Connecticut Garden Journal: Once lettuce and peas are done, plant okra

If you’re lucky, around mid-July, warm weather loving veggies are thriving. I recently returned from a trip to find our okra had grown a few feet while I was away.

Okra is a traditional Southern vegetable that should be grown in Northern gardens, too. Plant dwarf, quick maturing varieties now and harvest in 2 months. Dwarf varieties, such as 'Jambalaya' and 'Baby Bubba', only grow 3- to 4-feet tall and produce okra pods quickly in the summer heat. Try planting okra where lettuce or peas have gone by in your garden. The dwarf varieties are also great to grow in containers, too.

Okra is a vegetable that some people love and others hate. The pods have the best taste and texture harvested when they're less than 4 inches long. Young okra pods are more tender and have less of a “slimy” nature. Eat them in soups, stews, fried or sautéed. Okra is in the hibiscus family, so the flowers are edible and delicious stuffed, fried or used as a garnish.

Plant okra in full sun in the hottest spot of your yard on compost amended soil. Like the song by the duo Hot Tamale sings, “the okra don't grow if the water don't flow,” so keep the soil moist.

When harvesting, wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt as some gardeners can get a skin rash from the okra leaves. The pods are attached strongly to the woody stems so use a hand pruner to harvest them. Harvest every few days as the pods grow fast and furious in the heat. The more you harvest, the more pods you get.

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