Want a homegrown taste of the South right in your own vegetable patch? There’s not much more that says “Southern cooking” than okra. Fried, stewed or served up in a gumbo, it’s one delicious, nutritious and easy-to-grow veggie.
Okra is a common site at farmer’s markets across the South.
Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman
Okra is quite pretty in bloom – and the flowers certainly show the plant’s close relationship to Hibiscus.
Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman
Give your okra some space: Plants are usually 5-8 feet tall by the end of summer (though some dwarf selections have been introduced).
Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman
Some breeding work has been done with okra for improved or spicier flavor, resulting in great veggies like
‘Cajun Delight’ Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a fast-growing, heat-loving tropical annual that’s hardy in zones 4-11. Be sure to plant it in full sun and well-drained soil with ample nutrients. If you grow it from seed, you should get fruit by midsummer – and you’ll keep getting that delicious vegetable right on through that first frost. (Just remember, okra needs warm days and nights for good production, so don’t plant them outdoors until the threat of frost has past.)
As okra grows, you might be amazed at how pretty it is. Flowers are cream-colored and have the general shape and form of a hibiscus blossom, except they don’t splay out flat. Like other hibiscus blossoms, they remain open only one day. (In fact, the plant is so hibiscus-like, that it’s alternatively known in botanical lingo as Hibiscus esculentus.)
There are all different types of okra pods, ranging from the typical kinds to short and fat types built on the model of a Cuban cigar to foot-long, skinny, five-sided affairs. While most are green, some have red-pigmented pods. The purple-fruited varieties are so decorative that you might even consider using them ornamentally in mixed borders.
Just be sure to give the plants some space – their stems can reach 6-10 feet high by the end of a season. And don’t site okra right where people can brush up against it. The leaves are coarse and covered with a fine, bristly pubescence that many find irritating to the skin.
Regardless of the type of okra you’re growing, just remember, the pods mature quickly. Depending on the temperature, they must be picked within four or five days of blooming. After that, the walls of the pod quickly lignify (turn woody) and become inedible.
As long as you keep harvesting the pods, the plants will keep producing right on through fall. And because okra is self-pollinated, seeds can be saved from late-season pods (so hold onto them and plant them next season).
If you haven’t tried okra before, now’s the time to add a true taste of the South to your garden – and dinner plate!
