|
Wed, Aug 15, 07 at 12:12
| I live in Alabama,USA. I am new to gardening. I have planted more than 25 okra plants in my backyard. All came up well and I get okras every week. But, plants grwon up 15 foot tall. They look like trees. I don't know how to control their height. I need to look up to pick okras. What should I do to control their height? Do I need to prune them? How to prune them? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by biermaster 9a tucson (My Page) on Wed, Aug 15, 07 at 14:39
| I normally prune mine when they reach about 5 to 6 feet tall. I plant mine on 3 ft centers as when you prune them they start side branches up and down the stalk. I have had to prune a couple of the side branches as they were at about 6 ft last year. This seems to encourage more pods. When I pulled them in December the base of the stock was about 4 inches across. This works for me so this is an option. I think I would give it a try on a couple of plants to see what happens. It sure makes picking a whole lot simpler. |
|
- Posted by lovelyamerica (My Page) on Thu, Aug 16, 07 at 14:21
| Thank you so much. Most of my okra plants are taller and have pods in the top. The leaves are very big which had grown to 1 ft wide and single and there is no side branches. Is it good to cut off those larger leaves which formed from the beginning of the plant. Or do I need to cut off the top of the plant to reduce the height to 4 or 5 feet. |
|
- Posted by biermaster 9a tucson (My Page) on Thu, Aug 16, 07 at 16:05
| I cut the tops of the main stem. Side branches will develop from the stem. It sounds as if you have a lot of N in the soil for them to get that tall. I stumbled on this method because the plant that I was growing were too tall for my wife to harvest the pods, so I cut a couple and then had to pull up several to make room for the branches/suckers. It seems to encourage more pods to form. This year I am cutting several of these branches to see what that does. I guess that this is topping the Okra. Let me know what the results of this operation does for you. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Tips & Techniques Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.