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Post by glen on Oct 11, 2020 23:28:56 GMT -6
Rick, with temperatures as low as you describe, those plants look pretty darn good. I clicked on the photo to blow it up some so I could see some detail. AfricanX is a tropical okra. If you are still getting production at all that is a real testament to the durability of this okra. Most other variety's would be stunted and pretty much finished for the season.
Go AfricanX.
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Post by macmex on Oct 12, 2020 6:38:38 GMT -6
AfricanX is by far the most tolerant of cooler temps of any okra I have ever seen. Mine dropped off production with the cool nights, yet started back up again for a while. I like being able to pick enough for supper in October!
Also, this okra's pods mature seed more rapidly than say, Stewarts Zeebest. The pods are thinner walled and dry down much more rapidly. Every year I think I'm done with seed production and then discover more dry pods.
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Post by rdback on Oct 16, 2020 8:06:59 GMT -6
10/16 - Production has ground to a halt. All eight plants still have small immature pods, but they are not growing. A freeze is forecast for the next two nights, so the end may be near. Time will tell.
BUT, we did enjoy our last harvest the other night, prepared yet another way. Fried!
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Post by rdback on Oct 28, 2020 9:51:28 GMT -6
10/27 - Today's update is pretty much identical to ten days ago:
"10/16 - production has ground to a halt. All eight plants still have small immature pods, but they are not growing. A freeze is forecast for the next two nights, so the end may be near."
We ended up with temps down to 33-34F then. There has not been any noticeable growth at all. The existing pods are still the same size. This week, they're forecasting a hard freeze for several nights in a row, starting this weekend. We're busy with the final garden picking of whatever can be used.
Overall decline of plants continues
This is the tallest plant of the eight, topping out at over seven feet.
The focus is on seed saving now. These two pods were the very FIRST pods, and they still have not "dried on the plant".
...another
I am forced to pick these before this weekend. Hopefully the seed inside will be viable.
Note: I do have two seed pods that dried normally on the plant, so I should have viable seed from those.
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Post by macmex on Oct 28, 2020 10:39:54 GMT -6
I had abnormally low seed production this year. Don' t know why the pods matured so very slowly.
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Post by glen on Nov 12, 2020 13:02:28 GMT -6
George, I have read where you mentioned that AfricanX okra dry's down really quickly. Well, that is not my experience. It takes awhile for AfricanX to dry down here in Panama. I only had one plant this season but I did get a nice harvest off that plant. The pods dry down very slow. Also, the pods don't protect the seed well once it is dried down. I always cut the pod the moment I shake it and can hear the seeds rattle. Then, I let the pods finish curing indoors somewhere where moisture can't get to the pods. We get a lot of rain towards the end of the rainy season and the moisture enters the drying pods and damages the seed. I also recommend that you always allow the first few pods on the plants to stay on the plants. That way you have the best chance of producing seed. If you wait too long you run the chance of a freeze hitting the plant and killing it before seed has been produced. Rick is running into this issue already.
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Post by rdback on Dec 16, 2020 14:50:03 GMT -6
12/16 - Final update, just to wrap up this trial of Africanx.
Obviously, the plants are now finished, and this trial has come to an end. AfricanX was a nice okra to grow. The plants were low maintenance, reached 6-7 feet with several main-stem branches, and beautiful flowers. Pod production was average, producing 10-12 pods every few days, which was more than enough for two people. The reduced "itchiness" of AfricanX was appreciated during harvests. Regardless of how they were prepared - stewed, fried, canned - the pods were tender and very flavorful. Perhaps AX would be more productive further South, but I think it performed well here in Virginia. AfricanX will increase production if future seed selection focuses on multi-branching. All in all, AfricanX was a good okra to grow, and I recommend giving it a try.
If you've read through this thread and still have any questions about AfricanX, please send either Glen_ or me an e-mail here and we'll get back to you.
Lastly, many thanks to Glen for creating and sharing his AfricanX okra. Well done!
...and speaking of canned AfricanX and tomatoes, how 'bout some chili?
That's right, that's AfricanX in there, and it was delicious!
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Post by rdback on Jun 10, 2021 8:19:19 GMT -6
June, 2021
A little postscript to this 2020 grow.
I was recently cleaning up last year's garden when I got to the AfricanX row. Looking at these trunks, I thought I might need an axe lol. I had followed heavyhitterokra's advice and just left them in the ground over Winter. Sure enough, they had rotted at the soil line and snapped off easily, leaving the old roots in the ground to decompose. It would NOT have been that easy last Fall when they were still green. Excellent tip!
Anyway, I got to looking at these "trees" and it dawned on me they might make great kindling! I might have to give this a try when lighting the stove this Fall lol.
AfricanX, the okra that keeps on giving.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 16, 2021 5:09:49 GMT -6
Old okra stalks burn a hot, almost white, almost smokeless flame, and leave no coals. I'm inclined to believe they contain some sort of oil, kind of like broom weed. They make good kindling. In winter, I use the old dead stalks to burn out wild rose bushes and bramble that is hard to get to with lopping shears. Usually, the fire gets hot enough to kill the roots too, so that the ground is sterile in that spot for a month or so into Spring weather. They make a fast-burning, hot fire, kind of like old Roselle stalks.
They'd make a good 'breakfast fire' in a wood cookstove. When I was a kid, my mom cooked on a 1923 Home Comfort wood cookstove; she took pride in her homemade breads baked in that oven. When I first married, I inherited that old cookstove. I'd have to get up at 5:00 am to cook my breakfast every morning while the family slept ... You don't want a lingering fire in there when you're not home to watch it, so okra would have been a great warming wood for those mornings, or just on any summer day when you didn't want coals in the stove all day.
I used to use dead elm or dead hackberry mixed with dried corn cobs, for quick fires that left no coals in times like that. Okra stalks would have produced less smoke than dried corn cobs or wood.
P.S. That okra chili looks good!
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Post by hedgeapple on May 27, 2022 10:01:01 GMT -6
AX emerges, 2022:
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Post by macmex on May 28, 2022 5:40:57 GMT -6
Yay! It's exciting to see how AfricanX does in other regions!
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