Guide to growing Okra in Containers
Not all of us in India are familiar with the name Okra, So you might even wondering “What is Okra?” But lady finger plant is something that everyone knows. I remember the trick my mom used to make us eat Okra. She used to say “If you eat okra, you will become an expert in mathematics!”. I did eat a lot of that but looking at my math skills I think that was just a lie to make us eat. ;-).
Nevertheless, Okra is a nice vegetable to grow and as well as to eat. Okra belongs to the same family as Hibiscus, Roselle (gongura) and cotton. Growing Okra is very easy. If you are thinking How to grow Okra in containers, this article is for you.
Growing Okra in containers means you need to get a sunny spot in your garden, because Okra plants love good amount of sunlight and they grow up to 7 ft tall.
Planting Okra seeds
Using a large container/pot is essential for its growth.I grew mine in 10L containers. I had around 10 of them prepared for sowing. Sowing the seeds was very easy. The seeds were sown in those containers; 2 in each of them. It took around 5 days for them to germinate. I got almost 100% germination. This time I used treated seeds. Treated seeds are those that are pre-coated with fungicide(Thiram) to avoid problems like damping off. Treated seeds usually have a distinct color coated on them to differentiate them from other seeds and also to indicate they are coated and hence poisonous.
Planting Okra seedlings
Growing Okra in pots
After they start showing the true leaves, thin them to just one per plant. I know its difficult to remove the plant that you so passionately sowed. Trust me if you let them grow in bunch, none of them will yield properly. So go ahead and thin them.
I grew them using hydroponic nutrients I made for tomatoes. I also have one container having soil and has Okra growing in it. You can grow them in soil as well and not much difference in yield. For soil, I use red soil+cocopeat+compost+bone meal and for hydroponics, plain cocopeat was used.
19-June-2010
After a month and 4 days since germination, they have grown about 2 feet tall and are flowering every other day. You can see lot of pods growing. It is better to grow about 5-10 plants of Okra since the plants yield a pod almost every other day and if you have 10 plants growing, you get 30-40 pods every week. Not bad right?.
Growing Okra in pots
Okra flowers and Fruits
This variety you see below is called “Alabama Red”. It is a stout variety of Okra. Everyone who saw this got excited. It gets matured very quickly. As it matures, it develops a red colored skin.
Okra variety Alabama Red
The red coloration is not seen here since it was picked quite early.
Growing Okra is very easy. Watch out for aphids and mealy bugs during the growing season. Check under the leaves for signs of infestations. Aphids are usually spread by ants. Control ants by sprinkling turmeric powder or boric acid or pesticide chalk such as Laxman Rekha. Mix a teaspoon of neem oil and dish soap together well so that they form a light brown colored cream. Mix it with a liter of water and spray. It worked for me. You have to spray it continuously for a week.
Mealy bugs can be controlled by mixing spirit(rubbing alcohol) and water in 1:1 ratio and spraying. It controls aphids as well.
Hope this will help to start Okra this season.
108 Responses
Thanks for those tips on controlling pests.. I am starting it immediately.
Hi gg,
Why are the Okras small? Is due to the variety of the Okra or did you pick them too early?
I too had grown Okra last year in pots and they were very small.
-Srikanth
This variety(assuming you are asking about Alabama red) is comparitively smaller than the other ones and also I picked them early. It matures very quickly if left it becomes fibrous. The other variety is still growing and gives good sized okras.
It is really amazing to see the developments in your garden. Keep up the good work! One tip that I would like to share with you is to use sub irrigated planters (SIPs) when you are doing container gardening. SIPs are highly efficient in terms of watering potted plants and they have many advantages compared to conventional drench and drain watering system. The don’t allow the weeds to grow, none of the nutrients are washed off, proper oxygen supply to the roots through aeration helps in faster growth of the pants and better harvest. Here is a link where you can learn how to convert your pot into a SIP
http://www.insideurbangreen.org/2009/03/subirrigated-bucket-planter-.html
cheers.
Vijay
Hi gg,
Your post on okra has come at an opportune time for me.
My okra plants, though one month old and healthy are only about a feet tall. I am worried about the flower buds which appear, and yellowing and falling off one by one after growing to a certain size. What could be the problem? I have sprayed NPK, so am keeping my fingers crossed. I have 2 plants per 15L container. (3 containers)
We recently had very heavy rains in Mumbai but a dry spell now. That was when the white transparent blobs on the underside of the leaves disappeared. (I was unable to take a picture).
Another question, do you spray for infestation on a regular basis (ie prevention) or only when you see any bugs/ disease (as a cure).
You have great healthy plants as always, the photos lift my spirits.
Chitra
Hi Chitra,
Glad to hear the post was timely. Check the plant for some aphids/mites. Flowers could fall because of them as well. Otherwise it is because of nutrient deficiency. The white transparent blobs are secretions from the okra plant and nothing to worry about.
I give a spray when the plants are seedlings. More than the spray, I closely watch every single leaf/plant initially. Most of the insects can be controlled if you detect early. Aphids start out as black-winged insects beneath the leaves. The moment I notice a single insect, spraying starts.
I don’t regularly spray ( I wish though) due to lack of time. Daily, I just find to water them.
Thanks
gg
Hi gg,
Thanks for your reply about guttation in okra; your knowledge is tremendous.
The white blobs are gone, no pests yet ( keeping fingers crossed)my okra is flowering every alternate day and fruiting also, yesterday I harvested my first okra. It was only the first buds which fell off each plant (got me very worried). Life with okra is great… after seeing the beautiful flowers I have planted a few more seeds directly in the pots. Transplanting is not working out well with me.
Thanks
Chitra
Glad to be of help. Its not exactly guttation (similar to) but a secretion that comes out esp in okra. Good to hear there are no pests yet. But do check beneath the leaves. That is where most of the insects have their play school before they grow big.
I did the same too; sowed more okra seeds this weekend.
Good luck.
Hi GG,
You are really a master grower
I need your valuable advice on Hydroponics Nutrient.
Are you measuring pH at regular interval and adjust pH if required, what is interval
Are you measuring conductivity and add macro nutrient when conductivity goes down
If transpiration losses of plants is high, then are you adding plain water in nutrient solution
At what interval you replace hydroponics nutrient solution completely
Are you aerating hydroponics nutrient solution continuously using air stone
Thanks,
Hetal
Hi Hetal
Sorry for the delay.
Master grower? Not really. I have lot of bloopers here.
My setup uses cocopeat as the medium. I water most of my plants by hand and growbags using automated setup. In pots, the water drained is very less and they are watered once a day. In growbags, they are watered 6 times a day and the drainage is collected in the reservoir it self. A batch of nutrient lasts for 2 days and I measure pH when I make the nutes and thats all. In two days, I run out of nutes and I make fresh batch. With cocopeat, you end up making more nutrients. Tomato plant consumes almost 3-4 litres of water per day. All these problems are avoided with cocopeat.
Since I am not using water as a medium. For most of your questions, my answer is no.
gg
Hi gg,
I too sowed okra, tomato, brinjal,chillies and broad beans ( avaraikai).
All of them germinated well within a week except for g.chillies. I was wondering why it is taking so long. After sometime just 2 of them showed up. Should i wait for long to see the shoot?
For okra, when do i have to transplant? Are true leaves is the one I see in the picture?
Those two leaves which pops up after germination?
Can i use diluted nute solution for all them which has shooted up? Is it 1gm NPK for 1 litre?
Ramya
forgot to subcribe for follow up.
Hi Ramya,
I delayed the reply so much that the much awaited chilli would have germinated i guess. In general chillies do take some time to germinate. Give them 10 days time. Sometimes it takes even more.
Okras don’t handle transplanting very well. If you can carefully transplant them with disturbing, it will pickup but slowly. Better direct seed them.
Leaves that pop up when they germinate are not true leaves. They are called Cotyledons. True leaves are those that come after cotyledons are opened. It looks like okra plant leaf. You can use 1g/ liter for seedlings.
gg
Hi gg..
I was surprised that i got 100% of tomatoes. Except for tomatoes, only four out ten germinated and showed up true leaves in other veggies. Green chillies was a real disappointment. None of them turned up. Its time for transplanting now.Will keep you updated.
Ramya
Good to know. Do keep us posted.
How much inorganic stuff do you use?
Off the track question:
What is the flowering agent you use for plants to flower.
Good question. I use NPK for most of the plants that are in soil ( 3-5g/litre) and I have around 20 pots that are in soil and rest in cocopeat grown with hydroponics ( which is fully inorganic). There is no flowering agent that I use. Any fertilizer that is high in phosphorous and potassium will do.
Ok,
I spoke to a couple of your friends and understood that yield is your ultimate end goal of all this activity. The pesticide and fertilizer are definitely harmful. I guess since you are doing most of the work on the rooftop it is ok. But if we are going to start growing all this in a balcony is it ok to use so much fertilizer and chemicals. Especially with kids around. What did you do when you were restricted to your balcony space earlier? I am not for using chemicals but would like to know if it is completely essential for good growth and yield. Can we restrict ourselves to organic stuff only for good growth and yield.
Natti
Natti,
I am not sure whom you refer to as my friends that you spoke to.Anyways Saying “yield” is the ultimate goal of my activity is so not true. I have had grown vegetables completely organically and with chemical fertilizers as well. I don’t use chemical pesticides on food crops. Do keep it in mind that I consume my home grown food and I wouldn’t take a chance. In most of my posts, I also give a method to grow without chemical fertilizers. Do what works for you. I have grown veggies in Balcony with both the methods.
If you are not for using chemicals please don’t use them. You can use organic fertilizers available in the market. You can grow vegetables with only organic fertilizers too.
Hope this helps
gg
Sent you a note
Hi GG,
Any idea if there are instruments that will help you measure the NPK % in the compost/soil.
Will be useful to augment the soil with additional fertilizer if required.
I am sure there are instruments available but they will be expensive. You can also avail the soil testing facility available in Hulimavu. Check it out.
Have you tried growing onions. Any idea how it is done? From bulbs/seeds!!!?
Yes Natti, I did try it sometime back but wasn’t too happy about the time it takes and I usually end up taking them leaves before they come to harvest. They do take a long time to grow bulbs.
If you want bulbs to form, you have to sow seeds. But if you want just leaves and if you want it to flower and produce seeds, bulbs are to be planted.
Hi GG,
Right now I am waging war with mealy bugs and whiteflies. I am getting rubbing alchohol(or maybe a glass of beer 🙂 ) for the mealy bugs. What can I do for the white flies. These things are killing my hibiscus. Help!
Hi Natti.
Sorry for the delay. For whiteflies and other flies, use Yellow Sticky traps coated with thick oil(castor may be). Google for examples/models. It reduces the whitefly population. Parallely, you can spray neem+soap solution to bring down. Yellow cards are used to identify the presence of specific insects.
Spray underneath the leaves as well.
gg
Hi GG,
Good article, I have this sowed last week. It has already germinated (100% germination).
My question to you, don’t you think 1:1 ratio of spirit and water is little too much? and also with amount of spirit you get (i.e 50 ml or 100ml bottle) 1:1 ratio will give u very less amount of solution.
Sunil
Thanks sunil. 1:1 spirit might sound too much and probably is. I usually use it to just dab on the mealy bug infested area so the solution needed is very less. You can also dilute to a concentration that is effective enough.
Hey GG,
My zucchini plant is dying. I want to send a photo so you can have a look and see where I am going wrong. Where could I send?
Ram.
I too am growing okra currently. If you need to get meaningful quantities (instead of say 5 pods at a time), you need at least 10 plants. I currently have 6, so I am planning to start 4 more, or maybe start 10 anew all over.
BTW, my okra got infected with red spider mites. I used insecticide (thus loosing claim to “organic” tag), but the infestation was not totally controlled. However, the plants continue to yield nevertheless.
You are right. I have 10 plants now yielding and have sowed another 10 pots to keep the yield going. You can spray wettable sulfur for spider mites. It seems to help.
Thanks for your reply.
I asked a shop if they have wettable sulfur but he gave a blank look. What is the magic word to use – is it know by any brand name or chemical name?
thanks.
Hi GG
you have mentioned that treated seeds an be used though they are poisonus and apart from that some chemical are being sprayed on the plant to check infestation. Is’nt it harmful and what about the quality of okra is it free from any such resides of chemical.
Please clarify.
I am also interested in roof top gardeing. How to make soil suitable for growing vegetables.
Regards
Naresh
Hi Naresh.
I mentioned that treated seeds can be used because, it is easier for beginners to start gardening with treated seeds. They don’t loose their plants to damping off/soilborne fungus. The chemical coated over the seed is a contact fungicide and is not going to leave a residue in Okra. However, there is no force that one should only use treated seeds.
Hope this helps
gg
Hi GG,
I reside in bangalore and can you advise me where I can purchase Bone meal and how much it costs? My Bell pepper plants are losing flowers(dropping OFF) and I read that Bone meal application will fix that problem?
Thank you
Srihari, Check my reply for your previous comment. Bonemeal is a slowrelease fertilizer and applying when your blossoms are dropping wont be of help. Check if pollination is not happening. Try manually pollinating the flowers.
HI GG,
I saw some white spots in first pic (in coco pit)
Will you please enplane what it is ?
I saw the chill seeds now after a month it is having 2 true leaves and i had transplant them just a day before , will you please tell me that is there anything wrong with these plants ?
Dear GG:
Thanks for sharing your experience in growing Okhra.
I have just sown the okra seeds I got from Lal Bagh. They don’t mention the name of the variety in the packet. Does that mean that they are the ‘natti’ variety? I am asking this question as my attempt in growing yellow pumpkin , of the hybrid variety seeds , failed totally (despite the plants growing for almost 10 feet ) , while the seeds I got from Lal Bagh have boosted my morale. The plant has yielded two huge yellow pumpkins, one which I harvested last week , and one I am going to do in a few days .They are really huge, and tasted very well too. The plant is still growing strong!
In general, do you think going for ‘natti’ variety of seeds suit these factors – gardener being a novice, growing in terrace in containers, using only organic manure ? And, can I assume that what I get in LalBagh, for any vegetable, is that of local variety only?
Could you pls let me know where you got bone meal from? Is it organic ?!!!
Regards
Meena K
Hi Meena.
We have no way of knowing if the variety they sell is natti or not unless they mention some name on it. But mostly I don’t think it is a hybrid. To some extent is good to go with natti and as you said it suits our conditions. In lalbagh, those packets that they sell for rs 15 ( silver foil), are those that they used to sell for rs 5 earlier now with a new covering. Trust me, those seeds are just average. I bought some pink okra and turned out just plain green. Pansy seeds turned out to be grass. If you are buying a regular okra then it is ok. Chances are it will be regular and if it turns something else it can only be better.
Bone is totally organic. You can get it in new tharagupet(little coarse sized). I also stock some(fine grade) for people’s convenience. The price is around 30 a kg. Let me know if you want some.
gg
Hi GG,
This is with ref to ur comment above… i too need bone meal for my plants. is it available?
If not, could you please share some with me? it would be great if you can give me a few green chilli seeds too…
Could you please email me about this?
Thanks,
GoodEarth
A good place to purchase Bonemeal is from the nursery that is being run by the society for the disabled in Jeevan Bhima Nagar.
[…] If you grow okra it may now be ready to harvest! Would you like to grow it next year? Some tips: http://j.mp/9Xai2l […]
Hi
Was wondering why there was some silence after your post. Like Vijay said please try SIPs and write abt your experience. I am using the garden space I have to do some gardening. I really got hooked on to your white egg plant and have now four types of brinjal growing including a perennial brinjal with thorns. I have to move by august end to an apartment and though I am on fifth floor and the terrace is just over us I doubt if I will be allowed gardening there. So I will have to restrict to two small balconies. nevertheless we are having ample rainfall and I have now growing bittergourd, bhindi, brinjal, tomato, palak and rajgira (seed amaranth) on the ground and marigols, Zinnia, palak, coriander and mint in containers
I totally agree with you that daily scouting for insects will help to control them easier in pots. Just hand removal will also do in some cases like mealy bugs.
Hi Chitra,
Not just some silence. I would long silence. Just trying to juggle things around. Will post new stuff in few days :).
I am going to try SIP and will write a detailed post about my experience on it.
Those white eggplants are sure tempting. Good to hear you have the whole spectrum of veggies growing. I really appreciate you for the passion you have and the effort you put.
In your new place, just plant few plants that yield to begin with in your terrace and people might get hooked ;).
I have seen, with daily monitoring, you can eradicate the insects before its too late.
happy gardening.
gg
Hi gg,
Can you answer this for me please? How many okra can be harvested from a single plant?
My okra is fruiting now. I have harvested about 4-5 from each plant. I have two older(about 2 months) plants and 2 which have started fruiting this week. There seem to be very few buds, maybe 3-4, left on the older plants. Should I prune the tip, after the fruit has been harvested to enhance side branches? Or is that all the harvest I might be able to get per plant. The plants are very healthy.
What should I do? Only 10 fruits per plant seems very less 🙁
Chitra
Hi Chitra,
So far, from one plant I have taken around 14 and i think it will yield another 5-6. It is already 7+ feet tall and I might cut the tip. You can let the branches grow in the sides. On an average, my plants yielded upto 12-13/plant.
Let the plant grow, as long as you see buds coming in the main stem. For every leaf node there is there will be an okra.
In fields, it might yield more that it does in containers. Did I answer your question?
gg
Hi,
Yes, you have answered my question. If the expert gets on average 12-13/plant then 9-10/plant for me is good enough! But, my plants are only about 2ft tall. What is your fertilizer for okra?
I plan to sow more seeds to increase the harvest of okra after the rains have subsided a little. Now everything is liable to get washed off. I have some cluster bean plants which are facing the full fury of the monsoons and are collapsing just when they have started yielding 🙁
Thanks for your help.
Chitra
I keep reading that Tomato plants need lots of Potash. Please confirm as you are the tomato expert. Any idea how I can do this the organic way.
I am not an expert yet.. The answer for your question lies in your question itself.. Wood ash is a great source of potash. Generally any ash. Also, banana skins are rich in potassium too.
gg
Stupid question. But where can I find wood or for that matter any form of ash.
Can I bury banana skins in the soil.
Natti
Ash is not available any more as she is married ;)…
Anyways, you can find “wood ash” in nearby Ironwalla, or food places( that cooks tandoor food). It needs some searching around but you will get it.
You can bury the skins in soil. They will become black powder in just 10 days time.
gg
Can you please provide way to prepare hydroponic solution to be used with coco peat? I feel its a wonderful technology and more info on this will be much appriciated.
Is it available in market as ready made product or we have to prepare by mixing various chemicals?
Hi,
Your postings are delightful to read!
I am growing Okra plants at home, and I think they are the dwarf variety. The plants are tiny; I didn’t observe any flowers on them, but one day, they started showing fruits. All the four plants have about two fruits each. I am still wondering about how the fruits came without flowers?
http://rake-and-spade.blogspot.com
Regards,
Asha
Thanks Asha. Interesting to hear this. Okra flowers, when they are small look like mini okras. They do flower and then form the fruit. I would be really surprised if they fruit without flowering( i dont think its possible).
How can a plant have fruits without any flowering – was my constant question.
I guess they are the buds not fruits! The buds look like tender fruits, and
that’s what is confusing (until the buds bloom).
Regards,
Asha
I am sure they are buds. Give it some time.
Hello GG,
The okra flowers bloomed; mystery solved! Posted photo of flower at http://rake-and-spade.blogspot.com/. I have also added a reference to your blog site from my site. I hope that’s OK.
Do you know any nursery from which I can buy strawberry plants or seeds?
Regards,
Asha
There you go!. Thanks for linking back to my blog. You can get strawberry plants from Lalbagh. I am not sure you get seeds around here since strawberry is mainly propagated via runners. I will write a post on that soon.
Hello there.
I dont remember where I read that okra plants have to be planted at a distance from one another, as it would allow the branches to spread. I dont really remember teh logic behind why they should planted at a distance.
Now, I have my okra plants growing nicely. Its been a month and a half and they are about 3 feet tall. The one mistake I think I made is sowing the seeds all in one place in the ground. The plants are spreading out, but few of them seem to be bending with lack of space. Would you suggest I plant them separately now? Or would it be just fine? My mother says that Okra roots once grown and settled should not be disturbed. What is your opinion?
Transplanting them when are 3ft tall is not a good idea. Okra is very sensitive and cannot take root disturbance. You can either remove the weaker plants or let them be the way they are and plan well next time.
I am planning to setup green house in my native and planning to harvest laddies finger. Can you please guide me regarding the same. This is my first experience in the greenhouse field.
Hi GG, You mentioned rubbing alcohol for mealing bugs. Where do we get to purchase them?
Thanks, Asha
Hi Asha,
You can get them in Medical shops. Just ask for surgical spirit. Let me know if you couldn’t get it.
GG
Thanks so much GG. Seeing a lot of mealy bugs on some plants.
Just wanted to tell you that I use your blog like a reference encyclopedia. I knew you had mentioned rubbing alcohol in some post, so got this article by searching for ‘rubbing alcohol’ 🙂
Asha, You are always welcome. Glad you found the blog handy. Hoping to add more such informative posts soon after the move. Calendar is getting ready too.
Thanks for the motivation.
gg
Hey GG
I am planning to start a home vegetable garden, with chilli, tomato and okra. Although i am no expert at gardening and a beginner with every aspect, i would want to know your suggestions on a few queries
What is best time to plant them?
Can we use home seeds for planting – or commercial variety are better?
I dont have space to plant them in the ground, how long can plants survive in pots/buckets
What is best place, on your blog where beginners can get some basic tips.
thanks and cheers
trupz
AdiTrupz,
Planting time for a plant depends on the variety of plants.
Okra, Brinjal, Tomato can be grown almost round the year. It also depends on whehich part of india you are from? This is w.r.t Bangalore.
Do refer to posts in this blog about “Sowing seasons”
You can also do a search in the blog or post a question int he forum for people to answer.
Thanks
GG
Great site and very informative. Do you make your own potting soil or do you buy then ? From your photos it looks like you are using plastic buckets / waste-paper baskets / office trays for growing your plants. Have you drilled drainage holes at the bottom or sides? and do you water ( or spray) them daily ? Your veggies look so good and fresh.
Hello Malathi,
Thanks for your words. I make my own potting mix. I do use mainly plastic buckets/discarded plastic bins. I rescue them from nearby plastic “gujri” shops. For drainage, I used to make holes in the bottom. of late I am drilling holes in the side and attach a tank joint so that the water can be collected or let out without affecting the floor.
I water them daily. I don’t spray that often.
GG
Dear GG
I had written in this blog about starting my terrace garden and was asking for some advise and suggestions. I was going through various posts of yours and the responses from the blog members. I found that the materials and the experiences of people available here are fantastic. There are lot of stuff for beginners as well as for experts in gardnening. It is really useful and quality stuff here.
I have started my gardening with Okra. It is almost 40 days since when I sow few okra seeds on pots, medium used is soil. Sadly, there is only one survived and every other day there are pods coming up. But, there are problems and seek your advise – the plant look still weak, it has grown only about a foot so far. The leaves are turning to almost brown in color which I think is because of attacks from a kind of small fly insects. I am spraying the neem+dish soap solution. But, you can still find the flies on the leaves. Can you recommend any other safe insecticide I can use to get rid of these insects?
Other things growing in my garden: Radish is growing very well and I think in another week or so I will be able to harvest. Second batch of radish is on its way. Already tried with spinnach and that was the first harvest from my garden. Carrots are two weeks old, growing well. Capcicum, betroot, tomatto, eggplant are the other ones growing.
But, this inescts are killing my plants. Looking forward for your advise.
Regards
Kalyan
i have read that we can germinate seeds we get from ladies finger by storing it in water.Is it true?will this work?
I dont think so. They ones you get from green ladies finger is not mature and wont germinate. One or two might come up but thats not how its done.
I need some potting mix / coco peat from where can i buy in Bangalore.
You can contact lalbagh or me for potting mix.
From where can i get coco peat….. thanks
Check in Lalbagh. It is also available with me. Let me know if you are interested.
hy
thats too good for solutions of our problems to discuss each other… me also work on okra. i wanna get some information obout foliar application of seaweed extract. can any one help out to search papers obout?
Sir,My avarakkai, plant ( short variety) grown up to 2 feet high,leaves very healthy, and I was very happy to see the bunch of white flowers in it. Now, the flowers are dropping and pollination doesn’t seems to take place. How to we manually pollinate them?
Also, let me know how to prepare hydroponic solution, now I have sown the okra seeds in cocopeat, just 2 days back. As you said, I am spraying neem and soap solution of the leaves, to get rid of white patches beneath the leaves.
Hello Geekgardener, i like your the most and i also tried it and my plants are 10 days old but they are not too strong. They get on the ground. Their stem is very flexible. Please suggest me what to do.
Thank you for this article. The okra looks beautiful! I have some local seeds from my grandmother’s okra plants that I’m excited to grow 😀
Hi GG,
I have very good and healthy okra plants. But have a problem. When I pick one mature okra from the plant, the small buds close to it fall off. I use scissors to cut the pod from the plant and I cut it closer to the plant. I have also tried cutting the pod very near to its head. Not sure what is the problem and why nearby buds turn yellow and fall off. Your help is required
Regards,
Praveen
Hi GG,
To begin with …Thanks for the wonderful blog …. I have been trying my hands on terrace/balcony gardening off late and I must say …it is such a pleasure to be around the Plants seeing /observing /feeling them grow …
Well have realized over the period of time that the more we read about plants/pointing mixes etc the more it gets expensive to procure cocopeat,coir dust,perlite,vermiculite..etc
Now that I have already spent a big amount slowly on my over 150 pots and plants …have been wondering how to look for cheaper way of making the correct potting soil .. For the same I recently used saw dust mixed with compost and with some thermocol balls .Question is that is it a good idea to use saw dust in potting mix …? Do the thermocol balls harm the plants in way ..?
Basically have been trying to avoid the use of perlite,vermiculite and coco peat ..
Please suggest
Thanks a lot for excellent tips for growing Okra. After seeing this one can easily grow Okra on the backyards.
hithe website is gorgious, thanks,
1) i would like to know how to join as a member?
2) Is micronol rose mix poisonous to humans ?
Hi I am about to start growing Okra on my terrace. Was reading your article with much interest. this paragraph doesn’t make much sense to me. “After they start showing the true leaves, thin them to just one per plant. I know its difficult to remove the plant that you so passionately sowed. Trust me if you let them grow in bunch, none of them will yield properly. So go ahead and thin them.”
Does it mean cut all the leaves on the plant each time they grow and leave them only with one leaf always? Kindly advise.
Hi,
I am trying to grow “Ladies Finger” in my pots at home, for quite sometime.
When I plant the seeds, it germinates within 3-4 days. Almost all the seeds germinate.
But, after about a week (when they are around 1-2 inch tall), they just drop down and dry!!
I water the plant everyday and they are kept out in the open, so that they get enough light and air.
I have tried to grow them many times and the same thing repeats!!
I don’t understand what is the problem.
Do you have any suggestions?
Regards,
Narendra
Hi, I have now two Okra samplings growing in 10″ deep clay pot. Would the pot be sufficient when the sampling grows bigger? I saw you growing them in dustbin cans.. So iam guessing it should do. Do let me know if its alright. I have 5 more seedlings coming up. Hoping it grows fast to cope with their two seniors! 🙂
hi i am from tripura…interested to know were to purchase okra from? besides i wan to know is okra and lady finger is same veg.?
please sir send referance articales on cultivation of okra under colour shadenet (shadenet colour-green red blue black white green and white).and also send some site names where i can find such referances.
Dear sir,
I am from Pondicherry and having a roof top kitchen garden. Where can I get red ladys finger seeds.
Hoping to hear from you.
Regards,
Edwin
Have you tried pinching the growing points of okra to encourage branching and improve yields?
hello!
I am living in Chennai, now may – June is summer and hot. I have Okra plants in my terrace garden. Plants have grown healthy. Pods and flowers are appearing. The problem is the pods do not grow longer than 1″. if I leave them in the plant, they become hard. What could be the problem? Pls help
Swami Nathan
Hi Swami,
The problem you are facing is lack of nutrition. Plants need fertilizer when they start producing fruits. Okra especially will mature faster. You will end up with woody pods that are too small. Provide a fertilizer that has high potassium and phosphorus. http://www.gardenguru.in/plant-nutrients/27-orchid-boon-for-flowering-plants.html
Hello,
Iam very much inspired by your work….planning grow okra…want to know what should be the depth of the pot to be used…
I am finding the failing of the flowers from ladies finger plants at the time of yield.
This may defect the ladies finger growth.
Please suggest why this happens and what should be done.
Please reply fast as day by day falling of flowers increases.
thanks
Muthurathinam.
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Hi, GG
I have found some white bugs on Okra leaves and flowers. I sprayed Neem oil with soap, but is is not dying. Give some other remedy. I have photos, how to upload.
Can you tell me which type of soil you have used before sowing okra seed?
I am growing ridge gourd on my terrace in a big plastic container. In the beginning we used white urea for growth. plants has grown well but we had lot of flowers & was producing small ridgegourds but after one month I find all the small ridge gourds are turning black and falling down. Is it the mistake of treating with Urea or any other problem.
Can I use urea for vegetable plants or vermi compost is enough to grow them. please reply
more than watering and fertilizers caring and protecting from insects are very essential