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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 8, 2020 13:33:40 GMT -6
TESTING FOR TENDERNESS Since I market my okra pods, I can't very well go cutting into them to test for tenderness. So, I judge okra's tenderness by bending the very tip of each pod. If it's soft and pliable, it's going to be a tender pod. If it exhibits a certain degree of resistance, it's going to be tough. It takes a while to develop the correct 'feel' to judge tender pods this way. (George's method of cutting into the pods is easier to do). If you pick enough okra over the season, you can tell by the weight of the pod. If it's heavy for its size, it's going to be tender, but if it seems a little light, it's probably going to be airy, dry, and tough.I periodically bite a section from near the stem of questionable pods, to give my brain 'feedback' on where the true cut-off point is. A combination of all those factors goes into deciding what pods to toss and what pods go to market, without ever cutting into one of them. At the height of the season, I harvest a hundred pounds of okra at each cutting, so I get lots of practice. if I had a small kitchen garden and was harvesting for only myself and my family, I'd stick to George's method. It's pretty much fail-safe and is much easier to learn. |
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Post by rdback on Aug 11, 2020 8:03:19 GMT -6
Thanks for the tenderness tricks! I'll give them a try.
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Post by rdback on Aug 11, 2020 8:10:15 GMT -6
8/09 - Picked the first three AX pods today. Yay! So, starting the seeds on 5/15 and picking first pod on 8/09 = 86 days DTM (if my math is correct lol). There's two or three more that will be ready to pick in a day or two.
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Post by glen on Aug 11, 2020 17:41:56 GMT -6
Those are sure pretty!! Not too much reddish shading and of course, the little curve in the pods. Without a doubt those are AfricanX pods. Gorgeous.
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Post by macmex on Aug 11, 2020 19:29:22 GMT -6
I picked our first mess of Stewarts Zeebest the day before yesterday. AfricanX is looking like I'll be able to start picking in another 3 to 4 days. This is interesting as I planted the two on the very same day.
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Post by rdback on Aug 18, 2020 8:56:03 GMT -6
8/16 - Plants continue to grow and produce pods, probably averaging two or three every day or two.
Approaching four feet tall, I'd guess.
The plants are indeed branching, usually 3 or four per plant. I think I saw one with 5 branches. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2020 10:45:21 GMT -6
Wow. They look very happy there.
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Post by glen on Aug 19, 2020 12:22:44 GMT -6
Rick, select your most productive branchiest plant for seed saving. If you have a 5 branch plant that might be the one.
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Post by rdback on Aug 20, 2020 17:32:11 GMT -6
Will do Glen. I'll go out and evaluate tomorrow.
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Post by rdback on Aug 20, 2020 17:33:38 GMT -6
...and, my first taste of AX. Excellent!
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Post by glen on Aug 21, 2020 16:54:22 GMT -6
I love okra and tomato's!! Good work!!
Rick, I have a volunteer AfricanX growing in the yard. I didn't plant okra this season, the first time I didn't in many years. Anyways, this volunteer is a stout little fella. I didn't plant it. I did apply some granular fertilizer to it about 2 weeks ago. Since then it has doubled in size and she is real bushy. Not tall yet. Its making okra. The plant is only about 30 inches tall but the trunk is very thick. This plant has 5 or 6 branches and all will produce okra. Plus, several of the branches are sprouting branches. I have been waiting for this to happen but these little sprouts might be false branches. In otherwords they might not follow thru.
What I am looking for is a branch that branches off and produces a pod head. I do plan to save seed from this volunteer because its a nice vigorous plant and I am sure its not been crossed.
But, if you see any branches that branch and develop pod heads that should be the plant you save seed from. We want complex branching so we can bring up the productivity of the plant.
George, you too. If you see this let me know.
Right now, the plants grow to be giants yes, but they do not branch enough to be super-producers.
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Post by macmex on Aug 21, 2020 17:56:59 GMT -6
I may have one such plant. One of my African X plants is noticeably larger, bushier and has many more branches than the others. Will let you know when I can examine it better. I had a mishap at work today and can hardly walk. Better said, I should not walk.
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Post by glen on Aug 24, 2020 1:18:36 GMT -6
George, sorry you had the accident. I hope you feel well soon.
That's exciting if you have an exceptional plant. That's the break we need maybe? We know from Ron's experience that only about 2 percent of all plants are exceptional. My problem is that I don't grow enough plants to find them. From my study's, when selecting out plants for seed saving you need at least 50 plants, maybe more to find one exceptional plant. Then you save seed from that plant only and that way you can advance the line. I usually only grow about 20 plants at any one time. So, we don't find exceptionally developed plants. Please let us know and take photo's of this plants progress.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 24, 2020 8:02:02 GMT -6
rdback,
You done flung a craving on me for some okra and tomato!
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Post by rdback on Aug 25, 2020 10:34:01 GMT -6
...What I am looking for is a branch that branches off and produces a pod head... ...if you see any branches that branch and develop pod heads that should be the plant you save seed from. We want complex branching so we can bring up the productivity of the plant.
Well, I checked the plants and two of them have six branches. The branches are developing flowers, but have not produced pods as yet. I have tagged a pod on each plant for seed-saving. I will be going out this afternoon to pick and will look for branching branches , lol.
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