Well, its time to see how the okra I started in the seedling room is going to do in transplant in the garden. The roots are well developed and each plant has about a half cu. ft of worm castings. All 60 plants are six to eight inches tall. Tomatoes and peppers go out next and they're already two feet tall.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 14, 2002

Answers

Jay is Okra not known to transplant well? The plants are beautiful and I love the flowers.

Susan

-- Susan in MN (nanaboo@paulbunayn.net), April 14, 2002.

And you obviously started with seed? I planted okra seed here (AZ) once but not a single one sprouted. I planted outdoors in what passes for spring here. Plenty warm enough. I don't know what the problem was, it was new, bought seed.

-- Jill (lance1_86404@yahoo.com), April 15, 2002.

It actually does not transplant well, however, I start mine in wormcasting/soil potting blocks in 32 oz stadium cups. To go to the garden, I cut the bottom and part of the sides out of the cup and plant the whole unit at about 6 inches of height. the cup remnent serves as a water retention collar for the plants.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 15, 2002.

Jay, when did you start your okra? I started my seeds on Mar 6 and only about 2/3 are even up and they look pretty puny. They are in paper pots in the same potting mix I use for tomatoes and peppers (which have been up forever and are doing great.)

-- kim in CO (kimk61252@hotmail.com), April 16, 2002.

Kim,

I started mine March 12 in planting cups in my seedling room in a 85 degree environmental chamber with 20 hours of UV after sprouting.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

I used vermicompost planting mix .

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

Jay, Thanks, I started mine in my house, ambient temp 50 to 65, and the 65 is in the room with the wood stove. Guess I like my house too cool for okra. It sure did grow well in grandma's garden in Alabama though I am pretty certain she sowed it straight out in the garden. She died years ago and I never had a chance to ask her how to grow it. I'll have to find a warmer spot for these babies. kim

-- kim in CO (kimk61252@hotmail.com), April 17, 2002.

Okra is a warmth loving plant like cotton is.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

Hey we can grow cotton up here. I grew okra in when I lived in the Cities, it flowered but never got to the fruit/vegetable baring stage. I bet if I had gotten it into the ground sooner it would have done just fine.

-- Susan in MN (nanaboo@paulbunyan.net), April 17, 2002.

I tried planting it out last year, direct seeding it. Hardly any came up. What did sprout was pretty sad looking, but I did get a few pods. I saved most of them for the seed, hoping to get something that would do better in my climate. Read somewhere about a guy in Siberia that wanted to grow melons. Everyone laughed at him. He planted them anyway and got one or two tiny melons. Kept planting the seed and saving the resulting seed until finally he had a melon that did well in his climate. Thought maybe if it worked with melons it might work with okra. Just can't have black eyed peas or gumbo without okra and don't really like the store stuff (when I can even get it!) These plants are some that I started for a friend, not from my saved seed. I'm hoping to get moved in time to start mine out in the garden from my seed. If not, then next year. :o)

-- kim in CO (kimk61252@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

That is a viable means of husbandry to develop a strain for your area, but you still have to pamper and force the plants.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 20, 2002.