Prior to harvest…

I love exchanging seeds with my gardening buddies, because it has drastically expanded the range of plants here in the Curious Garden. Thanks to them, instead of growing just the basic green okra (for example), I’ve grown burgundy okra, a few varieties of green okra, and now, the giant okra from Down Under!

“Giant” sounds quite impressive, doesn’t it? We just harvested our first two okras from the most matured plant, and while the bigger one may be just a tad old – the tip has hardened a little – the smaller one is probably a little young. I harvested both because just one was not enough for a meal…

I grew a few plants in the first round, but only one has grown nice and strong. The stem is thick and sturdy, and the plant simply looks healthy. In typical okra style, the flower buds began forming in a cluster at the top of the plant, and it now looks set to bear fruits for a while.

Oddly enough, the other plants are growing at differing rates. One is still quite puny – I am going to cull it, shh! – and the others still look quite juvenile with thinner stems and smaller leaves. I am quite sure I’ve fertilized them all the same, although they are growing in different locations. I guess the main thing is that they all are able to bear fruits, and if they space out their maturity stages, our harvest period should be lengthened. Who am I to complain about that!

The first two fruits harvested

The first fruits are quite impressive. The largest one is close to 20cm long – 17 is close to 20, right? – while the smaller one is a regular 13cm long. I expect a good size to harvest them is around 15 to 16cm long.

Thanks go out from the Curious Family to Grandpa Weed for bringing seeds from his garden!

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