Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra!

**RoOsTeR** 8/3/2012, 7:27 am

I planted my okra on a whim. I figured why not? It's been an unusually hot summer, so I gave it a shot. I planted my seeds outdoors, and put buckets with the bottoms cut off over the plants to protect them and keep a bit warmer during the nights. To my surprise, the seeds sprouted within a week.
My plants are no more than 15 inches tall or so and look really good. I had kind of given up hope though of getting any okra off of them seeing as how small the plants are. I've always heard okra plants are huge and bushy. Mine are neither, so I guessed I probably planted to late to get any crops from them, but yesterday as I was watering I got a little surprise Very Happy

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I'll be interested to see how much bigger the plants will get, and how much okra I'll get before our weather turns. I've got 5 plants.

**camprn** 8/3/2012, 9:06 am

Impressive. Mine are still only about 8 inches tall. Way to go Rooster! alrighta

**Turan** 8/3/2012, 12:55 pm

Congrats!

We have gotten like 5 pods so far from our little plants. They amaze me how determined they are to produce though, even the broken one tried.

cheyannarach 8/3/2012, 2:30 pm

YAY! Congats, I love stumbling on suprises like that in the garden!

saffron303 8/9/2012, 5:56 pm

I'm originally from Texas where the growing season never really ends and you're right, the okra there gets huge. After living in CO for 20 years, I had resigned to never growing it here since the season was so short; but you (coupled with some impending climate change) are giving me hope! ;-)

cheyannarach 8/10/2012, 6:00 pm

Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 3170584802

Here's to trying Saffron!

**camprn** 8/10/2012, 9:23 pm

my okra is still only 8 inches tall... must be a dwarf. What a Face

cheyannarach 8/10/2012, 10:25 pm

camprn wrote: my okra is still only 8 inches tall... must be a dwarf.

That's impressive, not everyone can grow a dwarf! Razz

**RoOsTeR** 8/11/2012, 12:24 am

Doh!

Well, if it makes you feel any better, my brother was just up from Texas. I showed him my okra plants. He looked at them and said "Really? That's okra? Hmm, never seen it that small." Razz

**Turan** 8/11/2012, 12:48 am

Who knows, next we might all get the daft idea of growing bananas in our northern gardens Laughing

memart1 8/11/2012, 8:53 am

Glad to hear about people's success with okra. Here is a story about bananas.
My brother in Orlando Florida was given a pre-fab garden shed. He decided to cut down a small banana tree in the corner of his yard and pour a concrete slab to put the shed on. His wife was against his doing that because she had finally gotten some bananas the previous year and was looking forward to more. But Bob won the disagreement and chopped down the banana tree, poured a slab, and put up the shed. A few years later I was visiting, and she showed me how the roots had reached out beyond the slab, and had grown a tree alongside the shed and was now producing bananas again!! Sometimes plants have a mind of their own. thinking

cheyannarach 8/11/2012, 10:40 am

HAha, so in the end the wife still won! Good story!

littlejo 8/11/2012, 2:13 pm

My mother-inlaw is from Jamaca and I had a neighbor had a banana tree that wouldn't put on more bananas. She just laughed. She said in Jamaca, in order to harvest the bananas, they just cut down the tree. Supposedly, a banana tree will not put on more bananas , must have new growth, which a banana tree will re-grow and put on more bananas.
I didn't know they would grow under cement tho!
Jo

**RoOsTeR** 8/11/2012, 3:04 pm

The okra is starting to grow rather quickly at this point.
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And most of the plants are really starting to get lots of little okra on them Cool

Hopefully, our nice warm growing weather will last another 30-40 days so I can get some decent harvests from the okra plants tongue

**Turan** 8/11/2012, 3:42 pm

Wow, that is impressive!
Colorado Gumbo drooling

**RoOsTeR** 8/28/2012, 8:32 pm

Now I really do have okra!! Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 3170584802

We've had some really hot weather again and my okra seems to be taking off. I picked my first one today and hopefully soon they will really start coming. It was delicious Very Happy

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**Turan** 8/28/2012, 8:49 pm

Wonderful

Mine has stopped blooming and is just sitting there.

cheyannarach 8/29/2012, 7:12 pm

HOORAY!

Windsor.Parker 8/30/2012, 6:06 pm

RoOsTeR wrote:Now I really do have okra!!
We've had some really hot weather again and my okra seems to be taking off. I picked my first one today and hopefully soon they will really start coming. It was delicious

Until this year I didn't know an Okra plant from an Artichoke plant. Now both plants are growing in our garden. Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 832433

Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 832433

and I've REALLY got Okra, too!

Ten of our 11 plants (all started from seeds) are in our new raised bed "SFG" planter, but only five of them are growing in MM.
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The plants range in height from 4' to 6'. Some of them have stalks close to 2 inches in diameter. Shocked

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The pods (when harvested) range from 4" to 8". I've been harvesting pods for nearly a month! Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 86751

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Now I'm learning to enjoy eating okra, too. Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 211713

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Hey Admin, don't you just love growing "altogether"! Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 311672

southern gardener 8/30/2012, 7:43 pm

what's a good way to cook it for people who don't really like it? We tried grilling it a couple of years ago........it turned out like broom bristles! LOL! So, I know one way NOT to cook it! Razz

**RoOsTeR** 8/30/2012, 8:23 pm

I love it raw. It's excellent right off the plant, however many folks are turned off by the slimyness. Pickled, or fried is always good and of course there is always gumbo.

Wow! Your okra looks great WP Western Mountains and High Plains: I Got Okra! 3170584802

southern gardener 8/31/2012, 12:15 am

RoOsTeR wrote:I love it raw. It's excellent right off the plant, however many folks are turned off by the slimyness. Pickled, or fried is always good and if course there is always gumbo.

Wow! Your okra looks great WP

Raw? wow, never even thought of that one. Thanks for the info

**RoOsTeR** 9/7/2012, 11:57 am

My okra is going gangbusters and I'm finally getting some very nice blooms. I was told once you start getting okra, it'll really start producing and so far that's proven true.
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efirvin 9/7/2012, 8:36 pm

Okra growing in the mountain west region?! Wow! That is amazing. I have tried growing okra here in Casper but without success. Congrats to everyone who tries and everyone who is successful!

**RoOsTeR** 8/12/2013, 9:43 pm

Anyone else in Mountain and High Plains region growing okra this season?
Mine hasn't done as well this year. I just don't think we've had enough heat to really get it going. My plants are probably less than a foot tall but they are starting to produce okra! Very Happy

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