Growing Okra

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Okra

Okra

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Okra is traditionally a southern U.S. plant that thrives in warm weather. Here’s how to grow okra plants in your own garden!

Okra is easy to grow and use and looks lovely throughout the growing season due to its beautiful flowers. It’s also rich in vitamin A and low in calories, which makes it a great addition to your diet.

Planting

When to Plant Okra

  • You can start okra seeds indoors in peat pots under full light 3 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost date. 
  • In warmer areas, you can also start okra directly in your garden 3 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost date as long as you cover the plants with a cold frame or grow tunnel until the weather warms up fully. Make sure that the covering is 2 to 3 feet tall so that the plants have room to grow.
  • If you do not start your okra plants early, wait until there is stable, warm weather. You can plant okra in the garden when the soil has warmed to about 65° or 70°F—the warmer, the better.

Okra flower

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

  • As a warm-weather crop, okra appreciates full sun.
  • Okra is adaptable and will grow in most soils, though it performs best in well-drained soil that’s rich in organic matter.
  • Soil should ideally be on the acidic side, with a pH between 5.8 and 7.0.

How to Plant Okra

  • If you are planting okra transplants, be sure to space them 1 to 2 feet apart to give them ample room to grow.
  • Plant okra seeds about ½ to 1 inch deep and 12 to 18 inches apart in a row. You can soak the seeds overnight in tepid water to help speed up germination.
  • Okra plants are tall, so space out the rows 3 to 4 feet apart.

Care

How to Grow Okra

  • Eliminate weeds when the plants are young, then mulch heavily to prevent more weeds from growing. Apply a layer of mulch 2 to 3 inches high.
  • You should side-dress the plants with 10-10-10, aged manure, or rich compost (½ pound per 25 feet of row). You could also apply a balanced liquid fertilizer monthly. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.
  • When the seedlings are about 3 inches tall, thin the plants so that they are 12 to 18 inches apart, if they aren’t already.
  • Keep the plants well watered throughout the summer months; 1 inch of water per week is ideal, but use more if you are in a hot, arid region.
  • After the first harvest, remove the lower leaves to help speed up production.

Pests/Diseases

Harvest/Storage

How to Harvest Okra

  • The first harvest will be ready about 2 months after planting.
  • Harvest the okra when it’s about 2 to 3 inches long. Harvest it every other day.
  • Cut the stem just above the cap with a knife; if the stem is too hard to cut, the pod is probably too old and should be tossed.
  • Wear gloves and long sleeves when cutting the okra because most varieties are covered with tiny spines that will irritate your skin, unless you have a spineless variety. Do not worry: this irritation will not happen when you eat them.

Okra

How to Store Okra

  • To store okra, put the uncut and uncooked pods into freezer bags and keep them in the freezer. You can then prepare the okra any way you like throughout the winter months.
  • You can also can okra to have it throughout the winter.

Recommended Varieties

  • ‘Annie Oakley II’, which takes 52 days to mature and has spineless pods. It grows to about 4.5 feet tall.
  • ‘Park’s Candelabra Branching’, which is a base-branching okra plant. This type of branching makes picking easy.
  • ‘Cajun Delight’, which has spineless, dark-green pods and grows to about 4 feet tall.
  • ‘Louisiana Green Velvet’ is good for big areas; it is vigorous and its plants grow to be 6 feet tall. It is also smooth and spineless.

Wit & Wisdom

  • Okra is sometimes called “lady’s fingers” thanks to the vegetable’s long, slender shape.

Recipes

Cooking Notes

Okra can be consumed in a number of ways—raw, pickled, stir-fried—you name it!

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Reader Comments

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Want to spray okra with Epsom salt solution.

Submitted by Jeff Poston on

What would be the proper ratio and would it be beneficial.

Epsom Salts solution ratio

Jeff, use about 1 tablespoon Epsom salts to 1 gallon of water.

Epsom salt spray

Submitted by Christine on

What is the purpose of the epsom salt spray?

Epsom Salt Spray

Epsom salts are made of magnesium and sulfur, which are beneficial nutrients required by plants. Magnesium especially helps with photosynthesis, and therefore fruit production. Measured spraying of certain plants with an epsom salt solution is a good way to ensure that the plants are getting enough magnesium to produce healthy fruits.

okra

Submitted by marty chauvin on

how do you apply salt water to okra and not kill plants?

Okra

Submitted by Shelia Persons on

Can okra be planted in elevated cedar planter?

okra in containers

It sure can! Make sure your planter is at least 12 to 14 inches deep. Also, it is best to choose a dwarf variety, such as “Baby Bubba” or “Cajun Jewel.” Dwarf types won’t grow higher than 5 feet. (Other okra varieties can grow as much as 8 feet or more, which would be difficult in an elevated container.)

Okra

Submitted by Bernard on

my okra has come up but the plants are spindly and falling over, any suggestions?

okra- companion and combative vegetable plant

Submitted by Donna Reagh on

I live in East Texas and would like to know what are companion vegetable plants and combative vegetable plants to plant along side okra. No one haves okra on their companion/combative plant charts. Could you please, please help me out with the answer. Thank you

okra

Submitted by jragan on

tomatoes and squash. no intervention or disease. 4 to 5 feet row. Spray with dishwashing liquid 5 to 1 once a week for achids and nematodes

can I intercrop okra with cucumber?

Submitted by Crucial on

Am in Ghana and want to go into okra production but I want to find out if I can grow okra and cucumber itercroppeped? if yes how can I go about it.

Okra

Submitted by Terri on

Between my daughter and myself we had so much Okra did not know what to do with it. Started become creative with Okra as well as learning how to can it. Finally my neighbors found out I had so much and I started giving it away. My goodness in the grocery store it's $3.48 lb.

Can one process okra or green

Submitted by Joseph Mutaboba on

Can one process okra or green beans for better conservation instead of leaving the produce to rot?

OKra

Submitted by Tim Clark on

If have a lot of okra, your local food store usually loves local Okra. I pick mine in the evening and deliver it to the store on my way to work. After work I swing by and get paid. I pick every other day, around 40 lbs. local okra is not wilted or bruised due to shipping

Most people don't like picking okra due to the itching.

Why didn't My Okra harvested yet?

Submitted by Tim T on

I planted the okra in late may early june, i have yet to see any of the okra harvest, i have nice leaves but not an okra in sight, is something wrong?

Okra production

Submitted by Steven White on

Best guess is too much nitrogen in the fertilizer.
Get a super bloom liquid fertilizer to promote flowering

Okra

Submitted by Tramayne on

Mine is just now starting to come in. I had the same problem. It took longer than the 52 weeks to maturity.

okra leaves

Submitted by jenny hernandez on

my okra plant has holes in their leaves!!!! what is causing this??? I need help!!!!!!! what should I do????

Holes in Okra Leaves

Insect pests are the most likely culprits. Please see our pest pages for more information.

I want to plant okro. I am from Cameroon leaving in Douala

Submitted by Ayienwi victor on

When is the appropriate time to start. What are the things needed for the cultivation of okro.

How to plant okra

Submitted by Teyim rodrick ticha on

If you are serious about the production okra you can contact me me for guides.am an agriculture student in the university of buea third year and am always in Douala from time to time, contact 670382172

growing okra

Submitted by boipelo kitso on

am from Botswana and I have planted okra but it has been affected by a hash coldness, the leaves, flowers and fruits were affected but the stems are still okay now I wanted to find out if there is still anything that can be done.

okro

Submitted by jude olokor on

pls I wanted to know how much I can make planting okro on an a
cre of land

okra

Submitted by Connie on

Cleaning up the bed to start planting next week, realized some of what I was pulling up was baby okra plants. Reseeded itself from last year (our first try for okra). The question is, will these plants produce, or should we start over? These were from starters we got at the garden center. Wichita Kansas

okra seedlings

You can certainly try some of them out. How they turn out will depend on whether the cultivar you obtained from the garden center was a hybrid or not. If it was a hybrid, the next generation of seeds may not produce plants that have the same characteristics of the parent. Traits that might be good or bad may show. Also, even if the parent plants were not hybrids (such as open-pollinated or heirloom varieties), if they were not isolated from other varieties of okra by about 500 to 1600 feet, then they may have cross-pollinated, thereby creating offspring of varying traits. To be on the safe side, to know that you will have plants bred for quality harvest and vigor, you might want to start over. But if you’d like to experiment, then you can try keeping some of those seedlings and see how they develop.

Can i mix cuncum and okra together? please I'm in Nigeria.

Submitted by OLUWABUKOLAMI on

Sir/ma; I want to mix cucumber and okra together. What is the spacing and is it visible in this month march also I need it to be simplified. Thank you

I've had a bumper crop this

Submitted by Midwest Okra on

I've had a bumper crop this year and now am letting the top pods grow large and hopefully dry for seeds, but it will freeze here soon. Do I leave the plants & pods out in the garden (will the freeze matter) or should I cut the plants and hang inside to let the pods finish drying?

It’s best if you can let the

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on

It’s best if you can let the pods mature and dry on the plant while it is in the garden. However, severe freezes can damage the pods. If you expect one, you might want to cut the plant and hang it inside to dry (perhaps put a paper bag over it, so if the pods do shatter, you won’t lose the seeds). Good luck!

Pennsylvania Okra grower

Submitted by Clovia Dickey on

I grew Crimson Okra and it has done exceeding well. The plants themselves are 4+ feet tall and the fruit of the plants are beautiful. The flowers are picture perfect. I did save some seeds for next year so I can enjoy this plant again.

okra

Submitted by Robert Scott on

Is okra perenial or do you have to pull up the stalks and replant every year.

Pages

Growing Okra

Botanical Name Abelmoschus esculentus
Plant Type Vegetable
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Soil Type Loamy, Sandy
Soil pH Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Bloom Time Summer
Flower Color White, Yellow
Hardiness Zones 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
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