Needed Items
Here are the things you need on how to grow okra at home. You’ll need okra seeds or okra seedlings/small plants, mulch, garden trowels, garden spades, floating row covers, fertilizers, compost makers, cloches, and bypass pruners.
You can either choose to plant okra from seeds or from a small plant or a seedling.
If you choose to grow the plant from a seedling you should start growing them in peat pots.
It will take a few days for them to grow into seedlings. If ever you do choose to grow them indoors you should start doing so about six weeks before the expected coming of winter.
How to Grow Okra
The first thing you should look for when you plan to grow okra is a garden site where a mature plant may get the full amount of sunlight.
The area should also be spacious enough that your okra won’t shade off on any shorter type of plants. Take note that okra plants can grow up to a full height of six feet.
Check the soil on your chosen garden site. The pH level of the soil should be somewhere between 6.0 to 8.0.
You may add well-composted manure to the soil, which will add a lot of nitrogen.
The next step in how to grow okra is to plant your seedlings or sow your seeds. Whenever you do so, make sure that it is done when the climate is mild. You will do well to check the soil temperature. The seeds and eventually your plants will rot if the soil temperature drops anywhere below 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tip: A good tip on how to grow okra is to harden off your seedlings. It wouldn’t matter whether you bought your plants from a store or you grew them yourself.
To harden off your plants you should wait until all possible dangers of frost have passed. This would mean waiting as much as three weeks after the last frost.
Add compost or bonemeal as an alternative to each planting hole.
The steps on how to grow okra will require you to cover your plants using row covers. This protects the young plants from the cold and ensures that they get an inch of water every week.
Add mulch to your soil only when the soil has warmed. You may harvest okra pods when they are already either two or three inches long.
You can start harvesting about four days after your plant’s flowers have faded. If you wait a lot longer your pods won’t be edible.
Where to Grow Them
An important question on how to grow okra is knowing where to plant them. Okra is a native of North Africa.
These plants grow well where there is much heat. If you live down south then it would be a great plant to grow in your garden.
Those who live in the northern states would have to expect smaller yields.
