Growing Okra In Containers and Grilling It

jerryinfla · August 17, 2013

I'm growing okra in containers this year because I didn't want to plant it in my root knot nematode (RKN) infested Florida soil. It's my first attempt at doing so and I didn't want to spend money on containers nor soil so I scrounged up some old 15 gallon landscape containers and filled them with compost that I made. I sowed six okra seeds in each of four container and water them daily -- some days even more than that. I've been harvesting anywhere between one and eight pods per day for several weeks now, placing them in the refrigerator and when I get a good mess grilling them. Now I'm having to use a ladder to pick pods because they're several feet tall. Here are some photos - we like grilled peppers too and placing them on top of the okra in a grilling basket works great.

b54red · August 17, 2013

I grill okra the same way but; I like to marinate it for a while in a mix of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil with a little salt and pepper. I use the same on bell peppers and squash when grilling them.

My favorite way to eat okra is cooked in some purple hull peas with a bit of bacon drippings for flavor. They can become quite a mushy mess if cooked too long but they are delicious. It's best to add the okra when the peas are about half done.

I also like fried okra and since finding Beck's it is much easier to make because of the thickness of the pods.

Bill

jerryinfla · August 17, 2013

Bill - We've never tried marinating it first but will! I gave some okra to a friend the other day and she said she would cook it with peas like you do so I gave her some field peas too. I don't think we'd like it that way since we don't like the slimy texture of okra. We do like okra fried (the only way we ate it for years) but prefer it grilled now.

ginger2778 · August 17, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerryinfla

Bill - We've never tried marinating it first but will! I gave some okra to a friend the other day and she said she would cook it with peas like you do so I gave her some field peas too. I don't think we'd like it that way since we don't like the slimy texture of okra. We do like okra fried (the only way we ate it for years) but prefer it grilled now.

Nice job Jerry. The flower really does look like a hibiscus. I read they were in the same family.

Marsha

ScottinAtlanta · August 17, 2013

Great pictures. Thanks. I switched to grilled too this year, and prefer it to fried, which is just too heavy for me now. I just brush them with olive oil or teriyaki sauce.

jerryinfla · August 17, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Nice job Jerry. The flower really does look like a hibiscus. I read they were in the same family.

Marsha

Marsha - Yes, both are in the mallow family, Malvaceae, and I've heard that some folks grow okra as an ornamental but I sure don't recommend doing so in our RKN infested Florida soil. The plants lose their stems and leaves rapidly when the RKNs hit them and they will if any RKNs are in the soil. Flowers last only about a day before the pods begin to form and pods are ready to harvest in a very few days. Pods grow so fast that even with only 24 plants or so I have to pick okra every day or the pods become too large and fibrous to eat.

jerryinfla · August 17, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

Great pictures. Thanks. I switched to grilled too this year, and prefer it to fried, which is just too heavy for me now. I just brush them with olive oil or teriyaki sauce.

Scott - Fried okra is too heavy for us too and we love it grilled. I've never tried brushing okra with teriyaki -- sounds delicious and will have to try that too.

ClaraS · May 16, 2015

My first time at growing okra as my daughter gave e a couple of plants Mother's Day. I plan to put them in 5 gal Home Depot buckets..have no idea when to pick them...guess I need to get them growing first!

MikeInCypress · May 16, 2015

I always pick when the pod is 3"-5" long. Any bigger and they start to get fibrous. Okra & Stewed Tomatoes - Yummy.

MikeInCypress

ddsack · May 16, 2015

I'm glad someone pulled up this thread. I have a couple of okra plants started in small pots and was going to plant them in the ground eventually, but now I think I will just use some bigger black pots - should give them more of the warmth they crave.

Dewayne mater · May 18, 2015

One of the vendors at our local farmers market has been bringing a purple when ripe okra. So good that my favorite way to eat it is raw. Otherwise grilled with salt pepper and EVO is my usual and second favorite way. Love fried the most, but, I just won't put up with that mess!

Dewayne Mater

Tracydr · May 18, 2015

Grilled okra is one of my favorite veggies! I will have to try some marinade on them this year.

Worth1 · May 18, 2015

I would devote my entire back yard to okra but I cannot grow it because it has to be picked daily.

I cannot think of a way I dont like okra from raw to anything else.

Worth

Phalanx130 · May 18, 2015

I love it fried and Stewed... i am going to have to try it on the grill this year when it starts coming in. Now I need to go home and check on my okra plants.

August 17, 2013	#3
jerryinfla Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 377	Bill - We've never tried marinating it first but will! I gave some okra to a friend the other day and she said she would cook it with peas like you do so I gave her some field peas too. I don't think we'd like it that way since we don't like the slimy texture of okra. We do like okra fried (the only way we ate it for years) but prefer it grilled now. __________________ Jerry - You only get old if you're lucky.

May 16, 2015	#9
MikeInCypress Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 963	I always pick when the pod is 3"-5" long. Any bigger and they start to get fibrous. Okra & Stewed Tomatoes - Yummy. MikeInCypress __________________ "Growing older, not up"

May 16, 2015	#10
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,220	I'm glad someone pulled up this thread. I have a couple of okra plants started in small pots and was going to plant them in the ground eventually, but now I think I will just use some bigger black pots - should give them more of the warmth they crave. __________________ Dee **************

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August 17, 2013	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I grill okra the same way but; I like to marinate it for a while in a mix of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil with a little salt and pepper. I use the same on bell peppers and squash when grilling them. My favorite way to eat okra is cooked in some purple hull peas with a bit of bacon drippings for flavor. They can become quite a mushy mess if cooked too long but they are delicious. It's best to add the okra when the peas are about half done. I also like fried okra and since finding Beck's it is much easier to make because of the thickness of the pods. Bill

August 17, 2013	#5
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Great pictures. Thanks. I switched to grilled too this year, and prefer it to fried, which is just too heavy for me now. I just brush them with olive oil or teriyaki sauce.

May 16, 2015	#8
ClaraS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Tuscaloosa, AL Posts: 3	My first time at growing okra as my daughter gave e a couple of plants Mother's Day. I plan to put them in 5 gal Home Depot buckets..have no idea when to pick them...guess I need to get them growing first!

May 18, 2015	#11
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	One of the vendors at our local farmers market has been bringing a purple when ripe okra. So good that my favorite way to eat it is raw. Otherwise grilled with salt pepper and EVO is my usual and second favorite way. Love fried the most, but, I just won't put up with that mess! Dewayne Mater

May 18, 2015	#12
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Grilled okra is one of my favorite veggies! I will have to try some marinade on them this year.

May 18, 2015	#13
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I would devote my entire back yard to okra but I cannot grow it because it has to be picked daily. I cannot think of a way I dont like okra from raw to anything else. Worth

May 18, 2015	#14
Phalanx130 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: NC Posts: 18	I love it fried and Stewed... i am going to have to try it on the grill this year when it starts coming in. Now I need to go home and check on my okra plants.