Tips For Planting Okra In Garden Beds

Okra is a nutrient rich vegetable with mild taste, making it a popular choice for chewing gum and other delicious dishes. However, for some people, okra is not in the vegetable parade, mainly because it is difficult to ignore this unique sticky texture. If you don't want to grow vegetables, you can still grow ornamental okra plants. Big flowers like hibiscus are not unpleasant at all. The following content also has some reference value for raised garden beds.

What is ornamental okra?

Okra is a hot tropical plant with large and bold maple like leaves and tall and strong stems. The delicate, almost extraordinary flowers only last for one day, from early summer to the first frost.

All okra plants are ornamental, but some varieties are more beautiful than others. For example, varieties such as "Royal Burgundy" or "Red Velvet" show bright green leaves with dark red veins, stems and pods. Others, such as the Silver Queen, have dark green leaves in contrast to lime green pods.

Planting okra as an ornamental plant

Okra is easy to grow, but remember that it is a summer vegetable that needs bright sunshine, hot days and warm nights. You can start sowing indoors four to six weeks before the last unexpected frost, or when the temperature is always above 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius), you can directly sow in the garden.

Okra is easy to grow, but remember that it is a summer vegetable that needs bright sunshine, hot days and warm nights. You can start sowing indoors four to six weeks before the last unexpected frost, or when the temperature is always above 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius), you can directly sow in the garden.

Be careful not to water too much. Okra is a drought resistant plant. It can use about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of water every week. If you skip a week here and there, don't worry. Use balanced garden fertilizer occasionally throughout the growing season to feed the plants.

You may need to mortgage plants. Most varieties become top heavy during growth.

Can you plant okra on a raised garden bed? If you do not have space to place standard size plants that may reach a height of 3 to 5 feet (1-1.5 meters), then short varieties, such as "BabyBubba" or "Little Lucy", are small enough to grow in the flowerpot.

To plant okra in a raised garden bed, start with a fairly large pot at least 10 to 12 inches (25-31 cm) in diameter. A wide bottom basin is best because plants may become top heavy. Make sure there is a drain hole in the bottom of the pot.

Fill the raised garden bed with a regular commercial potting mixture containing ingredients such as peat and vermiculite. Mix a small amount of any general fertilizer into the potting mixture before planting.

It is easy to care for ornamental okra in a raised garden bed, but make sure that the potting mixture is slightly dry between watering. Wet impregnated soil can cause decay and other water related diseases.