Okra can be develop in the garden or in containers if the container are thick enough to accommodate okra ’s rap root . If you are growing okra sprout , however , you will harvest it almost as soon as the leaves sprout . In that case , you could apply a shallow container . The depth for planting your lady’s-finger seeds bet on the grunge and where you are planting it .
Planting Okra Sprouts
When you produce okra sprouts , or any other eccentric of sprout , you really harvest the cotyledons . These are the first leaves that appear when plants bourgeon , but they are not actually true leaves . They are part of the seed , and they are contained within the seed , like the tiny plants you see when you separate apart the two half of a roasted Arachis hypogaea .
The cotyledons are there to catch the sunlight needed for the photosynthesis that produces food for the beginning stages of root ontogenesis and the growth of the genuine leaves .
When you are institute okra sprout , either nick the gruelling coating surrounding each seed with a file or rob the seeds for 12 to 18 hr before planting . This helps the seeds to sprout .
Choose a shallow container and fill it with a potting filth that ’s blended for vegetables or herb and vegetables , and then mob your okra plant come close together in the container at a profundity of 1/2 inch . When the sprout emerge they will shape a thick , green , leafy carpet .
Water your seminal fluid , and keep the soil moist but not mucky . put the container in a lovesome sunny room or under a grow light or a cool white fluorescent fixture luminance .
When the cotyledons seem , rend your sprouts out of the potting dirt , ascendent and all , wash them off , and they are ready to corrode . you’re able to replant more cum immediately .
Planting Okra in Containers
While it ’s best to sow your Hibiscus esculentus like a shot in your garden , if you do decide tostart okra indoorsfor transplanting as seedlings , nick or soak your seeds and sow them in peat moss starter pots . When the seedling are quick for transplanting , either remove the heap leave the soil intact or carefully slit the sides and bottom before transfer to invalidate damage or disturbing the roots .
Forcontainer gardening , nick or soak your seed and plant your lady’s-finger in item-by-item containers that are at least 10 inches in diameter or in containers that allow 18 to 24 inches between industrial plant . To allow room for the taproots , the container should be at least 12 to 14 inches abstruse .
Sow the seeds 1/2 column inch inscrutable , and , if you plan to grow multiple plants in a container , quad the seeds 3 column inch asunder . When the plants are 2 to 3 inch magniloquent , thin them so that the strongest plants are 18 to 24 inches apart .
Okra produces such an abundance of seedpod that you should need only four to five plants unless you are planning on wide canning , freezing , and pickle .
Dwarf assortment that develop well in container let in :
Sowing Okra Seeds Directly in Your Garden
Beforesowing your okra , work a 2 to 3 inch level of older manure or fertile compost into the soil to a deepness of 14 inches . Remember to drench or nick the seeds .
Some varieties of gumbo that grow well in most areas include :
All three are spineless varieties .
How deep you seed okra in your garden depend on the character of soil you have . If your soil is the type that okra prefers — light , loamy or sandy dirt — you may sow your seeds from 1/2 inch to 1 inch deep . However , if you have heavier clay soil , you may want to plant your okra 1 to 2 column inch deep under certain conditions .
Because of the fragile strike root , it may seem counterintuitive to plant okra deeply in heavy corpse soils that tightly compacts . In fact , soil compression and how hard the grease is when it dry out out are two issue to reckon when deciding how deep to institute your okra . If those are the main concerns , both conditions intervene with the maturation of the roots and the seedlings , so ejaculate should be sown at the more shallow depth of 1/2 inch .
However , okra is a tall industrial plant . If you live in an area with coherent wind that dry out hard clay soil , your okra plant may have a more shallow root system . Okra ’s peak combined with shallow roots and a windy expanse can lend up to issues with stability .
To forestall problems with stableness , till the soil to a depth of at least 10 inches at the end of each raise time of year , work in your compost or manure to a depth of 14 in before found your okra , plant your okra seed 1 to 2 inches deep , plant radishesin between your Hibiscus esculentus , and impale your Hibiscus esculentus with 72 or 96 inch wood or metallic element tree stakes . Radish rootage , especially the long , tapering varieties , will facilitate break up the Henry Clay soil , and that will serve your okra to grow deeper solution systems .
