23 June 2012

okra

I haven't mentioned the Okra in a long time because it hasn't been doing well. It kind of got planted in a corner as an afterthought and either it doesn't like the soggy ground there (near the rain barrel) or there's some pest nearby that really likes it. The leaves are nearly all eaten away. I decided yesterday to try and save it by moving it to the empty patch on other side of the yard, that held garlic earlier in the year. Covered the plants with cloches for the first few nights here, to keep bugs off while they're still vulnerable. I don't know if they'll recover or not...

4 comments:

chrisa511 said...

You will be shocked by your okra!! I promise you!!! They remain little tiny plants for almost two months sometimes and then all of a sudden they start to grow and then they just grow and grow and grow :D And give you gorgeous okra. Every year that I've thought my okra was a total failure they've ended up proving me wrong!

Jeane said...

I didn't know! How big do they get? I replanted them about two feet apart, but if they're going to get really big maybe I should move them again before they put out too many new roots?

chrisa511 said...

I plant mine about two feet apart too using the square foot gardening method. They can get to be about 6 feet tall at full height...I remember them being taller than me when they were done! They basically form one okra in between each branch. I think you'll have quite successful plants :) Cut the okra when they're about 4-5 inches long...Once the flower falls off, it usually reaches that length within a couple of days! They're fast growers.

Jeane said...

That will be impressive indeed if they reach that size. My poor plants are still less than a foot tall, and have only a few leaves each (I think the slugs like them). One plant is forming a bud between the stems- just like you said- and now we have a heat wave- I do hope they make it!