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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 16, 2019 12:57:05 GMT -5
I have 13 open flowers all over those okra plants today; one neighbor even asked me what that "flower" is that I'm growing! You should have seen the look on her face when I told her that it was okra! The weels were turing, like "I know I've heard of that, but where?"
Those Little Lucy plants are just over 3', except for the small one, but I just got the first okra from that one, and the small Emerald, so they will eventually catch up. The largest Emerald is just over the largest LL, even though they started out slower, esp. after the aphids.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 1, 2019 21:24:11 GMT -5
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Aug 1, 2019 22:56:10 GMT -5
pepperhead212, Little Lucy is some pretty stuff ain't it? I've grown lots of Okra, but it's by far my favorite. That's saying something too cause I've grown just about everything I've been able to collect over the years. I didn't grow it this year because I'm growing an old variety I got from a friend. My family's Okra needs growing out as well. My seeds are several years old. We have two types short pod and long pod. One of these days I guess. My Green Velvet seeds are old too as is my Burmese and my Lousiana Green Velvet. Oh and my Bowling Red. Oh Dear, never enough time is there. I only grow one type per season so I can keep them true. If I dwell on it, it makes me want to pull my hair out.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 2, 2019 7:03:25 GMT -5
That okra looks good pepperhead212, I think that I will try blanching it like that. I mostly use it mixed with other veggies so it doesn't need to be separate when frozen. I think that I will freeze some in small single use portions. Today I will be using okra in my stewed tomatoes as a natural thickener. Last week I did this and noticed a gross slimy string when I pulled up a spoonful. I was totally turned off by this and thought that I had ruined my tomatoes but I let it cook longer until the okra was really soft and the stringiness totally went away. Whew, no evidence of sliminess in the finished product. Okra is a strange veggie.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 2, 2019 9:50:21 GMT -5
Glad you thought to cook it more. Tomatoes and okra is a classic way to prepare it, too. In the south, a lot of people add kernel corn to this as well, I but I like it better without the corn.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 2, 2019 9:56:29 GMT -5
You've got that right, brownrexx - it is a strange veggie! Not sure why that sliminess goes away, but I never have it in dishes I cook it in. However, when I blanch it just 90 sec., then drain it, and rinse it, an incredible amount of slime came out of it, so much, that the liquid had trouble going through the strainer in my sink, with about 3/16" holes, and the water (or rather, the slime) was backing up! I rinse it, toss it, rinse it some more, and repeat this several times, until it gets much thinner, but it is never really gone. Then I drain it for a while, spoon it into the containers - still some slime, but nothing like in the beginning!
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 2, 2019 13:13:16 GMT -5
Glad you thought to cook it more. Tomatoes and okra is a classic way to prepare it, too. In the south, a lot of people add kernel corn to this as well, I but I like it better without the corn. We discovered that the sliminess goes away with cooking 2 weeks ago when I decided to saute some corn and some sliced okra in butter. I walked away from the stove and asked hubby to stir it then we noticed the sliminess. I was totally grossed out and would probably have spooned it into the compost but he kept cooking it and the resulting vegetable medley had a thickness but no sliminess. He loved it and wants me to make it again. I can use frozen okra pieces for things like this in the winter so I am going to try pepperhead212, 's method and freeze it in small portions.
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Post by bestofour on Aug 2, 2019 19:12:38 GMT -5
Do you put it in an ice bath after blanching? No slime after that.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 3, 2019 0:19:05 GMT -5
Do you put it in an ice bath after blanching? No slime after that. Thanks - I'll have to try that next time. I forgot to mention that of all of the okra that I cut up, only one was fibrous - a LL that was even larger than the one close to the middle of that chopping board. It was about 7" long, because I missed it, way in the back, toward the bottom. Not bad for as many as I had, and I only picked them once a day - many have to be picked twice a day, or they get fibrous.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Aug 3, 2019 1:36:24 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL , pepperhead212 , brownrexx , carolyn , mgulfcoastguy , bestofour , Long years ago, Justin Wilson told how to get rid of the slime, but for the life of me, I can't remember what the secret was. Knowing him, it was probably wine. LAUGHING! Seriously, I wish I could remember. I will have to try blanching one of these days. Y'all will laugh at me, but I'm not big into "home" freezing vegetables. They taste "funny" to me. Store bought ones don't taste funny, so maybe they blanch. I dunno, maybe that's why. Especially Okra, Corn and Squash. I love them fresh, but can't stand them when they've been frozen. Squash gets mushy too! I know, I know, I'm picky as all get out. Frozen greens and frozen tomatoes, I'm ok with. Go figure. My brother just rolls his eyes at me, but you can't go by him cause he'd eat poop on a stick if you served it.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 3, 2019 7:36:15 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles, I blanch most veggies that I freeze except for bell peppers but we also do not like the flavor or texture of all frozen veggies. I don't freeze any squash since we don't like the mushy texture and we really don't like the flavor of frozen green beans or sugar peas so I never freeze then either. I tried freezing bok choy for the first time this year but have not tried it yet. I will try freezing okra for the first time as soon as I start to get a lot of them. So far I have used all of them fresh.
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Post by octave1 on Aug 3, 2019 10:02:36 GMT -5
I will try freezing okra for the first time as soon as I start to get a lot of them. So far I have used all of them fresh. brownrexx, the only okra I ever saw frozen is cut up, breaded and ready to go into hot oil, so the crunchy coating will keep it from being perceived as mushy. I think that regular okra would definitely turn mushy like green beans, unless you pick it a bit larger and fibrous.
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Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2019 12:07:49 GMT -5
froze a couple of packages yesterday. Washed and cut but not blanched. Vac Packed. Good in winter soups and stews, not at all mushy. If packed whole can be boiled like fresh okra.
Wife roasts it; I found that great but never did it that way before. I also like it grilled whole.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 16, 2019 15:16:34 GMT -5
Those aphids are back! It happened more or less overnight, as when I picked them yesterday, I didn't notice any at all, and today, this is what I saw, on a lot of sections. I sprayed some insecticidal soap, along with some garlic and hot peppers, which I blended and strained from the water, before I used it for mixing. Later I'll put some more of that banana peel powder down, along with some DE, and maybe that will keep them from returning. The Little Lucy got a lot more; the first time, early in the season, only the Emerald got the aphids. Aphids back on the okra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by carolyn on Aug 16, 2019 15:29:36 GMT -5
ewww! soapy water or find some ladybugs or lacewings to chow them down. I just bought 3000 ladybugs and 10,000 green lacewing eggs to work on the aphids and whitefly here.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 16, 2019 16:28:10 GMT -5
carolyn Do those things ship OK at this time of year? I was always thinking that they'd die in this heat.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 16, 2019 17:45:17 GMT -5
No aphids on my okra so far. I hope that it stays that way.
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Post by carolyn on Aug 17, 2019 16:07:58 GMT -5
brownrexx ,I see aphids today on mine. they were not there the day before yesterday. Keep a close eye on yours. pepperhead212,I have no idea why they wouldn't shp to you. Mine came in an insulated foil insulated manila envelope with an icepack the had thawsed by the time it got here. the green lacewings were eggs not live insects. I drove to a greenhouse close to here who does mostly mail order plants (HIRT'S) and picked those up.
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Post by bestofour on Aug 19, 2019 21:30:28 GMT -5
I can't say enough of this Little Lucy. It keeps blooming and I keep eating and freezing.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 20, 2019 8:08:47 GMT -5
I can't say enough of this Little Lucy. It keeps blooming and I keep eating and freezing. I am so glad to hear this. I really think that the plants are pretty too.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 20, 2019 10:59:32 GMT -5
I just froze another 3 pints of okra. The aphids seem to be under control, but I'm watching them closely. The okra plants are over 4' tall, so far.
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Post by bestofour on Aug 21, 2019 11:19:59 GMT -5
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 21, 2019 14:12:18 GMT -5
bestofour I remember that the Little Lucy is supposed to be a dwarf - so much for that! lol But also remember, they are in Earthboxes, which is probably why they are so large, and started producing so early.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 21, 2019 15:32:28 GMT -5
bestofour , pepperhead212 , I noticed something strange this year. My Little Lucy okra up at the house is probably almost 4 feet tall and the middle plant is not even branched. I started these indoors in March and transplanted them.
Down in the garden I direct seeded 4 more plants and they are so bushy that I can hardly find all of the pods. They are at least 18" shorter than the other ones and I was thinking that it must be a soil fertility difference since the garden is very fertile and I did not add anything to the bed at the house after growing okra in it last year. I am going to add compost to that area this year and see what happens.
Both areas get full sun.
Here are the ones at the house. 20190802_100558 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
And these are planted directly in the garden. This is 2 plants very close together but you can see the height difference from the upper ones.
20190802_132103 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Aug 21, 2019 15:50:34 GMT -5
I don't think I'd save seed from a LL that was 4' tall. The smaller the better for LL. Mine stayed 2' and under.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 21, 2019 15:50:47 GMT -5
That has to be something to do with the soil, brownrexx. But that is weird about them not branching out at all, despite being larger. Maybe next time you send soil for testing, send some of each area?
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Aug 21, 2019 16:11:25 GMT -5
That's a good thing. You don't want LL to be that tall. I only save seeds from 2' and under. They should be short and bushy. That is unless you want LL to be Big Lucy. Laughing!!!
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Post by bestofour on Aug 21, 2019 21:23:23 GMT -5
I'll measure tomorrow but I think mine are a little more than 2 feet tall but they are bushy. Pretty much the same as last year. Hope I have some shorter ones because I want to save seeds. Cooked some again tonight and I'll need to cut more tomorrow. I love it.
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Post by bestofour on Aug 21, 2019 23:29:24 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles, Ok. I couldn't stand it. Got the flashlight and went outside. It's scary out there. My tallest okra plant is exactly 3 feet tall. I have several that are 2-1/2 feet. The rest are 2 feet or just a tad bit under. So only save seeds from the shortest ones? They're all bushy. PS My husband thinks I'm crazy.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Aug 21, 2019 23:35:39 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles , Ok. I couldn't stand it. Got the flashlight and went outside. It's scary out there. My tallest okra plant is exactly 3 feet tall. I have several that are 2-1/2 feet. The rest are 2 feet or just a tad bit under. So only save seeds from the shortest ones? They're all bushy. PS My husband thinks I'm crazy. Haha. You sound like me. When something is bugging me, I gotta find out! As far as saving, that's what I do. I don't know if it makes a big difference, but one of the things that appealed to me was the shortness and bushyness of it.
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