Oh wow, thank you for mentioning Abelmoschus caillei, and thanks for your work on okra in general. I’ve just ordered some of the A. caillei from Sistah Seeds which I understand you helped ID taxonomically.
I am interested in wide crosses with hardy Hibiscus species like the wild H. moscheutos that grows in my area. No significant lessons learned yet from my project yet but I have only been interested on this a year or two. I would like to try to H. moscheutos x A. caillei next year if I get a chance.
I think of Abelmoschus caillei as a later-season okra. In our region, it starts producing much later in the season, but also produces way later into the season.
I’ve not tried any Hibiscus x Abelmoschus, but have a dream of a true pink flowering okra, and the only pink flower in Abelmoschus genus is Abelmoschus moschatus. I have not tried this cross, but it’s on my list!!
Mark - glad to hear you’re supporting Sistah Seeds, Amirah does great work.
Most of my seed pods. Set earlier in the run than I would have preferred, but the friend picking our garden when we were out of town didn’t pick them. I edited out the plants with pods that toughened the soonest after blooming, leaving two distinct habits: the very long skinny and the short fat star shaped. It’s quite heavy on red pods.
We’ve been harvesting for eating/sampling. I don’t want to miss out on saving seed, though. When do I need to start leaving fruit to fully mature and dry on the plant? And, what happens if the fruit is still on once we get a frost (usually mid to late Oct.). And, will seed continue to mature even once I harvest (we could leave it in the greenhouse if that helps…)
Ok I’m farther north so I will plan on at least a month. I probably have at least 50 okra plants. So, maybe I’ll just flag 20 of our favorites and let those go to seed, and keep harvesting from the others and see how long they keep producing.
In general okra takes about 40 days from flowering to seed maturity. Ideally you’ll allow to mature on the plant, but an early frost would cause you to harvest early. In my experience, the seeds will continue to mature off the plant if the pod has already begun turning (very rigid, split seems, some browning). Dry under fans until the pods turn fully brown. I usually skip a harvest or two around mid August for seeds, and then keep harvest to frost!
I live and work on traditional Cherokee lands. ᎠᏰᎵ ᏚᏂᏚᎲ ᏣᎳᎩ, home to members of the Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi, ᏣᎳᎩᏱᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.
Lovely okra, let pods dry completely on the plant to where they look like they are gonna crack open, then the seeds are mature. Pods will dry and be ready for seed as the plant keeps growing. Wiggle the tips of the pods to see if they are still tender to eat. The seed i harvested. It took another 2 hours to pop all the seeds from the pods. Be sure to send in some of your seed to GTS!!!
Just keep an eye on them once the pod is rigid, still green, leave it for seed until it turns light tan. Here is what I like them to be to get good mature seeds from. Have fun enjoying your okra, all of the plant is eatable, just search for the recipes. Let us know how you eat them.
It looks like it didn’t fully mature…heck new things happen all the time, set some seeds aside just so you can watch them grow again from this one. We’re there alot of pods on the plant?
Yes and yes, I’ve hot okra growing thru the summer, temps well above 107F but I do irrigate every three days, no precipitation for the season, maybe one rainstorm is all we get. Zone 10a Arizona. And all sandy soils.
pod, I wonder if it will have viable seeds? Save some for you to plant again and send some in to GTS!!!