Growing Summer Okra

Okra is one of the easier edibles to grow. All you need is warm weather, a general fertilizer and water. They thrive on low maintenance and will continually produce for an extended harvest. One thing to note about okra is size. Size does matter. Big okra are tough and un-delightful to eat. Small okra are tender and very delightful to eat, say about 2 – 3 inches in length. For those of you who are scrunching your noses right now because you can’t understand how anyone would eat the slimy pods, try them “fresh from the stem.” Freshly picked summer okra are not slimy, but rather crisp and delicate in flavor.

We recently tried our hand at red okra, a Billy Bob variety, perfectly suited for the hot Florida climate. To me, it tastes pretty much like old-fashioned green okra, or Clemson Spineless. But it sure does look pretty cool, doesn’t it?

Health Benefits of Okra

Healthy, too. Did you know that okra contains a powerful compound that shows promise for fighting cancer and heart disease? According to a study from the Emory University in Atlanta, the key component in okra is glutathione and it attacks cancer in two ways. Number one as an antioxidant, which means it hampers the effects of free radicals (unstable oxygen molecules that can damage healthy cells and cause them to become cancerous) and number two the “glutathione prevents other cancer-causing chemicals called carcinogens from damaging DNA, the chemical blueprint that tells cells how to function.” ~ The Doctors Book of Food Remedies

As if that wasn’t enough, okra contains Vitamin C, calcium, and potassium. Now I ask you, what’s not to love? You can grow them with little effort, eat them fresh, fry them to a golden brown, boil them with tomatoes, or toss them in a gumbo. It’s all good!

How-To Grow Okra

If you’re practicing companion planting, good ones include peppers, eggplant and basil. Bad companions = none. Special note: Summer okra grows fast, really fast. So when you begin to see your first shoots of okra, visit your garden every day to harvest these gems before they grow too big to eat. You want okra that measures about 3-4 inches in length. Any longer, and the okra will be too tough to eat. But perfect for seed harvesting! When it comes to seed saving, allow the okra to brown on the vine. Once the pods are crispy dry, pick them and store the seeds in a cool dry container. They’ll easily hold until next summer season! Or in Florida, August/September growing season. To learn more, visit my How-to Grow Okra page.

And if you eat okra fresh off the stem like I do, there’s NO slime. At all. Ever. Love it!