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Pick the right-sized okra
This Clemson Spineless okra pod is most tender when no more than 2–3 inches long.
Photo by Cory Tanner
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Garden showpiece
The large blooms produced by okra plants make them popular in the garden for their appearance, as well as their edible pods.
Photo by Cory Tanner
It’s hard to find a vegetable crop better suited to South Carolina’s climate and soils than okra. African in origin, this highly productive vegetable is right at home in our heat and humidity.
A little patch of okra goes a long way. A friend with little gardening experience once planted a quarter pound of okra seed in three 100-foot rows. That summer, we had enough okra to feed a small army and couldn’t keep it picked! Generally, one 25-foot row (about a quarter ounce of seed) will produce 17 to 20 pounds of okra in a season—plenty for a family of four’s fresh eating. Double that if you want to ensure enough fresh pods for freezing and pickling.
Don’t be in a rush to plant okra in the spring. It hates cold soil. Seeds planted before soil temperatures reach 65 F at the 4-inch depth will result in stunted plants and decreased yields. In my Upstate garden, I plant after May 1. Midlands and coastal-plain gardeners can usually plant okra two to four weeks earlier, respectively. But okra can be successfully seeded as late as the end of June statewide for a delayed harvest.
Okra handles transplanting just fine—many people buy or start their own plants to transplant to the garden. I’ve always had terrific success sowing seeds directly in warm soil. Sow seeds three-quarters of an inch deep and 9 inches apart, in rows spaced 3 feet from each other. It’s fine to sow seeds more thickly, but make sure you thin the final stand to 9 or more inches apart. Okra plants get quite large, so greater spacing allows plants to branch and become more productive.
Harvesting okra is not unlike milking cows—it’s a commitment. Once harvest begins, pick your okra at least every other day (sometimes daily) to prevent overgrown pods. Where pods are concerned, bigger is definitely not better. One novice okra grower lamented, after a season of harvesting too-large pods, that consuming them was “like eating splinters.” I prefer tender pods in the 2- to 3-inch range. Additionally, over-mature pods will signal the plant to stop producing, so keep picking to continue the harvest, even if you have to recruit help from neighbors!
There’s no shortage of gardening “advice” for okra; lore abounds. I’ve heard suggestions to soak seeds in milk before planting, to remove lower leaves while harvesting and, from more than one old-timer, to whip plants with a switch so they’ll keep producing. Soaking seeds may improve germination, but water works just as well as milk. Better yet, freezing dry seed cracks the seed coat and improves germination even more than soaking. As for removing those prickly leaves, I understand why gardeners might get rid of those for comfort during harvest, but removing too many healthy leaves decreases productivity over time. Just wear a long-sleeved shirt and gloves when cutting okra. I’ve yet to find a sensible explanation of why or how whipping improves production.
Recently, I learned a technique called ratooning that can rejuvenate okra plants for a fall harvest. Ratooning involves pruning the plants back to 8 to 10 inches above the soil line to encourage new growth with reinvigorated flowering and pod production. Ratoon in mid- to late summer, after the bulk of your first harvest is complete. Then apply a nitrogen fertilizer, such as calcium nitrate or blood meal, and maintain even soil moisture to stimulate new growth. With luck, you’ll get about a 30-day respite from picking before a new harvest begins and continues until frost.
S. CORY TANNER is an area horticulture agent for Clemson Extension based in Greenville County. Contact him at shannt@clemson.edu.
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Popular okra varieties
Given South Carolinians’ love of okra, it’s not surprising that one of the mainstay varieties was developed here. Clemson Spineless was released by Clemson University in 1939. An improved strain of it, Clemson Spineless 80, is the most widely sold and planted variety in the world. Choppee okra is an heirloom type and my personal favorite, similar in size, productivity and pod shape to Clemson Spineless. It originated in the Choppee community of Georgetown County, and seed for it, along with Clemson Spineless, is available from the S.C. Crop Improvement Association. Other popular varieties include Burgundy (red pods), Longhorn (preferred in gumbo), Cow Horn (heirloom) and Perkins.
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Okra as an ornamental
Okra plants are in the hibiscus family and have large, showy, white to pale-yellow flowers that bloom before the pods develop. Combined with its sturdy stems and interesting leaves, okra makes a great edible, ornamental annual. Tuck plants in among perennials and other flowering plants, or use it in large containers for a vertical statement. If eating the pods isn’t your thing, the mature, dried fruits make great accents in floral arrangements and find their way into all sorts of arts and crafts.
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