What to Do With Okra in July – 6 Jobs That Guarantee More Pods and Healthier Plants
Including harvesting okra and watering regularly for bumper harvests
July is a significant month for growing okra. The heat-loving crop, also known as ladies’ fingers, is highly productive in summer, and a few crucial tasks this month will bring you a bumper harvest of pods to pick.
Regular harvesting is the most important job for July if you are growing okra in your vegetable garden. Along with picking, take time to water, feed, support, and keep plants pest-free to ensure the harvests keep coming. If you garden in the hottest climates, though, there is an extra task you can do that will reward you with extra crops.
Okra does need regular attention this month, and keeping on top of these tasks is important for the best yield throughout the summer and onwards. Here’s what to do with okra in July to pick the finest pods and to have healthy plants that will keep on producing new ones to pick in the future.
1. Harvest Pods Every Few Days
July is a peak time for harvesting okra pods, and you want to get them at their prime. Good timing is imperative, as young pods are tender and a delicacy, while older ones are tough and woody.
Regular harvesting is an important part of what to do with okra in July. It is advisable to pick them little and often every few days rather than opting for more infrequent, larger harvests.
The perfect pods are 2-3 inches long. Picking them often encourages the plant to keep producing new ones, whereas leaving mature pods slows down the development.
Use small pruners (like these Fiskars pruning snips at Walmart) or a sharp knife to harvest okra pods. Don’t pull the pods, as okra plants have very shallow roots, and you risk damaging the entire plant.
It is also advisable to wear gloves and long sleeves (you can get gardening sleeves at Amazon to stay protected) when working with okra plants. The stems, leaves, and pods have fine hairs that can irritate the skin.
2. Keep the Soil Moist
Okra is a fairly drought-tolerant vegetable once established in its planting spot, but this doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be kept hydrated during July.
When okra is flowering and fruiting, it is a key time to keep the soil consistently moist to guarantee the best harvests. For the best yield, give okra at least one inch of water per week, though this amount can increase in hotter climates.
Keep a close eye on when to water plants, checking at least once a day during the summer months. Check the moisture levels a few inches under the surface, and water plants deeply to soak the root zone.
Always water the soil around the plants, rather than soaking them from above. Watering the foliage increases the risk of fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew. A soaker hose (such as this 25 ft flat soaker hose, available at Amazon) or drip irrigation is an efficient way to direct water into the soil and to the roots of the plants.
3. Feed Okra Plants in Pots
Okra plants benefit from balanced fertilizer at the time of planting. Those growing in the ground don’t tend to need extra feeding during the season, unless they show signs of struggling, such as slow growth or yellowing foliage. In this case, use a balanced liquid fertilizer, like this all-purpose plant food from Amazon.
If you are growing okra in pots in a vegetable container garden, these plants will need regular feeding throughout July and the rest of summer. The best fertilizers for these plants are higher in potassium, such as this Farmer’s Secret fruit and bloom booster fertilizer, also at Amazon. Apply this fertilizer every two or three weeks once the okra starts flowering.
The big fertilizing mistake to avoid is giving okra plants too much nitrogen this month. Using high-nitrogen feeds will result in a mass of foliage and leafy growth, but few flowers or pods.
4. Support Plants if Needed
Okra can reach four to six feet tall, depending on the variety, so they ideally need to be staked, especially in windy gardens. The plants are often self-supporting, thanks to their woody stems, but taller varieties do need staking to keep them secure during the season, especially when they are top-heavy.
The easiest type of plant support for okra is a sturdy bamboo cane (like these eight-foot bamboo plant stakes at Home Depot) or landscape stake.
A single support is required per plant, as they are not the types of plants that will climb a vegetable garden trellis. Alternatively, you can construct a tall tomato cage around plants to contain and stop them from falling over when laden with pods.
Use thin plant ties when attaching the okra stem to the support, such as twine, cloth, or Velcro straps, and don’t tie it too tightly.
5. Check for Pests
July is a time when okra can be under attack from many different summer garden pests, whether the crop is growing indoors or outdoors. Aphids, spider mites, flea beetles, stink bugs, and caterpillars are all known to trouble okra and can feed on leaves, stems, and pods.
Look out for signs of pest issues and take prompt action to stop populations from increasing quickly. It is recommended to pay particular close attention to the underside of foliage.
Smaller pests can be knocked off the plant with a strong blast of water from a garden hose, and insecticidal soap can combat populations (you can get ready-to-use insecticidal soap at Walmart, but use it with care as it can also kill beneficial insects). Larger pests can be manually picked off by hand and placed into a container filled with soapy water.
To reduce pest populations, try companion planting okra with aromatic herbs like chives, dill, and chamomile to repel insects or beneficial flowers such as marigolds or nasturtiums, which both deter pests from okra and attract natural predators.
6. Cut Okra Plants Back
In the hottest US hardiness zones, okra plants tend to slow down and stop producing flowers and pods. This can happen in late July or early August in the warmest southern climates, and growers often prune plants as a result.
It may sound brutal, but cutting okra plants back to around one or two feet from the ground in midsummer encourages the plants to produce a smaller, second crop of pods. If you do this technique, fertilize the plants with a balanced feed after pruning, and keep on top of watering to encourage healthy new growth.
A granular, balanced feed, such as this organic, all-purpose plant food from Burpee, is the best product. It offers plants all the essential nutrients they need to regrow and provide a second round of pods from late summer into fall.
What to Shop
Clemson Spineless is a popular heirloom variety of okra that grows vigorous plants and produces an abundant harvest of spineless dark-green, grooved pods.
These 100% faux suede leather gardening gloves feature an attractive floral pattern and protect your hands from cuts, scratches, and abrasions.
Quickly see whether your plants need watering. This meter shows you the moisture levels in the soil on a large, easy-to-read dial with three zones and ten scales.
If you enjoy collecting seeds to regrow your own vegetables next year, you can do this with okra. However, wait until later in the season to start. To harvest okra seeds, leave some pods to develop later in the fall. If you leave them in the summer, the plant will stop producing new ones to harvest.
So wait until the picking is winding down for the season; only then leave some pods to grow large, brown, and brittle. You can snip these from the plants and collect the seeds to sow again.
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