Bendi - Okra

This must be one of the older vegetable around. Bendi in Malay, Okra or scientifically known as Abelmoschus esculentus is a fruit type of vegetable.

I grow okra from seeds and it takes about 2 days to germinate. I recommend to soak the seeds in water to accelerate germination, in Aquaponics this can be done by raising water level.

Its best to sow direct to growbed, its don't do well if transplanted.  Recommended to place 3 seed close together and have about 15 inches space between cluster. Once they about 5 ~ 6 inches tall trim to leave only one.

It took around 45 ~ 50 days for it to produce flower and another 7 ~ 10 days to pick. If left for too long it may turn hard and fibrous.

Okra can get very tall about 7 ~ 9 ft high, with such a tall plant strong wind and rain could cause problem. My Okra plant are easily blown down, I guess it advisable to provide support of some kind to ensure it don't fall.

Okra seed are easily obtain from packed seed found at supermarkets, I obtained mine this way and once they produce fruits reserve some for seeds.

On average once it reach height of about 7 feet then it about time to replant.

That about it on Okra, this fruiting vegetable is easily grown and its a healthy food due to its nutritional content and fibrous skin.

Okra Seeds

Okra seeds are costly as a home gardener, seeds from one okra is about RM 2.99 that about USD 0.70.

Okra I planted few of the fruits I let it ripen and use as seed for next batch of Okra. I've put aside 6 okra and this is the result.

Those seeds are from one Okra, and the remaining 5 can be use some other time. Its more then I able to use within this one year period.

Its feel good to be able to produce seed for own usage, its a way towards self sustainable food production. On a smaller scale that is.

Update 30th Dec - Okra

Finally my internet connection getting better. The service provider are now laying fibre optics cable everywhere for High Speed Broad Band, by early next year my place may have 10mbps line :) cool.

This is a quick update on Okra. As photo you can see they are doing well.

However only 2 plant bear fruit, those Okra I am letting it to ripen so that I could collect more seed for planting.

The plant are flowering, If I have more Okra plant then it will be more Okra :) , each growbed I would recommend about 3 plant and mix them with others since Okra will grow quite tall.

I will replant, new Okra from seeds that on the earlier photo.

We are learning, so Okra check.... :)

Update 20th Dec 2009 - Okra

The Okra is flowering. This one just flowering today, over the weekend I was away and earlier another flowered.

Some of the Okra plant do well, especially those near the water inlet. Further away from inlet, they are not as big as these.

From the difference in size within the same growbed, shows that fish solids do play some important role in providing nutrient to the plants.

Next time I'll redo the water inlet so that fish solid are evenly distributed within the bed.

Okra suppose to be one of the best vegetable for our health, high in vitamins and fibre. Its gentle on the stomach and intestine due to the slimy fluid within the okra and because of the high fibre its good for cleaning our digestive track.

Underneath the Okra, I planted few Tumeric. These are plants with rhizomes, I am testing these because normally they will not survive water logged soil. The rhizomes will rot and not able to multiply.

We use Tumeric, either their leaves or the rhizomes. Those part that look like ginger root. I guess its more appropriate to call root then.

Been raining daily, water a bit high. few more days like this I will need to adjust water level. That reminds me next round I need to put bricks underneath those growbed to make them higher so that I do not require to adjust water level even if its rain all week long.