Topic: Anyone up for the Okra challenge this year?

[organicandy]

Hi llb, if you pick fruits 3 to 5 days after flower falls you should get fruit untill the first frost ,obviously depending on how warm you can keep your greenhouse, ps dont forget to feed every other day, but by the sounds of it your doing pretty good yourself, hats off to you cos theyre not easy to grow, its a lot of work for something that tastes as bad has it does lol, regards Andy

[Robert_Brenchley]

I assume you make an aqueous solution of the nuts, and apply that to the plants.

AARGH!!! I hate euphemisms! I hadn't spotted that one.

[littlebabybird]

Hi llb, if you pick fruits 3 to 5 days after flower falls you should get fruit untill the first frost ,obviously depending on how warm you can keep your greenhouse,

sooo if where they are is the same temp all year herefore no frost how long  then?

hmm i better feed them too

lbb

[Eristic]

Is red ocra supposed to have red pods?

[mickb]

First flower seems about to bud any day now, it is still wrapped quite tightly.  5 visible buds.

23.5 inches tall.

Read the info on using Shpsht as manure and gave it a try with some well rotted horsesht, I have been banned from the house as for some reason,  her indoors was not pleased with a conservatory full of flies, smelling like a farmyard.

No sense of the challenge.

Mick B

[Rosyred]

I sowed alot  of seeds  but only 5-6 have grown. Am awaiting some fruit now, think I best feed them too.

[mickb]

I have had 7 flowers today and hope they have been fertilised by the bees etc, unfortunately I never saw them actually wide open so don't know if they have been pollinated.  Wait and see I suppose.

The last 2 flowers, one bore fruit so I have a baby okra, hopefully it continues to grow, the other shrivelled up and fell off, a bit like flower drop on a Chilli.

Here's to the Bhindi Bhaji.

This is the furthest I have ever managed to get okra to grow.  Hurrah!!!

Mick B

[dtw]

I've finally got a flower bud.  :D
The plant is only a foot tall, but I've got a bud.

[Eristic]

My 3rd harvest so far...



...and I'm now up to 4 pods.

[mickb]

My largest plant is just shedding its 7th bud,

1 withered and died

2 has been eaten

3 is in the fridge awaiting partners with 7 others from other plants

4, 5, 6 still on the plant

7 waiting for the flower to drop

8, 9 10, 11, 12 & 13 all visible

of the other plants I have 17 fruits maturing and many flowers and buds visible

I will try and post a photo in my gallery in a few minutes

Mick B

[mickb]

I would post an image but get the message

Warning Gallery path is not writable! /home/danall/public_html/smf/gallery/

If anyone knows how to clear this eror message then I would be grateful

[Eristic]

OK. I've got one plant producing its 10th pod, one plant on the 9th pod and the rest between 6 and 8 pods. This is in the polytunnel.

Outside some are on the 3rd with a few producing pod no 2. Some struggling to stay alive. The pods outside seem to turn red while the ones under cover remain pale green.

[thifasmom]

Hello everyone just popping in to say hi on an invite from Alishka thanks.
Well congrates on all the successes and commiserations on all the losses.
I was checking out this topic for awhile now even before joining A4A, to basically learn as much tips as possible cause next year i want to SUCCEED at growing okras (we spell it ochro). I love growing tropical veg but pigheadedly do so as if I'm still in the west indies and so generally fail with the those i so desperately want to succeed at ::). Ah well you live and learn ;).

Here is a recipe to try:


Sarina’s Spicy Ochro Melee
Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsps. vegetable oil
3 cloves, garlic minced
1 tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger
10 okra, cut into 3/4″ disks
1 scotch bonnet pepper, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (more or less, to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Saute garlic, ginger, and pepper over medium heat until garlic turns golden.
2. Add tomato and cook for a minute.
3. Add ochro and mix well.
4. Simmer, covered, for 6 or 7 minutes.
5. Stir in salt.
6. Just before serving sprinkle with cilantro/ coriander (chadon beni).

P.S. The scotch bonnet is a chili in its own right, so if you don't want it hot then cook with the pepper whole so as to infuse its flavour with little too no heat, it might be a good idea to remove the seeds if you do chop it up.

The trick with ochro in dishes like this is to not cook for too long as the longer it cooks the more slimy it gets. there are some who like to eat it raw off the plant but :-X that's pushing it for me. :-\

[Hyacinth]

Hey! Pleased you found your way here and that okra dish looks droolingly good :-*.....thing is, after my late sowing start, stuff is starting to produce in super-abundance - but what am I going to do tomorrow?....gonna get myself round to Yasmine and her shop - and buy okra. Think I'm going to chicken out on the Scotch Bonnet tho & use some of my Apache chillis, but otherwise I'll follow your recipe. Many thanks 8)

PS Two of our peeps here have been posting S.A. recipes in the Recipe Section...you wouldn't have one for goat curry would you? We've got a great market here in Brum & I'd love to have a recipe for it.

Now then - Eristic and Mick....don't forget we only believe pics when they're pics of the fruits on the plant...not that we're sceptical, or envious, or anything like that, mind.. ::)

[katynewbie]

 ???

Ahh but is it goat curry or curried goat? Would like the recipe anyway if anyone has it!

 ;)

[Robert_Brenchley]

All the ladies at church call it curry goat, but I've never asked for the exact recipe. It's basically curried mutton neck.

[Eristic]

we only believe pics when they're pics of the fruits on the plant.

But as has been discussed before, the pods have to be harvested as soon as they are ready not leaving them all on to go tough. I will try to get an updated photo tomorrow but you would really need to look at the plants and turn them round to count the cut pod stalks.

[thifasmom]

All the ladies at church call it curry goat, but I've never asked for the exact recipe. It's basically curried mutton neck.

Yeah its called curry goat, but mutton is sheep, and we only use goat for that dish usually the animal is about a year old. I'm looking for a recipe for you as I've been a vegan for the last 11 years and not sure I can reproduce from memory accurately in type, but put all the ingredients in front me and I'll cook it fine from rote ;)

[mickb]

Well I made it.

My best plant got to 9 edible fruit and then all the growing tip withered and died, as did the tips on 5 others which had reached 6 and 7 fruits.  I think I let them dry out a bit too much on the one summer day of the year and the temperature in the  conservatory, direct sunlight, heating from underneath with the propagator and the lack of water all conspired together to kill off the growing tip.

Anyway this is the first year I have managed to get Clemson's Spineless to harvest more than one fruit.  I had about 5 generous helpings of bhindi bhaji from 12 plants.  Not what I would call a glut but never the less a reasonable crop.

Unfortunately if you add up the seed pack the 4 growbags and the fertiliser and all the electricity for the propagators I reckon the price was nearer to truffles!!!!

Thanks for all the advice, I might even try again.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Yeah its called curry goat, but mutton is sheep, and we only use goat for that dish usually the animal is about a year old. I'm looking for a recipe for you as I've been a vegan for the last 11 years and not sure I can reproduce from memory accurately in type, but put all the ingredients in front me and I'll cook it fine from rote ;)

They've obviously compromised with what's available in the UK. The stuff's sometimes called 'goat mutton', and I think it's from the older animals. It has a lot more taste than lamb, but my sister used to keep goats, and I do prefer it.