Okra!
Okra will help take me back to my roots, to a time when my Dad would drive some of “us kids” down to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in southern Indiana. If our visit was in late summer, one of the foods we’d eat there, that we never ate any place else, was fried okra. It’s been awhile since I’ve had any fried okra, but I kinda sorta vaguely remember that I liked it.
That doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll like it now, by the way, depending on how I fry it. I’m sure they fried the okra in pure lard which I wouldn’t do today. But I’m going to try to grow some anyway and give it a try.
One of my uncles recommended that I try a variety called ‘Emerald’, which is described in the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog as “A Campbell Soup Co. variety from 1950, early, round-smooth, deep-green tasty pods, high quality and early, tall plants.” While I would like to grow a couple of varieties to see which one does best in my garden, okra is a fairly large shrub like plant which will take quite a bit of space, so I’ll just go with ‘Emerald’ and hope it does well here.
As far as growing okra, I think I am about as far north as you can be and still grow it successfully. If I were blindly choosing a variety, I would look for one described as “early”, which would probably be right for my garden. Okra also needs warm soil for the seed to germinate, so it may be Memorial Day before I sow the seeds outdoors. To hedge my bets a little, I may start some seeds indoors a few weeks before then as well, and plant those seedlings out in the garden the same day I sow the seeds outdoors.
Hopefully by late July, early August, I’ll have some okra to pick and then I can get the “secret family okra” recipe and try to repeat the magic of a summer’s weekend spent with all kinds of relatives, eating fried okra. If I turns out I don’t like okra as much now as then, that’s okay, because okra is in the Mallow family, Malvaceae, and has those big white to yellow flowers that sort of look like another member of that family, Hollyhocks. So if nothing else, okra should be a pretty plant in the garden.
What’s your new vegetable going to be this year?
(Image above courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.)
Comments
You are so right about the flowers. I like them almost as much as I like the fruit. Okra is great for our climate as it seems to flourish in the summer humidity unlike anything else (well, maybe eggplant).
Not sure what I'll try new this year. Have so many seeds left over from Fall and not enough room to plant.
Hope you like your okra all fried up so you can be transported back in time.
Meems
We love it fried especially with onions, garlic and Indian spices, in callaloo soup, in yellow dal, fried in spicy cornmeal batter...
Our new plant this year is parsnips. They keep well, they grow well, they are perfect for fall and winter!
(Is it time to plant peas yet?)
For me a new vegetable but maybe more of a fruit will be sugar baby watermelon from Pinetree Garden seeds
Also red cheese pepper from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.
I shall start both indoors. The peppers in February and the watermelon early April I believe
I'm working on getting that vegetable garden for this Spring in the area you recommended, Carol. I'm thinking leaf lettuce, green onions, garlic and seedless cukes.
Enjoy these planning days!
Deirdre
I'm going to try this rampicante squash this year, although I have absolutely no room for it. I have extra seeds if you're interested.
http://rareseeds.com/cart/products/Zucchino_Rampicante_Squash_Zucca_D_Albenga-1140-16.html
I've always thought okra needed hot weather to thrive. Mine struggled last year with the cool wet summer (zone 6, western NC mountains) whereas it did well the previous years, which were hotter and drier.
Fried is wonderful (make sure you use cornmeal & flour), but there's also using it to thicken up stews (just put it in about 10 minutes before serving, so it doesn't get too slimy for those who are sensitive), and of course pickling! Homesick Texan's blog had an awesome recipe for spicy pickled okra this year.
Did you know okra is a source of protein, unlike many vegetables?
Okay, enough with my Southern love of okra. We're trying peas and carrots this year for the first time. I doubt the carrots will do much with this clay soil, and the peas will only fatten up properly if we start planting on February 1st, I'm told.
You might like okra pickled. Have you ever tried that? It's healthier than fried and has a great crunch. One thing I wouldn't expect is for someone in zone 5 to grow it! But you're right, the flowers are purty.
I bet you would have more luck growing okra than me up here in the cool mountain air. Anything that really likes it hot sulks up here.
I am supposed to be growing strawberries new this year, a requested item.
We love okra -sometimes find it at Farmers Markets but frozen whole okra works okay in chicken gumbo.
There's a restaurant called Green Mesquite (here's their website) on Barton Springs road (not too far from Zilker Park & Zanthan Gardens) that serves up some delicious fried okra.
Good luck with that crop!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
It's a unique looking veggie that I think may be fun to grow.
My mother loves it..I like it, but only if it's cooked firm.. My mother likes to cook it until it's a soggy mess!
My new vegetable this year is Jarradale Pumpkin, from Baker Creek. I love pumpkin, and finally have a space big enough(I think) for a wandering vine.
If you live far north or in a cool summer climate, you can try North & South. It was developed especially for cooler weather. Typical okra needs very warm temperatures - the hotter the better. Okra originated from Africa, so you know its a heat lover.
I hope you enjoy growing okra, and I can't wait to hear how it progresses in your garden this year.
I used it mostly for Indian dishes, but one tip is that if you cook it with tomatoes or something else acidic it won't be viscous and slimy.
Hope you like it!