Ode to Okra

Okra is easy to grow and tasty too

It doesn’t look like much now, but this baby okra will produce lots of pods good for eating!

I love okra! I love growing it! I love eating it! Did I mention that I like okra? I think it is such an underappreciated vegetable. Some people say that okra is too hard to grow. For me it is one of the easiest vegetables to bring to harvest. I have heard so others say that they don’t like okra because it is slimy. I think they just haven’t had a version of it that they like. I have heard others who have said that they don’t like fried okra either.

Okra (also known as lady’s fingers or okro in some parts of the world) is a member of the mallow family and its flower looks a lot like its cousin the hollyhock.

Okra’s Nutritional Value

One cup of okra has just 0.2 grams of fat, 7 grams of carbohydrates, and 1.9 grams of protein and provides 3.2 grams of dietary fiber. According to the USDA, it provides 14% of the MDR of Vitamin A, 8% of calcium, 38% vitamin C, 3% iron, 10% vitamin B-6, and 14% magnesium. Okra is also a good source of folate.

Growing Okra

In the right climate, okra is easy to grow. It is a perennial but is grown as an annual in temperate climates. It is the most heat and drought tolerant species in the world and tolerates heavy clay. Okra will germinate in six days to three weeks depending on the…