My Veggie Heaven

Okra (Sorry, couldn’t think of anything more clever today.)

• By MyVeggieHeven
• August 14, 2013
• No Comments

Okra pod and the left and flower on the right.

Each year I try to grown a few new things in the garden and this year okra was on the list.  My sister in law made a wonderful Brazilian shrimp soup from a recipe she found on Pinterest that called for okra and I immediately purchased seeds and planted it in the garden.  The okra added a great taste and helped to thicken the soup.

Turns out that okra is really easy to grow.  You can direct sow the seeds or plant seedlings after the frost date and they need remarkably little care.  Regular watering and a shot of fertilizer every now and then is about it really.  Beautiful flowers will begin to appear that evolve into the okra pods.  Pods should be picked regularly to stimulate continued production and when they are still relatively small.  Larger okra is a bit tougher so keep ‘em small and tender.

I’ve only picked a few pods so far.  I plan on freezing them to use in soups throughout the winter.  I will certainly be making that Brazilian shrimp soup! I’ll share the recipe on some future post.