Common Name: Okra
Other Common Names: Common Ivy, Gobbo, Gumbo, Ivy Gum Plant, Ladies Fingers, Ochro, Okro and, Nkruma.
Botanical Family: Malvaeae (The Hibiscus Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Abelmoschus esculentus
Description & Habitat: The original species of Okra is believed to be native to the area of the country now known as Ethiopia in Africa. Given that Okra is not cold hardy the chances of you encountering it in the wild are low unless you are near the Equator possibly in zone 12 which is Hawaii or Puerto Rico. Generally speaking Okra is an upright plant that can grow up to ten feet tall in cultivation but this can vary based on if the plant has ideal conditions and how it has been bred. For example the ‘Iraqi Bamia’ in today’s sample has been bred for business via heavy branching, so it may not grow any taller than five or six feet tall. In last year’s crop one specimen had the central stalk dominance genes and grew to nine feet tall. This tall type was not allowed to produce seed because its height made harvesting pods more difficult. In general though Okra has a roughly palmate leaf that can be up to eighteen inches across with a similarly long petiole, depending on the specific variety the color of the foliage can vary, Red Crimson has red foliage of course, some varieties have a bit of red in the stems and a red splotch where the petiole meets the leaf. Iraqi Bamia is a solid green color, but the pods mature to a white color that seems to be a biological response to preventing the seeds inside from getting sun scorched. The color unsurprisingly does not hold up in cooking but probably might if the pods are pickled.
Special Toxicity Note: There are no known toxicity issues with this plant.
When & What to Harvest: With Iraqi Bamia you want to harvest pods when they are 2-4” long and visibly a white color.
Related Plants: There are many varieties of Okra out there.
Recipe:
For this post I’d like to link to a basic Gumbo recipe. Gumbo can be made a lot of ways and starting with a basic one is the best way to figure out what you want.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/216888/good-new-orleans-creole-gumbo/
Additional Information: (If applicable)
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/abelmoschus-esculentus/
Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:
https://store.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/products/iraqi-bamia-okra
With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
Fresh Foods
Peppers, Hybrid Lemon Drop
Figs, Magnolia
Figs, Kadota
Herbs
Basil, Sweet Genovese
Oregano
Prickly Pear, Spineless
Sage, Common
Summer Plants
Calibrachoa, Caliburst
Dahlia, Figaro Mix
Madagascar Periwinkle, Tattoo Blueberry
Fall Plants
Collards
Garden Supply
Live Mushroom Compost, 1 Gallon
Live Mushroom Compost, 3 Gallon
Plants Coming Soon:
-More Fall Food Plants-
How to stay in Contact with Us!
All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.
Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville
Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:
The Videos: Look Here
>Newest videos (1): Red Brandywine Tomato
With all of the updates, blog posts, community announcements and the main topic handled remember that Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’s meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is August 22nd at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, or at North South Brewing on the same day between 1:00 and 5:00pm.
