"...but then, there are not so many things for us to think about this time of year anyway, right?"

Right! I'm intrigued by what you did. I'd never read about cutting okra back, and was trying to find a way to fit more plants in my yard for 2014 because we were delighted by the production of the few I'd tried for the first time this past season.

I grew six plants as a trial: three "hill country red" (short fat green pods) and three "jing orange" (long deep orange-red pods) for the whole season. There were pods pretty much every few days by midsummer until just a couple of weeks ago, but never enough to harvest for a meal for more than one person at a time. Of course, I only refrigerated, never froze them, so they didn't accumulate.

During a full season of growth (transplanted in April) they never branched out, although there were several growing points all up and down their stems and pods were steady from mid-summer to frost. I didn't pull their leaves, and don't know how production may have been affected by the fact that the season was unusually cool this year, but they remained lush, healthy, and bug free till the very end.

I wanted to keep the "jing orange" as it was more productive, but then I read I'd need 20 okra plants to feed a family of four when I searched on these forums. I have a larger family than that, and don't have 20 square feet to spare. After reading what you did, I wonder how much I could multiply the harvest just by cutting them back by half. I doubt I could fit enough plants to cover us all even then, but I could experiment.

I hope someone more experienced with okra can put in.

Plant okra at a rate of 2 plants each 18 inches if planted in rows 42 inches wide. If you have highly fertile soil in your raised bed, you could go as close as 18 plants with about 28 square feet of soil area. Planting thicker than that gets into problems with light levels and nutrient availability.

Check the variety you are planting. You can plant smaller varieties much thicker. Burmese, for example, tends to be 3 to 4 feet tall yet produces good crops of tender okra. It could be planted 1 plant per square foot and would still produce good crops. Cowhorn can easily reach 8 feet tall and sometimes 15 to 20 feet. I would never plant Cowhorn tighter than 1 plant per 3 square feet.

If you want a good old fashioned okra that gets 5 to 6 feet tall, branches a bit, and produces heavily, get some Granny Franklin from Sandhill Preservation.

Some 1978 Rodale advice I found in the IDigMyGarden forums at the link below:

"From Best Ideas for Organic Vegetable Growing, by the Editors of Organic Gardening, J. I. Rodale, Editor-in-Chief, 1978

"Quote: Pruning the Pods

"Pruning is the secret of good pod production and is started when the first blossoms appear. Begin by snipping off about one of each 3 leaves, and continue the process throughout the season. This causes growth to go into fruiting and makes the plant branch low down. To continue this process of outward growth, prune more heavily on the inside of branches, and prune more heavily during prolonged wet spells.

"This method will produce plants about 5 feet high with about 5 main branches, bearing early and continuously until frost. When the fruit size gets too small in late fall, prune every second "bush" severely and thin the others, leaving enough buds to supply the table. Give a supplemental feeding of well-balanced organic fertilizer if leaves start to turn yellow.

"To make certain the gumbo has a continuous supply of food (it's a very heavy feeder) I mulch with straw or hay and add compost or manure as available by spreading it on top of the hay as a top-dressing."

Seems like a simple method to experiment with, but time consuming for a lot of plants. Has anyone ever practiced this?

Here is a link that might be useful: IDigMyGarden forum thread

A lot depends on how you plant it and how much room you give it to branch. If you have room for width it's easier to make it branch without excessive light competition and pest/disease pressure.

My biggest issue, aside from how tightly I grow my okra (which doesn't lend to branching), is the "wait time" in between the pruning and the continued fruiting. It may produce more over the long haul of the season, but it puts the brakes on okra's very steady production in my part of the world for 2-3 weeks after pruning.

That said, I will cut back okra if it grows too quickly, too early...like, if it's August and it's already hitting 4+ft or it's showing signs of "topping out" (the point where it starts to slow production). At that point I'll prune a small fraction of plants per week in the same area over the course of 2-3 weeks in order to keep production somewhat steady and deal with the crowding. In my area okra doesn't slow down to the point of ripping it out until late October.

When I prune, I prune to about 12-18" (whichever is closer to 1/3rd current plant size) then give it a shot of N + K fertilizer to promote growth.

This post was edited by nc-crn on Sat, Nov 9, 13 at 21:53

I'm interested in all these methods, but I'm wondering where everyone is planting their okra and if these actions are necessary in all conditions? I have limited experience, having only grown 3 types of okra in two different locations. I ended up choosing Cowhorn as my favorite of the three and noticed it grows quite differently in full sun than it does in a partly shaded environment. In full sun here it stays short (4') and bushes out on its own, whereas in Va in the shaded yard it grew very tall (6-7') and stayed slender and unbranching. I had plenty of okra for 2 people from 5 plants here and never enough from twice that in Va. Could sun be the big limiting factor? If fertility and weather are the same, I mean. I also feel like I should add that I could grow tomatoes in that other yard, so it wasn't full shade, but sort of marginal.

I'd also like to hear more about this oven roasting of okra, since I really like it but have never tried that method. Cheers!

Oh, that Rodale quote is fascinating. Rodale is the Organic Gardening Magazine company, so I put a lot of stock in what they say. If I understand this, they are saying that if you prune out every third leaf, the plant will branch out at those points. Anyone try this? If it's true, there would be no need to cut the plants back at all (and no need to forego pod production for several weeks).

I have only planted Emerald, which is a variety that is highly recommended on these forums. It is a very tasty okra with minimal prickles. Mine only prickled a lot after our nights turned pretty cool, and then, of course, production slowed and stopped.

nc, I do not understand what you mean by topping out. Do you mean that once the plants get to their ultimate height they stop producing? If so, that's a very important bit of information.
And, do you think I waited too long to cut my plants back? They were probably five feet tall when I cut them back by half. Should I have cut them earlier so as to remove less plant material?
I really like the idea of staggering the cutting back over time so that you don't lose all your production at the same time, too. Hadn't thought of that.

sunibel, I would think that full sun is pretty essential for okra. It's one of the few plants that never shuts down here no matter how hot it gets. (Cannot speak for Texas, however, where it gets even hotter.)

How to oven roast okra:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (425, for convection)
Coat jelly roll pan with olive oil.
Wash and slice okra, then toss it with a little olive oil to coat. Pour onto pan in a single layer. Season with garlic salt and pepper (or whatever you like).
Bake for about fifteen minutes. The okra will just start to brown a bit when it's done.
It's delicious and there is no slime whatsoever.

I experimented with this technique in lots of combinations this summer. I mixed the okra with cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, eggplant, and peppers to name a few. We loved it any old way we fixed it. Healthy, easy, delicious!

"nc, I do not understand what you mean by topping out. Do you mean that once the plants get to their ultimate height they stop producing?"

When okra "tops out" it's the point where production slows severely...there's less vertical growth, less flower set, etc...it goes slow as if it's reached a maximum height. It technically is still growing and the plant is healthy, but it's production and continued vertical growth greatly slows down.

A lot of this is because of the properties of the variety type. Under ideal conditions a lot of heirloom types will get to 6-10ft before they top out...some newer varieties tend to top out around 5-6ft...some dwarf types will top out around 3-4ft. These are generalized heights, btw...while variety plays a huge part in when they top out, a plant that tops out at 6ft one season can easily be a plant that tops out at 8ft the following season. It gets kinda weird that respect.

I mostly plant Clemson Spineless...and while these plants can get to 7-8ft high for some people, I find that in my area they tend to "top out" around 5-6ft.

"And, do you think I waited too long to cut my plants back? They were probably five feet tall when I cut them back by half. Should I have cut them earlier so as to remove less plant material?"

It really doesn't matter when you cut them back...what really matters is that there is enough favorable weather left to grow and produce pods in the weeks it takes for the plant to recover and start producing again after cutting.

As far as how much to cut...they're surprisingly durable plants. On commercial farms in the late summer (preparing for fall harvest) they'll go over fields with brush mowers cutting them down to 8-12" stubs off the ground to rejuvenate the plants. Even a lot of plants that don't have leaves left on them after mowing will generally spout new branches and start growing.

This post was edited by nc-crn on Sun, Nov 10, 13 at 23:21

"Could sun be the big limiting factor?"

Not directly. Temperature is the most limiting factor for okra. I've seen okra at 80 degrees barely growing but sprouting half a dozen pods a week at 90 degrees. This is not to say sun exposure is unimportant, just that temperature is more likely to be the limiting factor. So long as okra has 6 or 7 hours of full sun each day, production will be reasonably good.

Have trimmed Clemson Spineless okra leaves after harvesting each pod and have had no branching at all. Plants now about 4' tall and still producing with closer leaf nodes. Any advice appreciated. Temps in mid 90's and full afternoon sun. New leaves are noticeably smaller and lighter than earlier leaves.

I'm in NJ not sure what okra species I'm growing but what I do is when I cut a pod off the limb under the pod gets cut off an it's been productive every day I pick a few dozen pods an like I said I thin the plant out each time I pick a pod plants height now is 6ft some of the plants are 3 inches apart I planted about 30+ plants but this plant is new to me growing wise I love them pickled. There's probably other tips on getting higher yield but I'm new so I guess I will just keep this approach for now. Next year I might trying to top them on some to see if any difference

Tips how many are there I wonder how to get more pod per plant. ? Good luck out there !