Okra!

That most-Southern of all vegetables, okra, has recently been declared the Queen of our Kitchen Garden. Long live the Queen! 

I planted seeds of Clemson Spineless, an heirloom variety that is a vigorous plant and prolific producer; and Burgundy, Green Velvet, and Dwarf Green (the last three, obtained at the Seed Exchange at Old Salem in January) in the Row Garden on a hot day in early May. Okra is a native of Africa...brought to Brazil by slaves in 1658 and then to New Orleans...so it wants full sun and hot weather, along with near-neutral pH of 6.7-7.5...and needs soil temperatures of 60 degrees or above to germinate. 

Speaking of germination. Watered those newly-planted seeds and waited. Nearly all of the Clemson Spineless seeds germinated, and most of the Burgundy. The Dwarf Green came in at about 60%, and the Green Velvet had a poor showing with only 40% germination. Replanted the seeds that didn't germinate. After a few weeks, we had a double-row of healthy, growing plants. As the heat of the summer arrived, the stalks grew taller and wider...and, after all the rain in June and July, we found ourselves with a forest of okra. 

Even if you don't like the taste (or more likely the texture, which some describe as "slimy") of cooked okra...and I'm with you, if you are boiling the stuff...you can appreciate the beautiful flowers on the tall green...or in the case of the burgundy variety, red and green...stalks. With all those lovely butter-yellow blossoms, it's easy to tell that okra is a relative of hibiscus (and of cotton...:-). Gorgeous! Even the bees love 'em. 

Okra has very few pest problems. Insects that might appear on your plants include stink bugs and other leaf-footed critters; I hand-pick with my soap can at the ready. Flea beetles? I'm trialing spinosad in the form of Bonide's Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew on all the leaf-chewing critters this year...so far, so good. Japanese beetles are sometimes a bother, although I find they like my green bean vines and my roses much more; use insecticidal soap on them as well as aphids if you feel you must. Because I know that bees favor the flowers, however, I'm willing to put up with the bugs that respond to sprays...or to try to limits any sprays like neem to times when bees aren't active in the garden.

Okra is one of those plants you must visit every day. The pods that follow those lovely blooms are ready in as few as 2-3 days, and you will want to cut the pods before they begin to mature and turn woody, if you are planning to eat them. Ideally, the tender pods between 2-4" long are best...about the same length as your thumb. Even if you miss a pod, hiding out under those giant leaves (easily done...says the Voice of Experience...:-), you need to cut it, in order to encourage continued production by the plant. I usually return the over-ripe pods to the compost, but I've also seen them used in craft projects, like the ones my cousin Betty Jean once made into Santa ornaments for the Christmas tree. Clever!

For me, I wear gloves and use garden clippers when I am harvesting okra. Even the Clemson "spineless" variety that is my best producer has a prickly hide and can leave "splinters" in an unprotected finger. And then I try to either cook, pickle, or freeze the pods as soon as possible...or share them with my neighbor across the street as payment for all those bags of leaves she shared last Fall. Not sure what to do with all that okra? Check out Southern Living's Top 10! Just remember: use it quickly as okra doesn't keep long. 

Speaking of harvesting...time to go get some more okra. I think I hear those pods growing, even as I type! 

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I've posted a recipe for Slow-cooker Gumbo over on the family blog, The Adsit Adventure. Click here to go there.