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Post by macmex on Aug 21, 2022 11:50:16 GMT -6
Fortunately, I've noticed that AfricanX matures seed, drying down, much more rapidly than other okras I've grown.
Wonderful pictures!
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Post by Tucson Grower on Aug 21, 2022 20:54:54 GMT -6
It looks like it could even be grown as a flowering ornamental, with flowers like those. It also sounds like I have a good chance to get some fresh seed, despite being so late in my season. Though last year I was able to harvest edible okra pods into late November. I harvested ripe seed in mid-summer. But only pollinated, for seed, 2 pods per plant.
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Post by hedgeapple on Aug 26, 2022 6:36:20 GMT -6
To give you some idea of how differently my common okras look compared to AfricanX right now, here are two typical leafs from my garden. Based on node spacing I estimate that these leaves emerged at about the same time. "Windridge x" above, AfricanX below: Coloration changes aside, you can see how much damage Japanese beetles did to Windridge x, whereas those boogers don't seem to have a taste for AfricanX. In Virginia that matters because JBs are like a plague here. Even with the JB damage, my other okras have done very well because "okra don't care," but the contrast between the condition of these okras is striking.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 26, 2022 9:23:13 GMT -6
Japanese Beetles and Mexican Bean Beetles are two things that I don’t miss about Virginia. Frankly, even though the AfricanX, looks better than your WindridgeX, the WindridgeX really doesn’t look as bad as it could. Do you do something to control them?
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Post by macmex on Aug 26, 2022 9:41:25 GMT -6
Whenever I handle the leaves and pods of AfricanX I feel like they are coated with something. When I taste the raw pods I taste something there, that isn't on other okras I know. I suspect whatever it is deters some pests and allows African okra to get by without prickers.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 26, 2022 9:52:39 GMT -6
I put Japanese Beetle traps out all over the place around here. They say not to put one near your garden though or you'll attract them to it. I put a cheap, round, plastic sled under each trap and fill it with soapy water. The beetles hit the traps so hard that many of them bounce off. Any beetles that bounce off end up drowning in the soapy water below the traps. Some days, I get almost as many beetles in the sled water as I do in the traps. I just drown the beetles in the traps, then dump them out and bury them. Otherwise, they stink up the place pretty badly.
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Post by rdback on Aug 26, 2022 9:58:22 GMT -6
Speaking of AfricanX...
Well, it looks like the okras have contracted some type of wilt. Most likely arrived via infected seeds. I think they're done for, except the AfricanX, interestingly. Being a tropical okra cross (created by glen _), it seems to be resistant to whichever wilt this is. Another "star" for AfricanX.
Louisiana 16", White Velvet, Burmese - all sickly like this
AfricanX - planted in the same row, looking fine
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Post by hmoosek on Aug 26, 2022 10:00:50 GMT -6
Wonder how they’d be fried up? Hahahaa
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Post by hedgeapple on Aug 26, 2022 10:37:12 GMT -6
Japanese Beetles and Mexican Bean Beetles are two things that I don’t miss about Virginia. Frankly, even though the AfricanX, looks better than your WindridgeX, the WindridgeX really doesn’t look as bad as it could. Do you do something to control them? I've never resorted to any JB-specific sprays or traps. My garden is so small and close to my house that I can just go out there and squish them all by hand once per day. If I didn't, they would skeletonize my okra leaves.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 26, 2022 13:20:18 GMT -6
Rdback,
That is terrible news. I've never seen wilt like that on okra before, but I've heard of it. Wonder what causes that?
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Post by woodeye on Aug 26, 2022 13:56:27 GMT -6
Rdback,
That is terrible news. I've never seen wilt like that on okra before, but I've heard of it. Wonder what causes that? x2.
I hope it wasn't caused by my mission statement which includes the phrase "I want to grow okra for all the rest of my days"
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 26, 2022 17:59:36 GMT -6
Speaking of AfricanX...
Well, it looks like the okras have contracted some type of wilt. Most likely arrived via infected seeds. I think they're done for, except the AfricanX, interestingly. Being a tropical okra cross (created by glen _), it seems to be resistant to whichever wilt this is. Another "star" for AfricanX.
I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it’s not something that will remain in your soil.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 26, 2022 18:02:37 GMT -6
Japanese Beetles and Mexican Bean Beetles are two things that I don’t miss about Virginia. Frankly, even though the AfricanX, looks better than your WindridgeX, the WindridgeX really doesn’t look as bad as it could. Do you do something to control them? I've never resorted to any JB-specific sprays or traps. My garden is so small and close to my house that I can just go out there and squish them all by hand once per day. If I didn't, they would skeletonize my okra leaves. I consider hand-picking Japanese Beetles to be a very specific method of control. My mother writes an e-mail message to her family every day and recounts what she’s done the afternoon before and that morning. In the summer it almost invariably contains the line, “I picked Japanese Beetles.” This summer, however, she has perhaps focused more on bean beetles. She lives in central Virginia.
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Post by hmoosek on Aug 26, 2022 19:06:07 GMT -6
rdbackI’ve been wondering about this. Okra has always been pretty resistant around here, but that looks bad. I wish I could be more help, but I don’t have a single clue.
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Post by hedgeapple on Sept 1, 2022 10:53:05 GMT -6
One of my AfricanX plants has twice the production of all the rest. Barring some later indication that it is relatively unfit (disease, etc.) it'll be the only plant I keep seed from this year.
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