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Re: okra

>Hi everybody!  After all that talk about slimy okra a while back, I decided
>to try planting some to see what happens.  I live in NY, zone 6.  I've
>always considered okra to be a crop suited to more southern climes, and I
>was considering starting it inside. Can I do this or is it one of those
>plants that gets upset about being transplanted?
>
>
>Much as I hate the stuff, I looked it up in my Territorial catalog,
>which is as good a garden book for northern gardens as you'll find. 
>Here's what Territorial says (in summary).
>
>Short season varieties are available, specifically "Annie Oakley" and
>"Cajun Delight".  Both of them are rated at under 80 days from
>transplant date in Cottage Grove, Oregon.  They can be started indoors 3
>or 4 weeks before last frost.
>

I agree with the above statement from Territorial, but they are leaving out 
a few details.  Okra is VERY slow to germinate, so 3 weeks means you have 
plants which have just emerged.  However, this is the correct time to 
transplant outdoors, because okra puts down a long taproot and this root 
cannot be crowded or broken without compromising the potential growth and 
yield of the plant.   Okra likes hot weather, which is why it often does 
poorly in northern states.  In the excellent site on degree days recommended 
by Havi, the chart says the ideal soil temperature to plant okra is 70F.  If 
you put okra transplants out in cool soil, they will just sulk until it 
warms up.  Better to use the garden space for early season salad greens and 
plant the okra later.  Okra will produce up until frost if you keep it 
picked (it's such a heavy producer here that I always get sick of picking it 
before then) but by late summer it should be tall and spindly, so it is easy 
to plant a succession crop around the base of the okra.

Richard
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