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I notice that quite a few of you grew okra this year and as i am a glutton for punishment (and love bindi bhaji) i am going to try some this year in the greenhouse.

Now i live in East Herts, which weatherwise, is average for the country, what is the best time to sow the seeds as i do not want to start them off too early as that is what i normally do as i cannot wait.

please help  ???

also how big do they grow, i was going to grow them in pots in the greenhouse should i just use compost or add farmyard manure also????

I grew Burgundy Red in a greenhouse border last year... no extra feeding... they got up to 4-5'... ( Not really worth the time/space but it was a challenge...  ;D ) We sowed ours in March (far end) with the other tender stuff...
:)

There are shops in Gladstone Street, Peterborough, that sell okra.

I like a challenge but I also like okra.

Try by all means and the flowers are wonderful--but if you want a decent meal,go to your local Asian shop ;D

Are you sure you don't mean Oca?....

Nah, Bhindi is Okra...  :)

Hi Chriss, I do mean Okra, it is used in indian and west indian cookery and as such is a tender plant that needs to be grown in a greenhouse.

Go for the ones that don'tgrow so tall, also get the fast maturing ones, that will give you a better chance

XX Jeannine

The flowers are beautiful... but I think Cleo has it sussed...  :-\

Has anyone actually got any fruits from their attempts?  I have tried several years running but without success.   :(

I got about a dozen from four plants last year... not enough really but visually impressive, being red..  :)

OK, sorry about the Oca/Okra misunderstanding but there's been a faitr few Oca posts but I couldn't remember any Okra ones....I used to grow Clemsons Spineless, it was OK if you needed something to make your sauces thicken up (the only thing I really ever used it for in my quasi-Indian food attempts).....

chrisc

I grew Red Burgundy in the greenhouse, started them in June (when we moved), was surprised at the beautiful flowers, and watched the pods (?) / fruit grow and grow and grow:  by September / October they reached about a foot in length, but I only had 6 of them in total on two lovely plants (ca. 4 feet tall). Anyway, as every pod grew in its own time I never got round to having even a plateful, especially as they were so stony hard, they didn't seem ripe to cook. And then it got quite cold and the plants died...
The reason I was keen to grow them is that there are no grocers / marketstalls in the vicinity which sell Okra, so I guess I'll be trying again this year.

Quote from: Jeannine on January 12, 2010, 08:25:07
Go for the ones that don'tgrow so tall, also get the fast maturing ones, that will give you a better chance

XX Jeannine

Jeannine do you know which type doesnot grow tall and is fast maturing

Kx

The reason I was keen to grow them is that there are no grocers / marketstalls in the vicinity which sell Okra, so I guess I'll be trying again this year.

Trust me--far better to spend the time going out for a treat to some place that does sell them than trying to grow a decent crop.

Okra from any half decent Asian shop tastes as good as any you will ever grow-spend the time and effort on melons??-not so difficult and far better than those you can buy

They can be a tad fickle, but in a good year...... ;D

Lottie dollie, I will check my notes and get back to you, might have seeds too. By the way they don't like to be moved on much so get them in their final pots and leave them be.

I will get back to you as soon an I can

XX Jeannine

Just had a look. Annie Oakley is a very short season one but my notes tell me that Lee is the one for containers and small spaces. and only a few days later. I grew many different ones in a greenhouse in pots,many didn't make it but I did find out later a few of the tricks. As I said it hates to be moved as it has a very short root system. Also Lee produced early and I didn't pick them quick enough and  some of the plants died on me. I found out later that they are a bit like zucchini they stop producing if not picked and you must pick them young. I have noted that I had fruit when the plant was less than 18inches although it does continue to grow to 2 feet.

You need fresh seed, mine may be OK but I m not sure as it is 2008 if you can't find it in the UK I can send you some fresh seed from here if you wish, there is lots of time so let me know.

If you google Okra varieties there is a lot f info on the net but bear in mind it  usually grown in gardens in the south,tale a look if I can help you I will. It got to be a bit of a challenge with me in the UK, here I know I can grow it as I did in previous years from plants that a friend gave me annually.

Thank you for the information Jeannine. i was thinking that i might sow the seeds in one of those brown cardboard pots so i do not have to fiddle with the plant and then put that pot into a larger pot in the greenhouse and see how it goes from there. i have never heard of the type named Lee, but that sound like the type i should have, i will see if i can find some here, if i cannot, i will be very grateful of some lee seeds if that is what you have.

Kxx  :)

tried them up in North East England waste of time and space and not worth the experiment

I'm all for growing my own wherever possible but I resort to buying mine from asda  :-X

A massive bag of chopped frozen okra was not much more than a quid. 

feeble, waste of time along with asparagas peas, tomatillos etc. Have finally learnt to grow what I KNOW will actually produce a crop and not waste time on novelties. The flowers were OK but there are much, much nicer mallows out there and anyway, the flowers don't even last a day. Sorry to be negative - you are better off buying from an asian greengrocer.