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Legend
- Start Indoors
- Transplant
- Start Outdoors
- Care
- Harvest
- Succession Plant
Okra : Burpee Chant Hybrid
The essential variety for the best gumbo.
Other than delicious, okra’s flavor defies easy description. An essential ingredient, okra fruits add heft to soups and stews—and are tasty fried or boiled. Growing from two to six inches, Okra is at its tastiest, tenderest best when the pods are smaller. Loaded with protein, minerals and fiber, okra is the indispensible ingredient in gumbo, adding depth of flavor and thickness. Indeed the name for Okra in Africa—where it originated—is Gumbo. Extra large 5-6''-long fruit are ready in just 55 days.
Sow okra seeds in full sun and average, well-worked soil after all danger of frost. In rows 36" apart, plant 3 or 4 seeds every 12" and cover with 1" of fine soil. Firm lightly. Okra plants emerge in 14-21 days.
Thin to strongest seedling per group when plants are 1-2" high. Provide plants with 1-1 1/2" of water weekly. Grow okra in a different place every year to avoid problems with pests and diseases.
Pick young okra pods that are 2-3" long and harvest them every other day to encourage continuous production. Cut pods from the stem just above the cap. Store pods for several days in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. Okra pods are delicious steamed, in soups, and fried.
Malvaceae Abelmoschus esculentus
This is an example of the timeline you would see based on your growing conditions.
Okra: Okra
Burpee Chant Hybrid
Bushy shrub with maple like leaves which produces slender green pods. Okra is a highly productive plant. This type has a spine, unlike the Clemson type which is spineless.
Basics
- Ease of Growing
- Moderate
- Grown as
- Annual
- Days to Maturity
- 66-72 (Spring/Summer)
- Growing Habit
- Bush
- Hardiness
- Tender
Okra is heat loving and can't stand any cold whatsoever (minimum air temperature 75 degrees F).
- Crops
- Spring Transplant, Summer
- Growing Season
- Short, Long
- Cultivar Type
- -
- Growing Conditions
- Warm, Hot
Okra is heat loving. Sow seeds outside in spring after all danger of frost has passed, when the soil temperature has reached 70 degrees F. It's a good succession plant after early, spring-maturing crops. Expect good yields on this nearly 7 foot tall, bushy plant.
If the growing season is short, you might use cloches or black plastic to warm the soil.
- Outdoor Growing Temp
- 65°F - 95°F
- Min Outdoor Soil Temp
- 60°F
The soil should be warm before you plant (60˚F minimum) or it will rot in cold soil. Plant seeds 1/2" in cool soil and 1" deep in warm soil.
- Start Indoors
- Yes
- Start Outdoors
- Yes
- Light
- Water
- High
Okra must have a steady supply of water at all times. It shouldn't be too wet, however, as the plants are prone to fungus diseases when growing in cool moist conditions.
- Feeder
- Heavy
Okra is a hungry plant and needs plenty of nutrients for best growth (it especially loves nitrogen). If your soil isn't very fertile give them a liquid feed every 2 to 3 weeks.
- Suitability
- High heat, Needs lots of space
- Small Gardens?
- No
- Containers?
- No
- Attracts beneficial insects?
- No
- Color
- Green
- Fruit Size
- 2.0 - 3.0"
- Plant Height
- 60.0 - 84.0"
- Plant Diameter
- 12.0 - 18.0"
- Good Companions
- Eggplant, Basil, Melon, Peppers, Cucumber, Peas
- Bad Companions
- -
- Hardiness Zone
- 6-11
- Disease Resistance
- -
- Taste Profile
Distinct, pronounced flavor.
- Rotation Group
- Fruits: Solanaceae + Cucurbits
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.
