2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Okra is a vegetable crop, the fruits of which help to quickly recuperate after hard work in the garden. In addition, she recovers after a long illness. As a representative of the Malvov family we know, okra loves to live in warm regions, since it was born in hot Africa
Description of the plant
Low (30-40 centimeters) annuals of okra have a woody plump stem with rather large five to seven-lobed long-petiolized leaves. Yellowish-creamy, single, large flowers are similar to the flowers of the usual mallow.
The fruits for which okra is grown are like thin green pepper pods. But the surface of the pepper is smooth-sliding, while that of the okra is covered with fine hairs, like a pod wearing a fur coat. And yet, the pepper pod is even, without edges, and the okra has a ribbed pod, giving a seven-sided asterisk on the cross section. In length, the pod can reach 30 centimeters, but young pods 7-9 centimeters long are used for food. When stored for a long time, the fruits become fibrous and tasteless.
The many names of okra
Since okra grows in different parts of the world, each nation gives it its own name. While on vacation in Egypt, you can taste salad or stews called "okra" or "gombo", as in other African countries. In the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories of Russia, where it is grown on plantations, they use the Turkish name - "okra". But under all the names one and that pubescent, ribbed green pod is hidden.
Growing okra
In areas with short summers, okra can be grown through seedlings. Moreover, the whimsicality of its root system requires sowing seeds in separate pots so as not to damage the roots during transplantation into the soil, painfully tolerated by the plant. Such plants, in comparison with those that are sown directly into the ground, are less resistant to diseases and yield little.
Although okra is a child of Africa, whose soils are not very fertile, it loves light fertile soils. The okra prefers sunny places, is indifferent to watering, but with prolonged droughts, it also needs water.
Like any cultivated plant, okra will be grateful for weeding, loosening the soil and hilling. If okra grows in a greenhouse, covered with a film, it is important to periodically ventilate the "room".
Okra can be grown as a houseplant.
Useful properties of okra
Okra fruits are rich in vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates, mineral salts and organic acids. Nothing new, everything is just like in our many vegetables. Unless you can squeeze oil from the seeds, which tastes like olive oil. But how many of those seeds need to be collected for this!
Okra tastes like zucchini and green bean pods, which have long taken root in our gardens. Therefore, it is not advisable to change well-known and easily grown vegetables for okra for those who value the harvest, given the whimsicality and love of the sun of the African okra. For exotic lovers, for a change, you can try to grow okra.
Those who manage to grow okra and get its fruits, keep in mind that its pods perfectly show all their beneficial properties in combination with tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and all kinds of oriental spices. The high content of mucous substances in the fruits turns okra into a prophylactic agent for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. It can be added to soup, salad or a side dish for spicy meat dishes. The seeds are suitable not only for obtaining oil, but also for preparing a morning drink, reminiscent of invigorating coffee.
When you get a large harvest, it is better to store the pods frozen, otherwise they quickly become fibrous and lose their attractiveness and value.
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