It ’s best togrow okra from seedsbecause it has a taproot that can be damaged when it ’s transplanted . However , since okra plant is a warm conditions craw , you may not be capable to plant it out of doors until June in cooler climates . So , many in cool climates do start their okra indoors . If you prepare the cum and protect the taproot , you’re able to grow okra successfully .
Preparing Okra Seeds for Planting
Okra ejaculate have a hard , protective program that can interfere with germination . Before sowing your seeds you need to prepare them for planting . You have three choices :
Because each okra flora get so many pods , you only need four or five plant unless you are planning on saving the seeds or pickling , canning , or freeze okra plant for the wintertime . Consequently , any of these methods is effective , but hock the seeds still is probably the most efficient .
Preparing the Soil for Okra
You should till the grease at the end of the growing season . You should also have your local wing agency test your stain in the fall if you do n’t cognise its pH and nutrient levels . Okra can grow in many grime term , but it prefers well - drained , loamy or sandlike soil with a pH level of 6.0 to 6.5 that is fertile in organic material .
If your soil ’s pH level is above 7.6 , your university extension agency will be able-bodied to tell you how much calcium hydroxide you need to add together to your soil to increase its sourness . The quicklime should be sum in the decline .
You may also need to lend constitutional fertilizers to your soil to increase nourishing levels . Some of these need to age and should be added about a calendar month before plant your Hibiscus esculentus . You also can work a 2 to 3 inch layer of rich compost or aged manure into the dirt to a depth of 15 inches just before planting .
Choosing Your Okra Patch
Okra does not tolerate shade . It demand six to eight hour of full Sunday , andit like the heat energy . pea fix nitrogen into the soil as they originate , so rotating your okra plant and pea plant patches each rise season is a good thought . If you are planning on planting and saving the seed of more than one kind of okra , you should keep them 500 to 1,600 feet apart to preclude cross pollination .
Sowing Okra Seeds Directly into Your Garden
Okra is a improbable plant life that requires a lot of way . Rows of okra should be 2 to 3 feet apart . you may found the cum 3 inch apart , but when the seedlings are 2 to 3 inches grandiloquent , you should absent the infirm plants so that the strong plants are 18 to 24 inches aside .
Howdeep you plant the seedsdepends on your grease and your climate . Okra can grow to be 6 to 8 animal foot tall or more . If you inhabit in a windy orbit , and especially if you have clay dirt that crock up when it dry out out , stableness becomes an way out . In such a situation , you should plant your okra plant source 1 or even 2 inch deep and bet on your plants with 6 animal foot or 8 foot tree stake .
you’re able to also intersperse your okra with radishes because the radishes will serve unwrap up the land and enable your gumbo rootage to raise deeper .
In loamy or sandy dirt where tedious conditions are not an issue , using a hoe to create a trough that is 1/2 inch to 1 inch deep is a sufficient deepness for planting okra open .
Planting Okra in Containers
Thecontainer you chooseand how you found your seeds in it depends on whether you are bulge out your Abelmoschus esculentus indoors for transplanting into your garden , plan on letting the okra grow to maturity in the container , or growing your Hibiscus esculentus for sprouts .
If you arestarting your seedsfor later transplanting , utilise peat moss starter pots and constitute two seeds per pot . When the seedling are 2 to 3 in high , snip off the faint plant . look until temperatures warm to around 60 ° F ( 16 ° C ) at night and daytime temperatures warm to 85 ° F ( 29 ° C ) to transfer your seedlings . irrigate them before transplanting , and either cautiously remove the pot , depart the soil around the root integral , or , good , carefully slit the position of the tummy and transplant your seedling pot and all .
If you are growing okra sprout , take a shallow container and carry the seed closely together . you may harvest them as soon as they germinate .
If you are growing your okra plant to harvest the pods , choose a dwarf variety like Baby Bubba or Cajun Jewel . Your container should be at least 14 inches deep , and if you design on grow your Hibiscus esculentus in individual pots , the containers should be 14 inch in diam .
Sow two source 1/2 column inch deep and absent the weak works when the seedling are 2 to 3 column inch magniloquent . If you are using a plantation owner to hold multiple okra plant , choose one that earmark 18 to 24 inches between the plants . you may sate in with companion works like Japanese radish , simoleons , or blossom that will attract pollinators .
Whenever you grow any plant in a container , keep in mind that topsoil is too heavy for container gardening and does n’t allow for sufficient drainage . Use a potting grease blend in for vegetable , herbs and vegetable , or flowering plants , depend on what you are grow .
