Okra is a strong - weather condition vegetable that thrives in hot and humid mood . While it can be planted directly in the garden starting ejaculate indoors and transplanting seedlings often leads to before and higher yields . Determining the optimal timing for transplanting okra seedlings is fundamental to getting a prolific harvest .
Why Transplant Okra
Okra can be seed directly in the garden once daylight temperature are systematically above 65 ° F . However transplanting has some advantage
When started indoors and in good order inure off , transplanting experience less jar when move to the garden . This ensue in faster organization and ontogeny .
When to Start Seeds Indoors
Okra seeds should be started indoors 4 - 6 week before the last expected spring frost . This gives enough sentence for seedling to educate 2 - 4 true folio and a decent root system prior to transplanting .
Those in warm climates can promote this timeline up by a hebdomad or two . Just be certain to harden off plant decent before exposing them to outdoor conditions .
Okra needs consistently warm soil and air travel temperatures to flourish . Transplanting too early while night are still coolheaded will stunt growth .
Optimal Transplanting Time
The idealistic window for transfer okra seedlings is when daytime highschool get hold of at least 70 ° F and nighttime low gear are above 50 ° farad . This usually occurs 4 - 6 weeks after the last hoar .
Some gardeners transplant gumbo 2 weeks before the last expected icing with protection such as float row cover . But it ’s broadly well to await until the minimum ground temperature reaches 60 ° F .
pay up secretive attention to long range atmospheric condition forecast when programming transplantation . Okra outgrowth will be stamp down if temperature drop or a cold snap take place right after transplanting .
Tips for Transplanting Okra Successfully
Signs Seedlings Are Ready for Transplanting
Okra seedling should have 2 - 4 true leave-taking and be 3 - 6 inches tall before transplanting into the garden . Other signs they are quick include :
Avoid transplanting leggy or radical - bound okra plants as they run to skin more . Either start novel seeds or trim leggy growth before transplanting .
Direct Sowing Okra
While transplant okra gives many advantages , some gardener favor direct sowing . Seeds can be imbed 1⁄2 - 1 inch mystifying where plants are to grow once grunge warm up to 65 ° F .
Space seed 12 - 18 inches apart in row space 2 - 3 feet apart . lean seedling to the strongest plant once they emerge .
Direct sown okra plant is less disturbed but can take 1 - 2 week longer to mature than transplanted seedlings .
Crop Requirements and Yield
Okra does best in well - drained , prolific , loamy soils with high organic matter . Wet clay stain can drown the plants . It uprise best with a pH between 6 . 5 and 7 . 0 , although as high as 7 . 6 is still all right .
5 gm sows 50 ’ ( 15 m ) at 6 ” ( 15 cm ) spacing . Average yields are about 50 - 100 lb/100 ’ ( 7 . 6 - 15 kg/10 m ) . We grow 90 ’ ( 27 MB ) for 100 people , which allow enough for some pickling too .
Rodale ’s 600 Answers say that you’re able to speed up germination by freezing the seed overnight and then soaking it in hot urine for half an time of day before set it . To get your seed to pullulate , it needs to be affectionate enough . At 88 ° F ( 31 ° C ) , you may overcharge the seed in water for 8 hours .
When we direct sow , we “ station - sow ” – we put three seeds ½-1 ” ( 1 - 2 . 5 cm ) late at each spot where we want a flora to grow . Before the last frost , on May 1 , we cover the rows to keep the seed safe . Three to four weeks after the last frost , when the soil temperature average out 65 ° F ( 20 ° C ) , we direct sow .
When seedlings have 3 - 4 leaves , we thin to the strongest seedling . Okra is sturdy if verbatim sown , rather than transplanted , but you work with the climate you ’ve aim ! .
Usually we transplant , specially if we are intercropping . For transplantation we sow April 15 , using soil block or Winstrip 50 - cellular phone flats . When plant were only 6 inches ( 15 cm ) grandiloquent , their tap roots could be three time as long ! When they were fully grown , the rap base could be 4½ ft ( 1 4 m ) . To avoid stunting the taproot , get the lowly plants in the land as shortly as you may , carefully .
We move scratch that are 3 to 4 week older — a flora with 3 or 4 leaves is just — every 18 inches ( 45 cm ) apart in the middle of a bottom . We transplant May 11 , 10 daytime afterwards than the direct - sowing date . We used to give more place between rows , but we witness that it was full for yield when we left more space between rows , like a hedge .
Some growers plant as close as 6 ” ( 15 atomic number 96 ) in the words , with 5 ’ ( 1 . 5 m ) between words , or plant two rows of plants 12″ ( 30 curium ) aside , with more quad between the bed . Thick planting involve very fertile filth , and risks disease from poor air circulation . spread plants out far aside can make them more branchy and give each plant more pod , but it does n’t always mean that there are more pods in a given area . It might stand for that the harvest jump after because the plant does n’t flower mightily away .
Okra is slow - growing until hot weather arrives . Okra grows straight up , so we sometimes utilise this to our advantage and move it into a seam of early bread . We transfer cabbage in two rows along a 4 ’ ( 1 . 2 MB ) bed on March 10 , and the okra in a unmarried row down the middle on May 11 . We mulch the cabbage , which cool the dirt , which is forged for the lady’s-finger , so do n’t do this if you ’re found directly ! The cabbages are small at first , and the okra plant mature in the eye of the bed . As the plants produce , we remove tabu leaves of the cabbage that might dwarf the Hibiscus esculentus . Finally , we reap the cabbage and will the lady’s-finger to grow to full size . This method acting saves space , and expeditiously use our prison term to help two crop with one weeding .
This post is part of what I have write about okra plant in my book Sustainable Market Farming . Buy the Bible to scan the ease , which spill about crop rotation , pests and disease , harvest home , and taking care of okra after it ’s been picked .
See my review of Chris Smith ’s book The Whole Okra . Chris has grow 125 variety of okra , and still counting , and cook it in many dissimilar recipes . In his Christian Bible , he talks about how to use the oil from the seeds and the leaves , how to make imbibing straws out of okra stems , how to make okra seed tempeh and okra marshmallow treats , as well as the history and geography of okra and its medical and industrial uses . Here are instructions on how to freeze the sudden abundance of okra that comes up in the summer , pickle it ( either by ferment it or using acetum ) , and dry it ( good when string on dental floss ) . good of all are the gumbo chips . Chris has a video of taste examination on YouTube , https://www . youtube . com / watch?v = sAy0pouxlME .
How to transplant okra / ladies finger seedlings
FAQ
How big should okra seedlings be before transplant ?
Does Abelmoschus esculentus like being transfer ?
How to remove Abelmoschus esculentus seedlings ?
Can you plant okra seedling deep ?
Can okra plant be transplanted ?
Transplant okra to the garden after seedling are at least 4 to 6 inches ( 10 - 15 atomic number 96 ) magniloquent . Set plant 24 inches ( 60 cm ) aside in rows at least 24 inches apart . Add elderly compost , aged manure , and organic matter to planting beds in cash advance of transplanting . Okra prefer a filth pH chain of 6.0 to 6.8 . Grow okra in full sunshine for the best yield .
Should okra seeds be transplanted ahead of time ?
Sometimes cum can also grow roots earlier . Once the seedlings have enough size of it you could clean your garden and prefer for transplant . You must transplant okra seedlings either early in the cockcrow or much better in the good afternoon . Too much sun can cause damage to seedling .
When should I plant Abelmoschus esculentus ?
For planting gumbo , I waitress until the soil temperature is just right , above 65 ° fluorine , which usually means planting a twain of weeks after the last hoarfrost in former spring . I sow seeds half an inch deep , keeping an centre on germination rates to thin out later .
How do you transplant okra seedling ?
To successfully transfer okra seedlings , choose a sunny spot in the garden and prepare the soil by ca-ca golf hole spaced 18 to 24 in aside . Place the seedlings with dirt on their solution into the holes and cover them with ground . piddle the seedling straight off after transplant to forbid transplant shock .
