incredibly aggressive root network, with 4.5 ft taproots at maturity and wide, dense lateral roots. I’ve made pie crusts, pizza bases and crackers with the flour and the flavor is excellent, almost coffee-like. The mature seeds can be roasted and ground for a rich, nutty, gluten-free, high protein flour. Seeds: Okra varieties have a variable oil content in their seeds, but I have successfully pressed them for a light, citrusy, olive oil like oil with a yellow-green hue. Since as most okra growers complain of overproduction, eating the flowers can be a great way to slow it down! Note: the flowers are big and beautiful and attract and feed pollinators. Okra flowers are perfect (botanically), so you’ll be sacrificing pod development. They can be prepared along the same lines as squash flowers, but are also good raw. The mycelium breaks down the tough okra pods to a point where the worms can turn them into vermiculture quite quickly.įlowers: The flowers are beautiful and have an okra-y-asparagus taste. Note: I have been pasteurizing the woody dried pods (once I’ve extracted the seeds) and inoculating them with oyster mushroom mycelium for a secondary crop prior to giving the spent mushroom block to my worms. You can ferment, pickle, freeze and dry okra for winter use. The number of pod preparations is astounding and I fully believe anyone who doesn’t enjoy okra just hasn’t had it cooked right. Pods: We eat the immature pods before they go ‘woody’. They can be used as thickeners in soups or powdered for winter storage for use in smoothies, soups and stews. Greens: Okra leaves are entirely edible, good for fresh eating in their very young stage, but more often used as a cooking green where the heat removes any spikiness. I’m going to tell you why okra is amazing (to get you fully on board), and then I’ll tell you how to take it from seed to seed.įrom a single planting, you can extract the following yields: If you are an okra lover, read on, you may not be tapping into its full potential. If you’re not an okra lover, read on, okra is amazing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |