Okra is Hibiscus esculenta, and is best known for its fruit (pods), which are eaten as a vegetable.

The edible leaves are high in protein, around 27.6%.

Okra is very difficult to transplant, as there have a very long tap-root. Best to grow from seed, planted long after the soil has warmed. One of the last seeds to go in the ground. Will not really take off until the days get HOT. Plants will die at the first frost.

The pods should be picked daily, when they are three to four inches long. Much bigger than that, and they are too tough to eat, might as well leave them on the plant to dry for next year's seeds, or to use in ornamental decorations. The fresh pods can be made into gumbo; boiled whole; sliced, rolled in cornmeal and fried; or pickled whole.

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