Contact with the stiff hairs on okra leaves can cause some people to itch; wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when you pick okra. Heat about a 1/2 a cup of oil in a skillet on medium to high heat. Okra only takes an average of four days after flowering to be ready to harvest. Transplant 12-18" apart in rows 3' apart. You can have strip pokraGive me a nice girl and a dish of okra.. Okra, however, is a very woody, fibrous plant. Leave the pods on the plant until they have dried and turned brown, then cut them from the plant as you would as if harvesting them to eat. Okra needs to be harvested when it is four to five inches long. The plant is very much a summer staple, thriving in warm soil temperature and the summer heat we encounter. Okra pods can be cooked just after harvest in stews, gumbos, or as a fried side dish. If you would rather direct seed okra plants the best time is either late spring or summer using our walk-behindgarden seeder. Thomas Jefferson determined freshness by bending the pod: If it gave, it was too old. FREE SHIPPING OVER $99 US 48 | INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING VIA CALL-IN & ONLINE ORDERS ONLY. If it broke, it was justright. If youre growing in a warm climate, you may cut plants to the ground mid-season to let them grow up again for a fall crop. Care and Feeding Vegetables in Containers, Fertilizer for Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants, Grow Bags: Best Vegetable Varieties to Grow, Balcony and Rooftop Vegetable Garden Basics. The ideal size to pick okra is 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) long. See our TOS for more details. Powered by However, harvesting Okra can be tricky because you have to harvest the pods before they harden. His Vegetable Garden Growers Masterclass is available online. I have found that my spacing is probably a bit too close this season for some of my okra plants. Get the best gardening tips straight into your inbox! When harvest time is over, okra pods can be left on the plant to dry to save seed for next year. Okra varieties can grow to over 6 feet tall. Canning equipment: While not okra-specific, you may want to pickle some of your okra; to do it right, youll need canning equipment to make sure you follow best food safety practices. Some communities offer rain barrels at a special discount to encourage water conservation. Pods form quickly during the peak of summer and you should look to harvest every 2-3 days. It is another heirloom variety that got its name based on its origin in Isreal. See how to plant, grow, and harvestokra. While not as big as hibiscus flowers, I have certainly attended weddings in the south where okra flowers have been used in boutonnieres. Put a paper bag over it so if the pods shatter, seeds will not belast. Harvesting okra is easy. Prior to planting, soak the okra seeds in water for 12 to 18 hours to soften its hard seed coat. canning or pickled okra is good and results in crispy pieces [uncut], goes well in a nice green salad also. The Ultimate Tool for Harvesting Okra Hoss Tools 224K subscribers Subscribe 16K views 5 years ago The Handy Twine Knife is the ultimate tool for harvesting okra in your vegetable garden. Harvest the pods when tender and immature, about 5-10cm (2-4in) long. Just remember to add another thickener to your gumbo if youve prepped your harvest with another cooking method first, to reduce its gooeyness. window.mc4wp.listeners.push( on: function(evt, cb) { Each time you pick, you encourage more growth, so harvest regularly. Use your spade to move around compost, dig soil for your initial plant hole, and to keep your garden soil tidy. Use a hand pruner or twine knife to slice ripened pods from the plant, and youll be in and out of the okra patch in record time. The results shown that the new tool could harvest 297-318 okra per hour (10.0 - 10.9 kg/hr) without damaging pods and also provides better protection to the hands of workers. Our horticultural and agricultural products are largely heirloom varieties that can be reliably offered to our customers year after year. Or you can leave them unseasoned to use them in stews, where theyll reconstitute and work as a thickening agent. The device has been described as used for cutting an okra pod or flower from a plant. How to Save Okra Seeds Okra bears pretty flowers before making fruit. This can be done a few days after the blooms fade. All Rights Reserved. It is a fruit tree that grows to a height of 80 to 150 cm. These spines might cause skin irritations. Use pods immediately or they will begin to lose quality and flavor. This will make for a great crop the second time around. OKRA Technologies. Envision Pharma Group acquires artificial intelligence technology company OKRA.ai: Pivotal acquisition in Envision Pharma Groups tech-enabled offerings provides clients with access to advanced AI to accelerate decision-making which optimizes their products path to market and ultimately supports the delivery of enhanced patient outcomes. We are delighted to inform you that OKRA.ai is the winner of the Deloitte UK Fast 50 Women in leadership award. In 2020, Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), and UNDP Cambodia worked with Okra Solar to deploy mesh-grids to 140 off-grid households across 3 villages. While that's soaking, put about a cup of cornmeal in a dish with salt and pepper. Plant okra in the spring or early summer once the threat of frost has passed. Okra plants will continue to produce fruit if the pods are harvested frequently. Slip it on the upper part of your finger, just past the first knuckle. Growing okra is a simple garden task. Deploy with Okra. If the stem is too hard to cut, the pod is probably too old and should betossed. Your okra will mature from 50 to 65 days after you plant it, depending on the growing conditions and the variety you planted. Find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Keep up to date with all that's happening in and around the garden. If no pods are forming, it could have to do with the growing environment. ", "The team is superb, very collaborative and willing to flex their approach to meet our needs. Okra pods should be harvested when they are young and tender and no more than 3-4 inches long. Food Gardening Network and Food Gardening Magazine are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC. Okra tastes best the day you pick it. Instead of harvesting okra, if you want to save some pods for seed leave them on the plant and harvest okra when they become fully mature and almost dry. Flowers and pods first appear at the base of the plant and then keep producing upward. } Your email address will not be published. long. callback: cb I would never try it again. When sowing your seeds, do so about half an inch to one inch deep. Over-the-shoulder harvesting bucket: You know what can make your okra harvesting go twice as fast? Handle them gently as the skin is easily marked. Make sure soil is loose to accommodate large roots. Artbros Vegetable Chopper Onion Chopper - 12 in 1 Multi-Functional Mandoline Slicer Veggie Fruit Dicer Cutter with Colander Basket and Container - Grey, Multi Cutter With Peeler For Vegetable And Fruit Extra Sharp Stainless Steel , Mother's Day Gift (Green) (Green), Mueller Pro-Series 10-in-1, 8 Blade Vegetable Slicer, Onion Mincer Chopper, Vegetable Chopper, Cutter, Dicer, Egg Slicer with Container, Qaxlry Slicer - Luncheon Meat Slicer - Egg Slicer - Tomato Banana Mushroom Slicer - Multipurpose Slicer with Stainless Steel Wire - Cuts 11 Slicers, | Based on star rating and number of customer ratings, Food Cutter Kitchen Scissors, Salad Chopper Vegetable Cutter with Built-in Cutting Board Easy Cutting Suitable for You and Your Friends, HULISEN Cutlery Serrated Food Chopper, 3 Inch Stainless Steel Manual Hand Chopper with Grip Handle & Serrated Tooth Edge, Handheld Chopper, Chop Cabbage, Egg, Nut, Ground Meat, Vegetable for Salad, Mandoline Slicer for Kitchen -VEKAYA Stainless Steel Vegetable Slicer for Potato, tomato and Onion, Carrot Julienne and Chopper for Vegetables with Gloves (BlacK), 2 in 1 Stainless Steel 5 Blade Vegetable Cutter with Peeler, Chilly,Onion Cutter With Lock System/Plastic Vegetable and Fruit Cutter ,Valentine Day Gifts, Mueller Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline Cheese/Vegetable Slicer, Cutter, Shredder with Precise Maximum Adjustability, LHS Vegetable Chopper-Multifunctional Onion Chopper Dicer Sala Potato Cutter Cheese Grater Vegetable Food Slicer With Container-5 Blades(Green), BASESILK Vegetable Chopper, Pro Onion Chopper, Multifunctional 15 in 1 Food Chopper with 8 Blades, Kitchen Slicer Dicer Cutter, Spiralizer, Lemon Squeezer, Egg Slicer & Seperator With Container, Mueller Vegetable Chopper - Heavy Duty Vegetable Slicer - Onion Chopper with Container - Food Chopper Slicer Dicer Cutter - 4 Blades, YADNEH Vegetable Cutter 5 Sharp Blade with Peeler 2 in 1 Multi Cutter Multi-Functional Kitchen Vegetable Cutter Chilly Cutter (Multicolor), Portable 4 in 1 Electric Vegetable Slicer Set, Wireless Food Processor, with Clean Brush for Garlic Chili Onion Celery Ginger Meat, Havulhua Upgrade Fruit Vegetable Cutter Stainless Vegetable Chopper, French Fry Cutter, Stainless Onion Dicer for Tomato Peppers Mushroom with 1 Replacement 1/4"Blade (1/4), JrundMsoxz Apple Peeler, Pear Peeler with Corer and 8 Wedges Apple Slicer, 2 Stainless Steel Blades,cleaning brush and cutting fruit cutting board (light green), Herb Scissors with 5 Blades and Cover, 2023 Updated Multi Blade Herb Shears with Cleaning Comb for Chopping Vegetable, Chive, Cilantro, Parsley, Salad, Multipurpose Cutter Set for Kitchen - Green, Mueller Pro Series Vegetable Chopper, Heavy Duty Vegetable Slicer, Onion Chopper with Container - Strong Food Chopper, Slicer Dicer Cutter, Great For Salsa, Cooking Gadgets, BotaBay Commercial Vegetable Fruit Chopper W/6-Wedge Slicer&1/4&3/8&1/2" Blade Professional Food Dicer French Fry Cutter Onion Slicer Stainless Steel For Tomato Peppers Potato Mushroom, YMJOINMX Electric Pea Sheller Machine Semi-automatic Pea Bean Sheller Machine Commercial Bean Pea Peeler Home Peeling Pea Bean Machine, RK Vegetable Chopper Slicer Onion Chopper Dicer, Multi 22-in-1 Veggie Mandoline Slicer Food Chopper Cutter for Tomato Fruit with Lemon Squeezer, E-Recipe, 11 Blades, Egg Separator & Slicer, Container, Fullstar 9-in-1 Deluxe Vegetable Chopper Kitchen Gifts | Onion Chopper & Dicer | Peeler, Spiralizer, Zoodle Maker, Lemon Squeezer, Egg Slicer & Seperator- Ultimate Kitchen Gadget. When planting okra the best time to plant is during the spring, summer, or fall months. Place the okra pods in the bag, fold over the top, then store in a dark, 45 degree Fahrenheit location until spring planting. But it's important to harvest okra before the pods get tough and fibrous. This setting should only be used on your home or work computer. Rows should be about three to four feet apart, as the plants will grow quite tall. Pods areready for harvest about 60 days after sowing. Harvesting Okra The edible okra fruitsthe seed podsgenerally appear about 50 to 60 days after the seedlings sprout, immediately after the flowers bloom. Start okra indoors three to four weeks before the last average frost date. [6] 5. Remove the okra pods when they turn brown and the sides begin to split. Easy to grow and use, it also has beautiful flowers that look great throughout the growing season! Pale pods, even if the right size, can be woody. Pickled okra makes a tasty addition to a charcuterie plate! Just make sure you have a good trowel to mix with. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at Another benefit of growing okra is they work great for succession planting throughout the warmer months. When picked often, okra will keep producing until the first frost. Try to catch the pods or hold onto them as you cut the stems at higher levels, though, to keep the pods from becoming bruised by a fall. listeners: [], After soaking for a while, dredge the slices in the cornmeal, covering evenly. Prune those asneeded. When seeding okra directly in the ground, wait until after the soil has warmed and the air temperature reaches at least 60 degrees. With wit and hopefully some wisdom, she shares what shes learned and is always ready to dig into a new project! Harvesting okra can be tricky, however, because you have to harvest the pods before they become tough. If you like, you might try dehydrating your own at home the low and slow way, in a food dehydrator. As soon as the pods begin to dry and crack, harvest and remove the seeds. Fill the bags or containers to within 1/2 of the top, and prevent freezer burn by removing as much of the air as possible. If you grow okra in your garden, collecting okra seeds is a cheap and easy way to get seeds for . Flowers and pods first appear at the base of the plant and then keep producing upward. While tedious and even sometimes difficult to do with a watering can, you might want to consider an irrigation method for keeping your plants slowly and deeply watered. GARDENER'S PATH IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ASK THE EXPERTS LLC. This is when okra is at its softest and mostdigestible. Okra, sometimes called gumbo, is a summer and fall crop. (800) 777-2658. Tips for avoiding the slime factor of okra, Health Benefits and Home Remedies of Okra, Toilet-paper rolls (yes, these work great! Tags okra okra growing instructions the okra Share If you didnt plant a spineless variety, you will probably want to wear long sleeves and gloves when searching for and harvesting okra because some gardeners find that the spines irritate their skin. The name, okra, comes from the West African Ashanti word, nkruma, and its Cajun name, gumbo, comes from the Bantu word, ngombo. If you let it get any longer than that it becomes tough, woody and pretty much inedible. Use a sharp knife or secateurs and cut the pods off at the stem, leaving an inch of stem attached to ensure that plenty of nutrients are sent back into the plant for continued production. Some areas of the country experience drought conditions in the spring and summer, and some municipalities may impose watering bans; that means hand watering only. Amazon.com: Okra Cutter 1-48 of 119 results for "okra cutter" RESULTS Multi Cutter With Peeler For Vegetable And Fruit Extra Sharp Stainless Steel , Mother's Day Gift (Green) (Green) 48 $1199 FREE delivery Wed, Feb 8 on $25 of items shipped by Amazon Or fastest delivery Tue, Feb 7 More Buying Choices $11.98 (3 new offers) When I grew up and I tried cooking it, it too turned out SLIMMY!!!! Please tell us which items you absolutely need for your okra gardening. Watering cans allow you to better control exactly where the water is directed in your garden. Copyright 2022 Hoss Tools. Harvest okra early in the morning or late in the evening before temperatures rise, which helps prevent wilting. Since okra is self-pollinating, you can save some of the pods for seeds for the following year. { Twine knife (ring knife): This little gizmo will make harvesting your okra so much easier. To at least try to keep ahead of things, you can start watching for flower buds about 45 days after you plant your okra. Many people, especially in the American South, prepare the vegetable by frying it in a dredge of cornmeal. You can soak the seeds overnight in tepid water to help speed upgermination. Soaking aids moisture absorption and germination. While in the same plant family, hollyhock and hibiscus are in two different genera than okra. (function() { ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. If you struggle to cut the stem of the okra pods, it's very likely too old to eat. Plant leaves and fruit dont need water, the roots in the soil do. Okra lasts less than a week in the refrigerator. These are what you are after to harvest and cook. To speed germination, soak seeds for a few hours in warm water beforesowing. We recommend transplanting okra in the early spring to get a jumpstart on production and early germination of plants during the growing season. If they are difficult to cut open, then they have become too mature, and you should add them to your compost. Harvesttotable.com has more than 10 million visitors each year. If you look at the flower of okra, youll see a resemblance to a hibiscus flower. When harvesting okra this twine knife can be worn either above or below the knuckle of your finger. These cream-colored, hibiscus shaped flowers will be found against the plant stalk, below the large leaves. Some of these links may be affiliate in nature, meaning we earn small commissions if items are purchased. If the pods are tender, use a sharp knife to cut the stem cleanly just below the okra pod. While more expensive than a simple watering can, an investment in an irrigation system can pay offspecially to ensure proper watering when youre at work or on vacation! ), Random containers, kitchen pans, or baking sheets (you might need holes drilled into the bottom for drainage)if you have aging or rusting kitchen pans that youre looking to replace, they make for great starter pots for getting your garden launched inside, Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing and Enjoying Okra. The pods become woody, the spines firmer, and the stems harder to cut. Do not disturb roots. How to propagate okra Propagate by seed collected from older pods, which should be allowed to dry on the plant. Plant seedlings 12-18 inches apart in rows 24-36 inches apart. Harvest the pods every day or two if you can or as often as you can as they can quickly turn tough and woody as they grow bigger.