How do I get Okras?

[ulla]

Hia,

I got some Okra seeds from the Organic Gardening Catalogue and some of them actually developped into plants. Though unfortunately only one of them survived, because the other I planted out into the rainy and windy allotment where they were unhappy, so the one and only survivor sits on my boyfriend's northern windowsill. It regularily shows off a flower or two, but we never actually got it to produce a proper Okra fruit.

Now I wonder what we did wrong:

- how big a pot does it need to have? it's in a pretty small pot at the moment. It only has 5 leaves so far. How do I get it less vulnerable with more leaves?
- what fertiliser would it need? I have treated them as tomatoes so far.
- so far we tried to get the flower to produce fruits, but so far without success. Any tips? Does the purple stuff need to go on the yellow or the other way round. Which tools do you use to fertilise it?
- the flowers only appear for half a day or so. is that normal?
- the plant is pretty long and unstable and intends to outgrow the windowsill. How would I get it a bit more bushy? What's the best location for it?

I would at least want to get some more seeds of the plant, now that it exists. How long is the plants lifespan normally? Can I get it to survive longer than half a year?

cherio Ulla

[kernowyon]

i think they need heat to fruit, but may be proved wrong. i tried them a couple of years back in the garden but complete failure so never tried again

[Polly Fouracre]

I think a polytunnel and an early start.I shouldn't have thought they would have had a chance this year because of the cold weather----there's always next year!!

[rustylady]

They are usually grown in tropical or semi-tropical areas, so I would think that to grow successfully in UK you would need a greenhouse or polytunnel. Even then, I doubt the yield would be worthwhile.

[veg4681]

I think to grow Okra succesfully to the point of getting a decent crop and eating it is not something that is quite possible in UK. Even if you persist and make it work, it would probably be at an immense expense, as in creating your own hot and humid climate inside a bubble.

For eating, okra the size of your finger is a nice tender size otherwise they're a bit tough.

[terrier]

<SNIP>
Okra is a very popular vegetables in subtropical Asia and Eastern Africa. Plants grow vigorously in warm climates and are very productive, producing 100 okras per plant. Upright plants grow beautiful yellow flowers and are also very popular for growing as decorative container plants. Flowers begin to form okra fruits in 4-6 days that should be picked for vegetable use when they are still young and tender. <END>

This is from an Indian food site. I tihnk you'll need a hot house and sun lamps to grow it in Britain.

[gridgardener]

okra in uk

veg4681 the secret of good okra is heat and good insect pollination something at is not possible in green house or polytunnel that is enclosed.

[veg4681]

veg4681 the secret of good okra is heat and good insect pollination something at is not possible in green house or polytunnel that is enclosed.

I know, I was half joking when I refered to a bubble, was thinking of a bubble with climate condition of Asia-Africa-America land.

[Biscombe]

Here in Spain I sow my okra off in January, they do need lots of heat and lots of room, so the larger the pot the better, I have huge plants up to my shoulders in the garden and I gave my friend a young plant (she didn't pot it on) and it stayed really small! I treat my okra mean and they thrive, so it's heat and space they need! try again next year.........PS is the variety called mammoth? I bought some too from the same company