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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 11, 2022 9:12:06 GMT -6
Beautiful! Have you had enough to cook up a mess yet?
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 11, 2022 10:05:13 GMT -6
Beautiful! Have you had enough to cook up a mess yet? Yes! Just now hitting those high production "Okra Days" of summer. I've got 5 varieties, including two homemade hybrids going. Will make for beautiful okra and tasty eats. Yum!
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 15, 2022 16:56:23 GMT -6
Okra bee coming in. 🐝
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 15, 2022 17:37:09 GMT -6
Okra is really high right now. A buddy of mine said he sold out last Saturday at the Farmer's Market for $6.00 per quart size container of okra. That's right at $6.00 per pound. I'm the only vendor there with a scale, everyone else sells their okra in quart-size containers. He said he saw quart-size Mason jars of pickled okra there for $12.00 He sells his pickled okra for $8.00 per quart.
Prices like that sure make me glad I grow my own.
I haven't had enough okra to go to market with yet. I only have enough for home use. I'm getting okra from about 1 out of every hundred plants right now. I have about 1,600 plants, so it's a little like hunting Easter eggs out there; if you can imagine hunting green Easter eggs in a green pasture when the color of green used to hide the eggs is the same color as the grass.
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Post by hmoosek on Jul 15, 2022 19:57:46 GMT -6
Ron, I can’t even imagine walking down the row of that much okra. When it does start to make, I bet it’s really a thing of beauty.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 16, 2022 2:51:29 GMT -6
It's not much to look at right now. My plants are far behind schedule because of our cold, wet, cloudy, May weather, followed by a nasty-hot, very dry June and July. Not to mention having to replant over a thousand little seedlings because of deer depredation and topping of plants. The grasshoppers didn't help matters any either, but it's coming along, just not as well as expected.
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 20, 2022 18:35:29 GMT -6
So, in addition to this hybrid I am growing its parents this year. I can see the family resemblance.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 20, 2022 19:34:34 GMT -6
Outstanding results!! I'll have to research how you crossed them...
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Post by woodeye on Jul 20, 2022 19:53:50 GMT -6
hedgeapple Watched a video on emasculation of okra plants, I had no idea how that worked. It looks kinda tedious getting the female flower off of the baby okra pod, leaving only the stigma.
Bag the emasculated flower. When ready to pollinate, remove the bag from the emasculated flower and make direct physical contact with the anthers of the male flower. Bag the emasculated flower again to keep stray pollen away from it.
That is the way I understand it. Is that correct?
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Post by hmoosek on Jul 20, 2022 19:55:10 GMT -6
I’d like to learn too, that’s way over my head.
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 20, 2022 20:31:34 GMT -6
hedgeapple Watched a video on emasculation of okra plants, I had no idea how that worked. It looks kinda tedious getting the female flower off of the baby okra pod, leaving only the stigma.
Bag the emasculated flower. When ready to pollinate, remove the bag from the emasculated flower and make direct physical contact with the anthers of the male flower. Bag the emasculated flower again to keep stray pollen away from it.
That is the way I understand it. Is that correct? That is all correct. What they don't mention is that these emasculated flowers have a high failure rate in setting pod. Still, worth the trouble if you really have your heart set on a guaranteed cross of two varieties.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 20, 2022 20:40:08 GMT -6
Good deal. It will be something I will attempt someday. One thing's for sure, I'll never know if I can do it unless I try. Thanks...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 21, 2022 10:48:14 GMT -6
So, in addition to this hybrid I am growing its parents this year. I can see the family resemblance. All beautiful, but I really like the hybrid, I have to admit. Having the length of the first and the blush of the second seems like the best of both worlds. How do they compare in terms of tenderness?
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 21, 2022 11:23:13 GMT -6
So, in addition to this hybrid I am growing its parents this year. I can see the family resemblance. All beautiful, but I really like the hybrid, I have to admit. Having the length of the first and the blush of the second seems like the best of both worlds. How do they compare in terms of tenderness? The hybrid stays tender at almost (but not quite) the same length and age as the green pods, but has the flavor I love from the red pods. I suspect that the difference in flavor is related to oil content. Really interesting to see how such different okras combined.
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Post by hedgeapple on Jul 30, 2022 12:41:31 GMT -6
Plants are almost as tall as me now. There have been some early favorites this summer for seed selection, but "it ain't over till it's over." Will be looking to see if any of my favorites also happen to produce the most or the longest into fall.
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