Did you know okra is also in the same family as Theobroma cacao? Supposedly, you can make a drink from okra seeds. I've grown okra twice in southwestern Idaho. Out of the following varieties, Edna Slaton's Candelabra is my favorite, so far: Edna Slaton's Candelabra (it gets really long, and is tender for a good long time; it tastes like carrots; pale color; direct-seeded in 2016; started in my unheated greenhouse in 2017 with seeds I saved from the year before) Egyptian (this is my greenest okra, and my second favorite of these; I like the flavor, which is somewhat like a pepper; gets tough faster than some, but I still like it a lot; direct-seeded in 2016; started in my unheated greenhouse in 2017 with seeds I saved from the year before) Bowling Red (it's the least slimy of these that I tasted, and the reddest of these—well, Burgundy is probably as red; I like Bowling Red a lot; started in my unheated greenhouse) Burgundy (red, thin fruits; later than Hill Country Red; direct-seeded) Hill Country Red (these are really big, fat and cool-looking; kind of late compared to Edna Slaton's Candelabra and Egyptian; I never tasted this one; direct-seeded in 2016; I saved seeds to plant in 2017, but I think they were damaged due to partial germination before I dried them, and they didn't sprout in the greenhouse) Jing Orange (small and few fruit; small plant compared to the others; started in my unheated greenhouse) Red Velvet (spiny and pale, but okay; just a little red; started in my unheated greenhouse) Jade (decent; fairly green fruit; thinner fruit than Egyptian; started in my unheated greenhouse) Dwarf Long Pod (crop failure; 2017; started in my unheated greenhouse) Star of David (crop failure; 2016; direct-seeded; no germination) Burmese (crop failure; 2016; direct-seeded; if one germinated, it died early on) It sounds like it's better to direct-seed it in the south and/or other soil types, but in my garden in our clay loam soil, it seems to do a whole lot better if I start it in my unheated greenhouse and then transplant it outside in May and/or early June. Direct-seeded in my garden, it grows no larger than a couple inches tall after the first couple months (if it even sprouts), and maybe gets 1 to 3 fruit per plant. Transplanted, it does much better (with decent germination rates), is much more prolific, and the earliest varieties are among my earliest fruiting crops (about as early as the Metki Dark Green Serpent melon, which is possibly earlier than the zucchini we grow). Okra is one of the fastest things to sprout if I start it early in the unheated greenhouse, interestingly, despite the cool temperatures (and one of the last things to sprout if I direct-seed it later). It's still slow-growing when it starts in the greenhouse, but faster than outside, and it can get through that slow-growing phase before it's time to transplant. The plants still haven't gotten as big in our soil as in a friend's garden in the same area (my friend's were the size of corn plants, and extremely prolific, too), but it's still definitely worth growing. My friend probably grows Clemson Spineless (that's the only variety I recall ever seeing them sell in these parts). I got mine online.

Hi, I'll trade you some "Tom Thumb" (mini butterhead) lettuce and "Early Scarlet Globe" radish for some St. John's Wort and "Principe Borghese" tomatoes. Tell me if this works, thanks. -Nick

Hello Roger, These are the seeds I have to trade: Amarantus Baby's Breath Balloon Flower Basil Cardinal Vine Cauliflower (Snowball) Cleome (Pink) Cleome-Dwarf Columbine Coreopsis Delphinium (Giant) Digitalis (Foxglove) Fennel Feverfew Four O'Clocks (mostly fusia, mixed with some yellow) Hibiscus-Rose of Sharon Hollyhock-pink Kale-Blue Curled Kale-Siberian Marigold-yellow (Giant) Morning Glory Mustard (Curled) Poppy-Oriental Poppy-Red Purple Touch-Me-Nots Rudbeckia (perennial) Rutabaga (Purple Top) Scabiosa (Yellow) Texas Star Hibiscus (perennial) Viola Zinnia (Giant) Zinnia (Lilliput) Let me know what you want. You can send me just a handful-I will be trying it for the first time this spring. My private email is vgibbs1@mindspring.com so we can exchange addresses. Peggy

Cowhorn - gets up to 15 feet tall, highly productive, tender pods Pentagreen - Moderately tall plants, highly productive, pick every other day for tender pods Granny Franklin - moderately tall, highly productive, multi-use, fried, pickled, stuffed, etc. Evertender - skimpy foliage, slim stalks, good production Jing Orange - Best of the red/orange colored okras, very productive Of the above, the most versatile and productive in my climate is Granny Franklin. Evertender is good if you only want to fry okra, but is a bit finicky about climate, it likes it hot. Cowhorn is arguably the most productive, but gets very tall in the garden. I've picked up to 200 pods per plant from Cowhorn. Pentagreen will produce a heavy crop, but IMO, is not as stress tolerant as would be desired. I would still try Pentagreen and see what it does for you, but would hedge my bets by planting at least one other variety. A lot of folks will recommend Clemson Spineless. IMO, you can do a lot better with any of the above. Sandhill is a good seed source. Sandhill Okra Here is a pic of my Cowhorn from a few years ago. I am 6'2" tall and held the camera at arms length above my head. The pic is at an angle up a plant that was about 12 feet tall at the time. You can see 22 pods of okra going up the stalk.