Red Okra

I love okra! I especially enjoy red heirloom okra.

Okra, a relative of the tropical flower hibiscus, was brought to the Americas from Africa in the 1600’s. It is known in many English-speaking countries as ladies’ fingers and is a flowering plant of the mallow family.

Its sticky consistency makes it an excellent thickener for soups, gumbos, and stews as well as cooked with fresh tomatoes. I love to pick it small, wash it, slice it ¼ inch thick, dip in egg and toss in seasoned cornmeal and fry it in a cast iron skillet. It’s one of the best tastes of summer. I freeze and dehydrate what we don’t eat fresh. I use it all winter long in soups.

Okra grows up to 5 feet tall making an excellent garden hedge or border. It will flourish wherever corn grows and thrives; where the summers are long and hot.

Make sure you plant a “spineless” variety. In my first garden, I planted a spined variety, and I had no idea that the plant was going to attack me with an all-out assault of short invisible spines that were released every time I touched the plant. I remember rinsing my arms under cold water waiting for the agony to abate!

Newly developed hybrids are less painful as well as delicious. My major problem with okra is letting it “get away” from me by forgetting that when it’s hot and humid, the okra takes off and can grow inches each day. The green varieties get woody and impossible to cut, but the red heirloom stays pliable longer as it “super-sizes.” Harvest frequently by cutting the pods using a sharp knife and remember to remove all ripe pods as their presence causes the plant to stop production.