Depends on what you want to do with it. I don't like Evertender, the plants are weak, tall, and floppy. Granny Franklin is an excellent frying okra.

I've been wanting to grow Evertender since reading about an heirloom okra trial by the Kerr Center. It was one of the earliest and highest yielding of 30 varieties in the trial. They said it was the easiest to harvest because of long internodes, less dense foliage and less side branching. Weak, tall and floppy might be another way of describing the same thing.

Here is a link that might be useful: PDF about the Okra trial

This post was edited by Ohiofem on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 22:08

Yes, I had seen this complaint of Evertender being weak and floppy before. Not sure if that means it is being destroyed by the wind, or if it is just a aesthetic complaint?

I am growing the okra mostly to use in my gumbos which I make frequently. The purple varieties look pretty so I am interested in them so long as they taste the same and produce as well.

The seeds I have ordered so far are Bowling Red, Burgundy, Hill Country Heirloom Red, and Emerald.

I am in Augusta, GA. I am planting these in partial shade so I hope they will tolerate that. I am thinking that if I try multiple varieties then there is more chance that some will produce well.

Has anyone grown both Hill Country and Alabama Red? I am new to heirloom vegetables. Are some of the varieties sometimes identical?