Home
About Us
Blog
Free Newsletter
Design Your Garden Online! Free Garden Planner
eBook Best of Gardening
Questions & Answers Have a Question?
Free & Fun Stuff Free Worksheets
Free Garden Plans
Videos & Pictures
Your Stories
Garden Center Garden Gifts
Garden Seeds
Garden Supplies
Garden Tools
Planning a Garden Beginner Gardens
Container Gardens
Garden Layout
Getting Started
Grow a Garden
Home Gardening
Indoor Gardening
Raised Bed Garden
Small Garden Designs
Starting a Garden
Square Foot Garden
Planting a Garden Companion Planting
Compost & Fertilizer
Heirloom Seeds
How to Plant
Mulching
Organic Garden
Planting Tips
Planting a Garden
Tips
Weed Control
When to Plant
By Vegetable... Acorn Squash
Artichokes
Asparagus
Basil
Beans
Beets
Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Broccoli Raab
Brussels Sprouts
Bush Beans
Butternut Squash
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cayenne Peppers
Celery
Chili Peppers
Chinese Cabbage
Cilantro
Collard Greens
Corn
Cucumbers
Dill
Eggplant
Egyptian Onions
Fennel
Ground Cherries
Garlic
Gooseberries
Green Beans
 Leeks
 Herbs
Horseradish
Hot Peppers
Kale
Leeks
Lettuce
Lima Beans
Melons
Okra
Onions
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Pole Beans
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Rosemary
Runner Beans
Sage
Shallots
Snow Peas
Spinach
Squash
Summer Squash
Sweet Corn
Sweet Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Thyme
Tomatoes
Turnips
Zucchini
By Fruit Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Canning Foods Canning Fruit
Canning Green Beans
Canning Vegetables
Canning Salsa
Canning Tomatoes
Canning Tomato Juice
Canning Tomato Sauce
How to Can
Preserving Food
Making Sauerkraut
Freezing Foods Freezing Broccoli
Freezing Green Beans
Freezing Tomatoes
Freezing Vegetables
How to Freeze
Recipes Blueberry Pie
Freezer Jam
Making Jelly
Raspberry Jam
Raspberry Pie
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Pie
Fresh Corn Recipes
All About Tomatoes Brandywine Tomato
Cherokee Purple
Fertilizing Tomatoes
Growing in Containers
How to Grow
Planting Tomatoes
Watering Tomatoes
Container Gardening Container Designs
Container Ideas
Container  Plans
Container Vegetables
Gardening in Pots
Grow Herbs in Pots
Cilantro
Plant a Garden
Contact, Privacy, Sitemap Contact
Privacy Policy
SiteMap

Subscribe To This Site
XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines

How to Grow Okra, Growing Okra at Home, Planting Okra in Your Garden

how to grow okra

Tips for how to grow okra from seeds when home vegetable gardening. Learn how to plant okra, and tips for harvesting okra in your garden.

Design Your Own Vegetable Garden Layout Using our Free "Vegetable Garden Planner" Software!

Okra is a decorative growing plant which is not so surprising since it is a type of hibiscus.

A 15 foot row of plants in flower and the edible portion or pod, makes an attractive hedge that grows from 3 to 5 feet tall.

Download Free Garden Planning Worksheets, Garden Diary, Zone Chart, Or Planting Guide

If you are searching how to grow okra and do not have space for the planting dimensions mentioned above, you can cultivate several plants as a background among annual flowering plants.

This vegetable gardening technique will supply enough okra to add to delicious soups and stews along with tomatoes and peppers.

Growing Okra--A Southern Tradition

Discovering how to grow okra is a Southern tradition.

Okra is a favorite crop in Southern gardens, where it grows exceptionally well.

This warm-season vegetable performs best in warmer climates because it is a native tropical plant that thrives on warm temperatures.

Favorite Okra Varieties

‘Clemson Spineless' grows 4- 5 feet tall and is a heavy yielder.

'Perkins Spineless' is a dwarf variety that grows to 2 ½ to 3 feet high. /

how to grow okra

Planting Okra in Your Garden

  • The plants require full sun exposure.

  • Plant in well-drained, organic enriched, fertile soil.

  • Planting six plants will give you plenty of okra over a long season for cooking in homemade gumbos, stews, and soups.

  • Use a fertilizer such as 5-10-5, at a rate of about 1 pound per 50 square feet.

  • Plant after the soil and weather have warmed in the springtime.

  • Direct seed in the South by sowing seeds 1 inch deep, about 3- 4 inches apart.

    Growing Okra at Home

  • In the Northern states, choose a fast-maturing variety and start seeds indoors.

  • Give okra space to grow; 36 to 48 inches between rows.

  • Thin seedlings to 15-24 inches apart in the row.

  • A pitfall to avoid with harvesting okra is letting the pods grow too large.

    how to grow okra

    How to Grow Okra Tips

  • In short-season areas, start seeds in small pots about 5 weeks before you would plant beans or corn in your area.

  • Set the seedlings outdoors in the vegetable garden when the soil is thoroughly warm.

  • How to Grow Okra from Seeds

    Okra Seed Sprouting Tip

    If you have difficult time getting okra to sprout, here is a vegetable gardening tip: first freeze the seeds in ice cubes and then plant the cubes.

    The ice cube method has raised the minimum germination standards from 50 percent to as high as 80 percent for gardeners trying this method.

    Follow this simple procedure:

    Drop a seed into each compartment of the tray.

    Fill the tray half-full with hot water.

    Freeze for a couple of days.

    Then plant the ice cubes.

    (You can plant at night using a flashlight if you don't want the neighbors to see you planting ice cubes!)

    Tip for Reviving Scraggly Okra Plants

  • If your okra plants get scraggly looking toward the end of the season, try the following technique to revive the plants.

  • When the plants begin to slow production mid-season, cut off the top one-third of the plant.

  • The sideshoots will grow vigorously afterward and produce a whole new crop.

  • how to grow okra

    Harvesting Okra from Your Garden

    Pick the pods when they are only a few inches long, or they will be too tough to use.

    During warm weather, daily picking is necessary so pod production will not stop.

    Pick with a length of stem so the pods won't lose their gelatinous juice.

    To keep the plant producing, let no pod ripen on the stalk.

    As you learn how to grow okra, you will find that the young pods are more nutritious and tender.


    Back To Top



    How to Grow Okra to Vegetable Gardening



    How to Grow Okra to Planting a Vegetable Garden





    Shop at Gurneys.com for your vegetable and flower seeds!The best seeds and nursery stock available - shop HenryFields.com!


    "Get the Dirt!" on Vegetable Gardening!

    > > A FREE Vegetable Gardening Tips and Ideas Newsletter < <

    "Where to begin with my own vegetable garden? I need some help!"

    Should I just try planting some seeds in the ground? Is there more to vegetable gardening than meets the eye? How about a container garden?

    Get the answers, tips, ideas, and more by subscribing to our FREE "Get the Dirt" newsletter.

    Yes, sign me up now!



    New! Comments

    Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.

    "Get the Dirt!" on Vegetable Gardening!
    Vegetable Newsletter


    A FREE Vegetable Gardening Tips and Ideas Newsletter

    "Where to begin with my own vegetable garden? I need some help!"

    Yes, sign me up now!

    Easy & Inexpensive
    Vegetable Gardening Help, Tips, and Ideas:

    Where to Start When Planning a Vegetable Garden?

      FREE Bonus Included!
    • Gardening Worksheets
    • Garden Planting Guide
    • Sample Garden Plans
    • Garden Diary
    Only $9.97 Instant Download
    Learn More Here
    OR