Okra

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Permalink Reply by Lady Noodle on March 29, 2008 at 11:12pm

I wish I could give you pointers but all I am thinking of now is how much I love okra. The greenness of taste, subtle pop of succulent seeds, way the sugar caramelizes when fried long enough... mmm. Think I may be meeting Zoe this summer! We grew okra in California when I was growing up (east bay area, many over 100 degree days each summer), so I think it enjoyed the heat. I don't know all the details since I was a kid and my dad was the main farmer at the time. I do know that he had trucked in a lot of "sandy loam" soil and grew everything in that... ie good drainage. Best of luck!

I'm new to town and have zucchini and scallops started, so will perhaps encounter these dreaded squash bugs later in the season. I've been reading a great book (The Zen of Gardening in the High and Arid West by David Wann).. he recommends planting onions in with your squash to "keep the squash bugs' appetites under control". I wonder if squash bugs like summer as well as winter varieties?

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Permalink Reply by Hue Walker on March 30, 2008 at 3:53pm

okra... mmmm..... yes, love it in stir fries....

squash bugs... winter or summer, they'll attack it... and they kill the whole plant... they start out as a little clump of eggs usually on the underside of a leaf... and the only truly effective organic way I know of controlling them is checking under EVERY leaf EVERY morning and squishing the eggs...


The eggs hatch into little rice sized grubs that look like hairy globs of egg yolk... my "ughiest" squash bug moment was the day I was squishing the grubs and there were so many they bled through my gloves onto my fingers!!! eeeeewwwww!

Once they mature (in what seems like 15 minutes) they scurry all over the plant puncturing the stems and the plant bleeds to death... and the leaves dry out and the bugs make a horrid scratchy sound as they scurry...

can you tell how much I hate them?...;-) maybe I need to make my peace with them somehow... hmmmm...

anyway... I've also heard tansy is a good comapnion plant for Zukes to discourage bugs... but my experience is there are fewer, but you still have to do the every morning thing and I just don;t have the time...

so... I'm sure hopi9ng okra doesn't have a similar "companion bug"...;-)

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Permalink Reply by Lady Noodle on March 31, 2008 at 2:29pm

They sound really nasty. Thanks for the detailed info. Ladybugs don't help?

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Permalink Reply by Hue Walker on March 31, 2008 at 8:27pm

hmmm... never tried the ladies on them, but I kind of doubt it... anybody else know this one?

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Permalink Reply by Cheesegirl on April 2, 2008 at 3:30pm

I was told that okra grown with a base of dark plastic to warm the soil early was successful in the No Valley. Gardens Alive in IL sell a wonderful, non-toxic spray for Squash bugs. Also heard that if you plant after the Fourth of July you ccan avoid an infestation.

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Permalink Reply by Jade on April 4, 2008 at 10:25am

Hi!
I grew 4, 4' rows of okra last year in a raised bed, with fairly amended soil (aged horse manure). Nothing special - I watered as much as I watered the nearby basil and squash. Planted the seeds right in the ground. Anyway, it wasn't nearly enough - our family of four would joke about who got the okra at dinner, because there was never quite enough for everyone to have 3-4 pods at once, although it did produce fairly prolifically from late July to early September. Just remember to snip them young, if they get to big, they get woody and inedible.

But, no big thing. And I love the flowers - the blooms are so beautiful.

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Permalink Reply by Laura on April 5, 2008 at 11:11am

I've tried to grow okra the past few years, but I've never had much luck getting more than a couple of pods at a time, even when the plants themselves seemed to be doing great.

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Permalink Reply by Lady Noodle on April 8, 2008 at 12:10pm

I looked on the Clemson University site in SC (http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1313.htm) and found out that okra especially likes slightly acidic soils and phosphorus.

Sorry, can't figure out how to create a hyperlink.

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