Kitchen Garden

OKRA

The coriander has been growing so prolifically here this summer that I have been thinking of oriental vegetables.

An aubergine plant is showing healthy fruit in the greenhouse, and I hope for a crop of the Japanese mooli radish during September.

On my list of new vegetables to try next year is okra, also known as ladies’ fingers, which might offend those of uncertain gender. More worryingly, I learn that during the American Civil War slaves had to grind okra seeds to make a coffee substitute for Confederate soldiers. In today’s woke culture, could this mean that, with its tenuous historical link to slavery, okra may become unacceptable? Perhaps we had better start growing our own.

Okra is best grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel, in a temperature that should not fall below 15°C. The seeds should be soaked in warm water before sowing in early spring and, in the absence of a heated greenhouse, they can be germinated in the airing cupboard.

When grown in larger pots or in grow bags, under cover or possibly on a warm, sheltered terrace, the plants can be treated rather like cucumbers or melons, requiring plenty of water in summer. As a member of the mallow family, and related to hibiscus, the okra plant has most attractive creamy-coloured flowers with a dark red centre.

When the okra pods start to form – they stand upright on the plant – it is important to pick them small – about three inches long – before they become stringy and tough. But beware the short hairs on the plants, which can irritate bare skin.

The plants may grow up to four feet tall, and pods can continue to be picked from July until the first frosts. Varieties include Clemson’s Spineless, Pure Luck and the red-podded and red-leaved Burgundy.

Most of us will be familiar with okra only in Indian restaurants, where it is called bhindi, or in the Louisiana dish gumbo. The seeds within the pods are also edible when baked and are full of health-giving minerals – even though they may not make very good coffee.