Growing Okra (lady finger)

Growing Okra (lady finger)

Okra is a summer time crop, easy to grow and is from the hibiscus family so you may see the resemblance of its flowers with shiny hibiscus flowers, on top of that its fruit is edible.

Seeds - One may buy from the gardening shop or leave couple of pods unattended to dry on the matured plant to get seeds for next plantation. For quick result in germination, sprout it first before sowing.

Replantation - Cut out the thin branches from the base, it may regrow once winter is over/ post rains. The process may be repeated for 2/3 times until you see the reduced yield.

Setting up pots - Keep the garden soil in sun for a day or two as it re-energies the soil. Mix soil with fine organic compost in the ratio of 2:1/ 3:2. I have used pots of size 1 ft * 1 ft to grow okra. If you have dried cow manure use that too that takes care of some pests naturally.

Sowing - Sow the seeds ½ inch below the soil. It’s better to put more seeds to have good probability. Water it well and cover the top for a day or two / provide some shade. One may transplant to other pots once it grow to roughly 4-6 inches.

Watering & Placement - Okra likes moist and well drainage soil and good sun exposure. So if soil gets dried up quickly, water it more, may be two times a day - morning and evening.

Pods (fruit) - First the yellow flower, post that Pods (okra) may come out 1-2 months after sowing, pluck the ones when smaller in size as its taste better and help grow more pods. 15-20 such plants would give you weekly harvest for a small family for a period of 2-3 months. You may need 2/3 rounds to collect for a sizeable dish. You will be surprise to see how quickly you again harvest, just a day or 2 days after the last harvest.

Fertiliser - Fertiliser is not bad if used moderately (see it as the chocolate powder you mix with milk 😊). Plants require sufficient nutrients, if you give less they may not grow properly, you give it more and they may taste worse and may attract insects. I sometime use NPK 18-18-18 over and above organic compost (Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) but in very low quantity, 2/4 small size particles sometimes in 15-30 days, and if I see growth is generally fine then I do not use these.

Note - Fertilise only mature plants not the saplings. Or at least a feet in height, start with one tiny particle of npk.

Pest control - First of all, try not to use the inorganic solutions, they are nothing less of poison. I have seen two problems in okra, 1. Curly leaves which can be treated by spraying Epsom salt mixed in water (a teaspoon in a litre of water), it provides Mg with other nutrients  2. Mealybugs (white small bugs that looks like a 60s joint family 😊 ) it can be treated by spraying cold water in the evening/ light liquid dish soap/ Neem oil/ mix. of these. These are not harmful btw, even if there are some that’s fine. We have good rains in September/ early Oct here in Gurgaon this year, and it took care of them naturally.

Nutrition Facts - Okra is rich in fibre; It also includes Vitamin A, B6, C, D; Calcium; Iron and Magnesium;

Gurgaon Specific - Barring Oct - Jan (winter) / Apr - June (peak summer), I have sowed this rest of the year and we are getting weekly harvest for 5-6 months in a year.