Okras

[moogie]

So I bought okra seeds this year and have been desperately trying to get them passed the 2 leaves state.

I've been regularly planting some (in pots) since... march/april I guess, and they germinate, get their first leaves, grow one or two real leaves.... and die.

I tried to keep them inside, outside, in pots, in the ground, watered a lot, a little but I just can't seem to make it right. The leaves become either yellow and/or get lifeless and die.

How do you grow Okras people???

[MKG]

I was so surprised to hear that anyone was trying to grow okra in a northern European climate that I looked it up - and lots of people do grow it. But, apparently, it's incredibly susceptible to damping off, so overwatering will almost certainly doom it. Some varieties (also apparently - I have no direct experience) are easier to grow than others - it might be worth your while googling around for the more tolerant versions.

[moogie]

Well it indeed has been raining a lot recently and the one I have outside is coincidently looking bad. I will try to keep them dry, thanks!

The seeds are onsale here in a few simple gardening centers, in the exotic category, so I hope it's not only a marketing trick !

[possum]

I did try to grow it in the UK, the seeds sprouted and then died off.
I am wondering about trying it down here, and wondered if seeds from stuff brought from the supermarket would germinate.

[zygote]

Okra likes lots of heat, sun, and drainage. It is recommended that it not be planted until the soil temperature is 19 c at a depth of 10 cm, and that the air temp be between 23 and 32 degrees. Have you tried bottom heat? I keep mine on my water heater and water them with warm water until I transplant them or they die off.

[possum]

Okra likes lots of heat, sun, and drainage. It is recommended that it not be planted until the soil temperature is 19 c at a depth of 10 cm, and that the air temp be between 23 and 32 degrees.

Well it might be worth trying here, it certainly would get sun and plenty of heat, though it could possibly be too hot. Going to give it a go

[zygote]

From my experience it probably won't get too hot for okra. Mine didn't start flowering until we reached 35 c on a regular basis. The plants can get huge, but I think they have pretty flowers, they're related to hibiscus.

[possum]

In that case we might just have the perfect condiitions for it, there are about 3 months of the year where it rarely drops below 35C and the temperature doesn't drop that much even at night.
How big is huge? I sort of imagined them to be like growing peas. Are they an annual or perennial?

[Biscombe]

Also consider the pot size, they do like a lot of room