|
Post by brownrexx on Sept 16, 2020 16:46:43 GMT -5
But yes, I would like seeds from your short, productive plant. Thank you! Is there anything I can send you in trade? (I am not an organic gardener, but some of my seeds are certified organic vendor seeds.) I will mail some seeds to you once they are harvested and dried. I can't think of anything that I would want in return. I actually don't worry if seeds are organic. I grow all of my garden using organic methods and realistically I don't feel that a non-organic seed will pollute it. How could anything objectionable really be in a seed anyway? Oh and BTW I do not grow any other okra varieties so no chance of crossing except with other LL plants.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Sept 16, 2020 23:33:58 GMT -5
I'll get a picture tomorrow if it's not pouring rain, but I don't think mine are over 3 feet tall. Production hasn't been good this year.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 19, 2020 10:57:21 GMT -5
I think my okra is on its way out, due to the cool weather. They lost a lot of leaves, and I'm only getting 4 or 5 a day now. Like hot peppers, okra loves heat, and we'll see if it gets warm enough for them.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Sept 19, 2020 13:22:04 GMT -5
I think my okra is on its way out, Mine too. I think that I may remove them to the compost pile except for the one I am saving seeds from. We are tired or okra now.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 19, 2020 13:33:44 GMT -5
That's the beauty of seasonal produce. You're getting tired of okra now, but by the time summer rolls around again, you'll be excited to have it again.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Sept 19, 2020 19:08:33 GMT -5
Oh dear. I forgot to get a picture.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 19, 2020 21:59:55 GMT -5
That's the beauty of seasonal produce. You're getting tired of okra now, but by the time summer rolls around again, you'll be excited to have it again. Well put! Hard to believe I ever get tired of tomatoes, but then, once they start producing, I don't stop eating them in something, until they are pretty much finished. And before they start producing, it's all those greens, and other cool weather crops, that I'm getting almost tired of, but now, they are started up again! Of course, things like garlic and peppers are not seasonal.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2020 17:36:14 GMT -5
wE DON'T GET TIRED OF MUCH. We dry tomatoes, put u[ frozen chopped okra for stews and okra dishes, small okra for roasting. Chopped pepper for cooking, whole seeded pepper in halves for stuffing. ETC, ETC between freezing and drying we use it all. One thing we like is butternut squash, ether stored whole or cooked and frozen. Same with onions. BAD, BAD year for gardening, but a bit saved anyway.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Sept 26, 2020 20:42:15 GMT -5
Little Lucy with lettuce coming up all around it.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Sept 27, 2020 16:49:46 GMT -5
LL looks good bestofour, nice and short just like we want.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 27, 2020 16:59:24 GMT -5
bestofour I like the way those are branching out a lot quickly! Mine branch out, but only after getting quite a bit taller.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Sept 27, 2020 21:39:07 GMT -5
They didn't produce much at all.
|
|
|
Post by september on Sept 28, 2020 9:45:14 GMT -5
How old do the pods need to be, for the seed to be viable for saving? My season is at an end here, too chilly now for okra to keep growing. I purposely left one nice pod 3-4 weeks ago to be used for seed. What should it look like when I pick it off the branch? Should I let it dry for a while in the house before splitting it open?
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 28, 2020 16:45:43 GMT -5
Once the pod starts to dry even a little bit the seeds should be mature. If your pod is 3-4 weeks old I bet the seeds are mature regardless of what the pod looks like.
But, if the weather is dry enough, I like to leave the pods on the plants until they fully dry and just start to crack*** lengthwise, because I don't have a lot of space indoors to spread the pods out to dry. Once the the pods start to crack, they are dry inside and the seeds are no longer stuck to the inside of the pod. So I can just spread the pods open from the blossom end and the seeds will roll right out. I then dry the seeds spread out on paper plates for a few days more, just to be safe, but that's probably not necessary.
If you take the seeds out of the pods before the pods are fully dry, you just need to spread the seeds out to dry longer before storing them.
***Keep an eye on the pod and pick it once the cracks form. Soon after the cracks appear, the pod will split wide open and dump the seeds out onto the ground.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2020 21:14:15 GMT -5
If your pods are almost dry enough on the plant, you can cut them loose and place in a larger paper bag ( I have a few with handles) and either hang them or set them inside out of the et until they finish drying down; often I go by and just jiggle he bag a bit to toss them about. I do this for herbs I want to dry down too. A post it note on the bag is removable and has the date and what it is.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Sept 29, 2020 7:18:58 GMT -5
I have only been saving okra seeds for 3 years so I am no expert but I let the pods stay on the plant until they are brown and hard. Mine are big now and the ends are starting to get brown but frost is probably 3 weeks away so I am leaving them in place for awhile.
When I picked my dry pods last year the seeds were black as they would be when mature. I don't know if all okra seeds are black since I only grow Little Lucy and I don't remember the color of varieties that I previously grew.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 29, 2020 7:22:55 GMT -5
I am definitely not an expert, but I have grown several varieties over the years and all of the seeds I have seen are dark gray/near black in color.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Sept 29, 2020 7:27:48 GMT -5
I am definitely not an expert, but I have grown several varieties over the years and all of the seeds I have seen are dark gray/near black in color. Yes, some were a dark gray and I got 100% germination of my saved seeds.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 29, 2020 7:30:21 GMT -5
They didn't produce much at all. Well that's not good! Did you have that problem that Laura_in_FL had, where they just refused to flower? My LL flowered much earlier than Emerald, so much so that I let the first 3 pods grow to full size (about 8" for those), and dry on the plant, to save seeds, since I knew they hadn't crossed. I'm still getting a few every day, but it's supposed to get very cool again by the end of the week, so they will come out then.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Sept 29, 2020 22:38:31 GMT -5
They didn't flower much at all in the beginning. I'm getting more now than all spring but it's still not much. Last year I had so much to eat and freeze that I was glad when they stopped producing . I might not plant LL next time. Might just go with the green. It's just so lovely that they're short. PS brownrexx, Laura_in_FL, I consider myself an expert. (pps not really )
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Oct 11, 2020 14:11:23 GMT -5
I harvested my Little Lucy seed pod today. It is very dry and starting to split but not open. It is full of nice black seeds. Laura_in_FL , I will drop a few in the mail for you next week. It is from my shortest and most branched plant. I did not grow any other varieties of okra so no chance of crossing. Little Lucy Okra Pod by Brownrexx, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Oct 11, 2020 19:46:04 GMT -5
I'll too have seeds to share if anyone wants any.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 12, 2020 8:23:56 GMT -5
Fantastic - thanks, brownrexx. That's exactly the stage at which I like to harvest okra pods for seed, too. Though more than once I have let them go too late and had to c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-ly clip a partly open pod off the plant and straight into a bag. (It's amazing how those big heavy seeds can still go airborne and really FLY if you jostle the pod the right way.)
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Oct 13, 2020 10:54:06 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, I mailed your LL seeds today and I asked if the clerk could hand cancel the stamp because I was mailing seeds. She put a "Non machinable" stamp on the envelope instead and said that it keeps the envelope out of the machine stream. I had never heard of that before. Hope it works.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 13, 2020 11:14:46 GMT -5
Thanks, brownrexx. I'll let you know what condition they arrive in.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 22, 2020 15:59:30 GMT -5
brownrexx, I got the LL seeds today. They are in good shape for planting next spring - thank you! Good thing you used bubble wrap, though. The envelope got squashed pretty hard in transit. If not for the padding, I think the seeds would have been crushed.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Oct 22, 2020 17:46:48 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, I hope that they grow well for you in 2021. I have been well pleased with LL.
|
|