Okay, consider this okra plant. Get me right--this is ONE okra plant. You expect okra to get tall, and I've seen many taller than this, but the circumference! It's wider than Scarlett O'Hara's hoop skirt. And it's branched like an oak tree! I'm getting as many as four pods off it a day. Those large pods you see are the ones I'm saving for seed.
The other strange thing about this okra is that I didn't plant it. It's wild. Or should I say, feral. It's an escape.
Maybe it has genes from Audrey II.
So this is the state of the garden at the end of a long, hot August with only one unexpected rainy spell: okra, peppers, cucumbers, and some broccoli I'm punishing by leaving out in the hot sun all summer. The late frost this spring made it 'button'--produce flowering heads smaller than your thumb. So I thought it deserved a little torture...plus a chance to do better in the fall. If I can keep it alive.The cucumbers below are an oddity--I tried a variety adapted for hot climates and it seemed to be thriving. The vines were enormous and the leaves even more so. But no fruit! Or so I thought. It seems that the fruit is exceptionally good at hiding behind the leaves until it yellows. But that's okay, because they're still very mild and juicy, and not the slightest hint of bitter. Now that I know its secrets, I might grow this again.
No comments:
Post a Comment