My wife planted some "big un" climbing okra that is maturing to two to three feet in length. Is this stuff edible or just good for decoration or self defense? I've seen blackjacks that were smaller:>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001

Answers

Oh wonderful.............now 3 foot long okra?? Now I have an eggplant question along the same lines. Loooooooooong eggplant that is not turning purple. Now what is that?????? I thought all eggplant was purple. What have I grown??

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001.

I got a bit of a plant suprise this season, too, only in the other direciton. Went to get my Kentucky Wonder pole bean seeds from the feed store and planted them just like always, built a nice bamboo trellis, the works, only to find out too late that they were BUSH Kentucky Wonders (should have specified, but it honestly didn't occur to me).

I don't generally care for bush beans, as they are not as prolific as the poles, but these seem to be doing pretty well for bush beans (thinking back to last years pole crop, I am convinced that this bean is responsible for the origination of the phrase "Will Wonders never cease!"). Unfortunately, they are planted at pole bean distances and way too over-crowded, and they keep falling over and piling up because the trellis is spaced too far apart to really support the bush type. Sigh.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), August 19, 2001.

Don't know what you all have grown, but sure would like to know what kind of fertilizer you've been using!!!

-- Annie (mistletoe@kconline.com), August 19, 2001.

Diane, it sounds like you have one of the oriental eggplants. Some of them get easily over a foot long, but tend to be thin and cylindrical. I've seen a couple in Japanese magazines that were more like two feet long (guessing), and they can be white, green, lavender, rose, or purple. Maybe you got some of that seed mixed in? Or did you move too close to the nuclear power plant?

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), August 19, 2001.

Just my worm crap, honest. The guy at the flea market that gave us these seeds had a dried one and it rattled like a maracha.

On those bush beans. I put 12 per SFG square and they do wonderful. I did get a surprise when I planted what I thought were bush style cowpeas only to find out they were runner type. Solved that problem by erecting 8 tomato stakes around the square and making a bunch of "cats cradles every eight inches up the stakes for them to run on.Made a heck of a nice four foot square pea bush. I put up meal serving bags of them with a little dried onion and garlic included for instant seasoning.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001.

Jay - Are you sure you don't have a luffa? They get that big and when dry, the seeds do rattle.

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), August 19, 2001.

I also think you have a luffa and they are edible when small, do the flowers look something like a cucumber flower? Cut a small one open if it looks like a cucumber I would expect it to be a luffa.

-- Thumper (slrldr@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001.

Jay, are you saving any of the seed? Sounds interesting. Would love to have some of the seeds.

-- Belle (gardenbelle@terraworld.net), August 19, 2001.

The mature seeds of luffa, look something like watermelon seeds. (I thought this might help with the ID)

-- Thumper (slrldr@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001.

nope julie, no nuke plant near here :>) Searched and found the seed catalog and low and behold I ordered "Green Goddess" and it is suppose to be green. Clueless here was in a hurry and just looked at the photo in the catalog and not the discription. Wrong photo next to discription. Oh well, seasoned gardeners make wierd mistakes just like anyone else!!! Anne, we just about use any manure we have for our fertilizer. you name it.......chicken, rabbit, goat, cow, horse....all get thrown on the compost pile and then spread after seasoned.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001.

Thanks for the info. Lynn says y'alls luffa descriptions fit it perfectly.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001.

Sounds like you planted what is known here as "climbing okra". Most likely it is edible when small - those I know that grow it use it as an ornamental - very pretty blooms, vines 20-30 ft long, great big fuzzy fruit pods.

-- K. Oland (koland@yahoo.com), August 20, 2001.

Well Diane, on the bright side, 'Green Goddess' is supposed to be a wonderful eggplant from the things I've read from other garden sites! A lot of the growers were talking about how they liked them better than the purple ones.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), August 20, 2001.

Going to try some tonight Julie and will let you know. I can say one thing about it already........it is the most PROLIFIC eggplant I have ever grown!!!

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), August 20, 2001.

Alot of people use the dried ones to paint (especially santas). I'll bet you could sell dried ones on ebay or somesuch under crafts.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), August 20, 2001.

If it's a true loofah then when ripe it will have a net of fibrous material inside. People remove (most of) the skin, put the flesh in water and let it ferment/rot and fall away, then keep the fibrous pad - like a big long sausage-shaped pad of fairly thick fibres. Wash, dry. It's used for bathing. Not absorbent like a sponge, but very mildly abrasive - good for the skin. If that's what you've got it would make an unusual and very effective "stocking-filler" for Christmas. Might even be saleable.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), August 21, 2001.