Okra, Okra and more Okra!

My last post on this site was October 2011!  Oh my, much has happened since then and I've taken at least a million pictures since then (slight exaggeration) but really I can't believe I'm not sharing them and my dirt digging thoughts!

This year I made all new flower beds in the front of my driveway, my beds by the front porch replenished themselves with zinnias, coreopsis and lima beans by the bookoos!  I'm not for sure about the bookoos - that's a word I've always heard, but have no idea if it's a real word or how to spell it.  I know spellcheck is not happy - haha - oh well, it's my word and I'm using it.

Before I add pictures from the building of the beds to their present great look, I have to share my okra pictures from this year.  Last year I had just a couple of little plants and they made huge okra pods, but never enough to pick at one time for a side dish, so I let them all go to seed and planted them this summer.  I put some in a flowerbed and they didn't do much, but I planted some in pots and oh my goodness!

 First comes the bud, then the bloom and then the harvest.  The blooms remind me of a wild mallow and I wonder if it's the same family, but haven't bothered to check it out!  I've, also noticed that not every okra comes from a bloom - it's almost like there's one pollinator for a group of actual veggies, but I may not be paying close enough attention.  I do know that I get enough for a meal about every three days.  We've never eaten so much okra, but we love it.  I slice it up and cook it in Rotel tomatoes and it's wonderful.  It comes out spicy, but not too spicy.  Of course, it's hard to get it too spicy for us.





This was what I cooked Saturday night for dinner.  We ate a lot and had one serving left over.






The picture below is four of my plants, there's one just outside the picture range.  I have one huge plant on left (also in single shot) and four more average size plants.  All are producing.  The largest one was planted in Miracle Grow potting soil!  Yes, it does make a difference.   I have some pictures of some other plants in Miracle Grow and some not and WOW is all I can say.  And no I'm not paid a penny to say this - it's just the truth!   other beds

So this is the end of my okra post, but I will be posting again soon, sharing my yard and garden with you.

Happy digging!