Bagging okra blossoms?

[blueribbontomatoes]

anybody done this with good results? the blossoms didn't rot and the seeds came true to type?
Is okra strictly wind pollinated or does it self pollinate also?

Any okra insight would be helpful here. I've limited myself to only growing out one variety, but if the blossoms can be bagged, that opens up a world of possibilities...

[Prudenspurple]

Gee, I had the same question! :D

TimothyT

[mjc]

If you are only growing one variety of okra, don't worry about anything...there aren't any wild/native plants in NA that it will cross with. It does self, but with the large, showy flowers it is very attractive to insects and will cross easily with other varieties of okra, so yes, bagging individual blooms is the thing to do (or isolate by about 1 mile). Use a large tulle bag, old stocking, etc and make sure that the stem end is well sealed and leave it bagged until the flower drops and the pod is forming. Mark the stem/pod and let fully develop and dry on the plant.

[Desert Rat]

Answers, we need answers!!!!! I've just discovered growing okra this year and love it and would like to grow a couple of varieties next year, good question!

[Desert Rat]

Good information. Question answered for all of us not in the know.

[mjc]

In the past, I've not worried about, because I've only grown one variety...next year I'm planning on at least three (Burgundy, Fife Creek and another...no Clemson Spineless), so I've been looking into how to save more than one variety at a time. You can also cage the whole plant, but with a good okra plant this can be a bit of a problem (6' tall and 3 or 4' wide...). This year, I didn't get any seeds because the weather had production way down and the last few pods I had froze before they were close to being ready...:(

[blueribbontomatoes]

thanks, mjc! I will give this a try. I've only grown Jimmy T the last three seasons. I also have seed for Fife Creek and Cowhorn.

any suggestions for particularly good ones? I haven't tried the red varieties - are they as good for eating as they are pretty? What about white okra - isn't that more of a pale green than white?

Let's hear from all you okra fans out there!

[Prudenspurple]

Hey mjc,

So, I could not quite figure out by your posts whether or not you've had personal experience bagging okra blosssoms before and what material or method worked best for you. Might you clarify? Thanks!

Because of the tenderness of okra blossoms I have had little success with organza bags, little better with panty hose, and as you said, netting whole plant is a bit of a problem unless very early in season.

On the other hand I've now got an interesting cross between Cajon Delight(hybrid), Fife, and Burgandy, but who knows what this years seeds will be and I've got another from Blueribbon I want to try!

Or anyone else who has tried?

TimothyT

[Izzy]

A couple summers ago, I planted two different types of okra side by side because I didn't have any space left at the end of the season, making a mental note to myself not to save seeds. As time went by, and I missed some that I let grow out, I forgot about my reminder not to save seeds. I had planted Clemson in one row and Hill Country Red in the other - and I did not end up liking the Red. The Hill Country Red is a shorter, fat okra that turned woody much too fast. The Clemson gave me a little extra time - it stayed tender on the stalk longer.

This past summer, after I planted the saved seed, I was anxious because I was afraid they crossed. They did not. I had nice slender, tender Clemsons that produced all summer. That's not to say they won't, just my experience with them growing side by side. If you have room to seperate them, it might spare you from having to bag them.

[mjc]

I've done it once, with stockings...I used a pair of pantyhose with a runner in them...I tied a knot around the knee area and used the part between the thigh and the panty part...I taped off around the stem. That left plenty of room for the flower. (Until I explained what I was going to do my mom was looking at me like I had grown a second head or something...I was about 12 at the time.) But with the extra room, there weren't any problems.

Since then, whenever I've grown okra, it's only been Clemson and I usually didn't bother saving any seeds. That seed I saved was from some that one of my 'mentors' gave me...it wasn't Clemson. I don't know what I did with it, because I know I didn't grow any the next year...I wonder if it is still around my mom's hose somewhere (it would be thirty+ years old, now). My mom and i were the only ones who ate it...it was good,but I have no idea what kind it was.