Okra

I like okra a lot. I love the taste and I think its tropical looking flower is beautiful. It's not exactly a staple of a typical New England diet and I often meet people who have never eaten it. It's not consistently available here in the market so I try to grow it. During our very cool very wet spring this year, I had to seed it three times before I was successful. I sowed it once inside in pots where it failed and twice outside. I was successful the second time outside. What I've learned is it seems to need lots of warmth which is not surprising because it's native to Africa. I've found it needs warmth even more than tomatoes or peppers do. Now that cooler September weather has arrived I fear it will soon stop producing. It's produces enough to eat or add to soup occasionally, but I wish I had enough to freeze. My plan for next year is to try and start it again inside, but I'm planning on adding a propagation mat to my collection of garden toys and hope that I will have more success starting it inside and unless it's really hot, I'll probably wait an extra week after Memorial Day before setting it out.