This is part of a series on growing vegetable crops from seeds. The fist on this series was posted a couple of days ago, where I talked about growing eggplant from seeds. Here is a link to that post: Growing Eggplant From Seeds w/ Pictures
Okra gives many health benefits. The fiber in it is good for digestion, the vitamin C in it is good for controlling asthma and boosting the immune system, it reduces acne and scarring and good for skin health in general, and it is good for controlling blood sugar and cholesterol level. This post will be really long if I try to list down the many other health benefits of okra. I just wanted to highlight a few to help encourage you to grow and eat this amazing veggie. In this post I will attempt to give you a step by step instructions on how to grow okra from seeds.
What You Need
- Seedling Tray (Available in gardening section of hardware shops)
- Okra Seeds (Available in the groceries)
- Potting Mix (We use one part garden soil, one part rice hulk (burned), one part rice hulk whole, one part vermicast or compost)
First Step - Plant the Seeds
Make 1/2 cm deep hole in every slot of the seedling tray
Place two to three seeds per hole
Cover the holes with potting soil mix
Water the seedling tray gently once a day
After just three to five days, most of the seeds would have already germinated and will look like the picture below
After seven more days, the seedlings will be almost ready for transplanting and would look like the picture below
Second Step - Transplant the Seedlings
As part of our learning, we transplanted some plants on medium size terracotta pots, some in bigger plastic pots, and some on the ground. In comparison to eggplants, orka is a less heavy eater. The quality of the fruit when planted to a big plastic pot is almost no different from when planted on the ground. If it can be avoided however, smaller pots should be avoided unless you are willing to do extra work in watering and fertilizing more often.
In the subsequent photos you will see the difference between the growth and health of the okra plants when planted on the ground and in pots.
Third Step - Flowering and Budding Okra
Okra is known too for its ornamental looking yellow flower.
These pictures are from the ones planted in the small terracotta pots. We water these twice a week and fertilize weekly. The one in the bigger plastic pots we water once daily and fertilize every two weeks. The ones on the ground we water once a day and fertilize once a month.
Fourth Step - Fruiting Okra
Just a week or two after the first buds show, okras are just about ready for harvest.
The picture to the left is planted on the ground where you can see that the plant and the fruit both looks comparatively healthier than the ones in the pot. That's me in the picture to the right harvesting okras using a kitchen scissors. We have since invested in a proper pruner.
Fifth Step - Enjoy Your Okra
We also love okra in our favorite soup dish we call "sinigang". "Sinigang" can be cooked with shrimp, pork or chicken, and is lovely during the rainy season.
Credits
Okra in Sinigang Photo: Source
Okra with Shrimp Paste Photo: Source
This is All in our Backyard, Here is Proof
