Well, the time had finally come to remove all the okra plants once again from the garden. I cut many of them just to be able to make moving them around easier and pulled the ones that were kind enough to not be so big as to make that impossible. However, there were about 20 or so that had grown so large that nothing short of a shovel and some cussing would get them to budge, though it did finally happen.
I got in there with the tiller to turn over the soil and where the okra plants were was a piece of cake, however, between the steady rains we were having and me getting in the garden daily to pick the okra, where I walked around the plants to pick was packed down like concrete. That turned into a real chore to break that old packed down soil that is mostly clay, but I did get it done.
Now I can concentrate of getting plants for the garden and pulling some rows--------and it just started raining again, OH JOY.
jal_ut wrote:Just curious, what do you do with Okra?
I cook much of it down with onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper, wet and other dry seasonings, a bit of stock and diced tomatoes. As it begins to cook it is slimy as all get out, but as it simmers for a few hours, it gets a very nice consistency. I'll bag this up in quart freezer bags and freeze it for later use in soups and gumbos.
I also love it fried, even though my Dr. frowns on that part of my menu. Of course I pickle it whole and love to add a few spears to my salads or put a few in some Sunday afternoon Bloody Mary's. One of my favorite ways to have it is grilled. Take whole pods and get the grill hot. Right before you put them on the grill, hit them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder and grill like any other vegetable to desired doneness.
I'll also steam some and just drizzle some olive oil, fresh lemon juice and salt and eat them like that.
I like to wash and dry the okra well. Marinate in some kosher salt and coated lightly with olive oil. Roast at 400 degrees it until it chars and eat it with lemon and soy sauce.
I do like it fried too, but I rarely batter or deep fry anything.
It is good for thickening soups and as you said, if you cook it down a while it gets mushy but the sliminess goes away.
Acid takes the sliminess away. People do pickle okra or cook it with tomatoes and vinegar.
There is a Filipino dish, okra adobo ( cooked in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, sugar) with belly pork.
I do like it fried too, but I rarely batter or deep fry anything.
It is good for thickening soups and as you said, if you cook it down a while it gets mushy but the sliminess goes away.
Acid takes the sliminess away. People do pickle okra or cook it with tomatoes and vinegar.
There is a Filipino dish, okra adobo ( cooked in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, sugar) with belly pork.
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jal_ut
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7447
- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
- Location: Northern Utah Zone 5
Thanks for the information. Is Okra a long season crop? IOW how many days does it take to mature? Here in high dry Utah, I only get about 110 days frost free. One never knows. I have seen frost every month of the year. One year it froze the cucumbers on the 5th of July after being 90 for the parade on the 4th. So long season warm weather crops are a no-go here. At least a very iffy proposition.
jal_ut wrote:Thanks for the information. Is Okra a long season crop? IOW how many days does it take to mature? Here in high dry Utah, I only get about 110 days frost free. One never knows. I have seen frost every month of the year. One year it froze the cucumbers on the 5th of July after being 90 for the parade on the 4th. So long season warm weather crops are a no-go here. At least a very iffy proposition.
I generally plant it in March by simply sowing the seed in the garden in rows. The plants start kind of slow, but they grow fast once they hit that 3 ft. mark and will shoot up to 8+ft. by seasons end. Usually by early June I'm picking some okra and by July to September it's every day picking. I generally put in between 50-75 okra plants and this year I had about 60 in total. I was picking an average of 70 pods a day when they got into full swing with a high of 128 pods in one picking.
What makes them a solid crop for our climate is they are heat and drought tolerant. I like to say once they are planted, the only thing that will kill them is winter and pulling them. Also, I've not seen a single garden pest that can do any harm to okra.
Probably not a good candidate for your climate, but why not give a dozen or so plants a shot to see how it goes. It may surprise you. It's not like you don't have the room because okra does well planted relatively close and my plants usually only have no more than 18 inches between them with rows 3 ft. apart.
Edited to add: If you are interested in some seeds, I'll gladly send some your way since I always let a few pods get real big and dry out on the plants and save seeds. One pod of okra will give me more than enough seeds to plant my entire crop next season, but I usually save seeds from several pods just in case something goes awry. If interested, PM me your address and they will be on the way.
Okra is a 55-65 day crop. It does need heat. It does not like cold. In my climate where is it 80-88 degrees on most days it is almost perennial. It can get to be 8 ft tall. It has nice flowers since it is related to hibiscus. t does not like being in the cold or the rain for any length of time. Once the pods start to form they grow fast. It is better to eat them when they are only 2-3 inches long. They are less slimy than older pods and if you wait until the pods are 8 inches or more, they are woody and inedible. The more you pick, the more you will get.