A guide to growing okra in your garden

A relative of the tropical flower hibiscus, okra was brought to the Americas from Africa in the 1600's. Its sticky consistency makes it a good thickener for "gumbo" soups and stews.

Although okra grows best where the summers are long and hot, it will flourish wherever corn grows. By starting its seed indoors, northern gardeners can enjoy this vegetable. It can be raised in ordinary garden soil, although like most vegetables, it will do better in rich, loamy ground.

• Most modern varieties of okra are "spineless" — they are without the prickly spines that once forced okra harvesters to wear gloves. 'Annie Oakley II' and 'Cajun Delight' are suitable for short-season areas.
• 'Burgundy', which produces red pods on a red-stemmed bush, is both decorative and edible. and Try frying it or cooking it with tomatoes.

In cool areas — in fact, in any region where frost is common in winter — it is advisable to start okra indoors.

• Allow the seedlings about a month of indoor growing time.
• To speed germination, soak the seeds for 24 hours before planting.
• Sow them in peat pots, two seeds per pot. After the seeds sprout, place the pots in a warm, sunny place.

Okra grows up to one and a half metres (five feet) tall and needs a lot of room.

• When the seedlings are three centimetres tall, clip off the weaker plant. When nighttime temperatures remain above 13°C (55°F), set out the okra plants in their peat pots.
• Slit the sides of the pots so that the roots can push through, and bury the pots well so that they will disintegrate.
• Space the plants 45 centimetres (18 inches) apart, in rows 90 centimetres (35 inches) apart.In warm regions sow okra seeds directly in the garden.

When the seedlings are about three centimetres (one inch) tall, cut off all but the strongest plant in each cluster.

• Feed the plants twice with compost tea — first when the plants are about 25 centimetres (10 inches) tall, and again when they start to blossom.
• As an alternative, apply side dressings of a balanced organic fertilizer according to label instructions.
• Okra needs very little attention. A five- to eight-centimetre (two- to three-inch) layer of mulch will help keep weeds down and maintain soil moisture. Okra pods are at their peak when they are five to eight centimetres (two to three inches) long.
• Once they appear, they grow rapidly and will become tough and stringy in a matter of days; so keep a sharp eye on the pods from the time they start maturing.

To harvest okra, cut off the pods with a sharp knife.

• Do not leave ripe pods on the plant, because their presence causes the plant to stop production.
• Harvest daily, and store what you cannot eat in the refrigerator for a few days.
• If you harvest regularly, your plants should keep producing until the first frost.

Okra seldom succumbs to pests or diseases. If borers should infest a crop, spray the ground with Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki and pick the borers off the plants.

• Control aphids, Japanese beetles, and corn earworms with neem.
• In hot areas, fusarium wilt, a soil disease, can destroy a crop; if it does, do not plant okra (or annual hibiscus) in the area for at least three years.
• Plants started indoors and then put out are often attacked by cutworm. Protect them by ringing young plants with a collar set two centimetres (one inch) in the soil. Frozen-juice cans cut in half are excellent for this purpose.

Decorative and edible, okra is a great addition to any garden. Now you know how to grow your own -- enjoy the beautiful plant and delicious taste!