Okra

Okra is a tall growing, warm season, annual vegetable from the same family as hollyhock and hibiscus. The immature pods are used for soups, canning and stews or as a fried or boiled vegetable. The upright plants have ornamental flowers for backyard gardeners. Okra seeds do not germinate well in cool soils, plant seeds after the soil has warmed in the spring, probable a week to 10 days after the last frost in your area. Sow seeds 1 inch deep in hills 12 to 24 inches apart. When the seedlings are 3 inches tall, thin all but the strongest plant per hill. Okra usually grows well in any good garden soil.