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Legend
- Start Indoors
- Transplant
- Start Outdoors
- Care
- Harvest
- Succession Plant
Incredible Cranberry Flavor in a heat tolerant plant!
The okra-like plant is an annual, 5-7 feet in height, with lobed leaves sometimes used for greens. The narrow leaves are three lobed and about 3 inches long; leaf stems are reddish green in color. The stem, branching from the base, is smooth and red wine in color. Flowers are borne solitary in the axil of leaves. The plant begins flowering when day lengths shorten in the Fall. Flowers open in the morning and the petals have a light yellow to sometime pink color with a dark red "eye". While young and tender, the calyxes are used to make an excellent jam or jelly and at times a "sorrel" drink. However, they are most used as a substitute for cranberries in making a "sauce". Seeds may be roasted and eaten. It also yields oil with healing properties. The leaves are edible and used in salads. A tea made with its leaves is said to have medicinal uses. The stems contain a good quality fiber. The dried stems with the red calyxes are sometimes used in flower arrangements.
Malvaceae Abelmoschus esculentus
This is an example of the timeline you would see based on your growing conditions.
Leafhoppers
These slender, wedge shaped insects get their name because they have a tendency to jump when approached. They are quite common but don’t usually occur in large numbers and are rarely a big problem in vegetable gardens. They most often attack beets, potatoes and beans (and occasionally other crops) and can spread virus diseases such as Curly Top. They feed by sucking juices out of the plant and commonly cause necrotic patches where they inject toxins into the plant.
Generally you don’t need to do anything about leafhoppers, natural predators will keep them under control. If they do become a problem you can try washing the nymphs off of the plants with a strong jet of water.
Image: John A. Weidhass, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Bugwood.org
Last Frost Date (LFD) refers to the approximate date of the last killing frost of spring.
Example first frost date on April 08.
First Frost Date (FFD) refers to the approximate date of the first killing frost of winter.
Example first frost date on November 01.
