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.

Too cold. In the future, check with your state's Extension Service. Each county should have it's own Cooperative Extension Office which provides free publications and information for the asking. They will have valuable vegetable/gardening tables available specifically for your area determined by universities and horticultural research scientists who have collected data from growing those crops in your state. Your tax dollars are already paying for this service so you may as well get some use out of it. Get your soil tested. Your Extension Service can provide you with soil testing information. Mine was only $9.00, less than the cost of some strictly pH tests, and far more thorough. No guessing at what might need to be added to your soil, no money wasted. See how detailed these examples are: Vegetable Planting and Planning Calendar for Missouri (download the pdf) complete with spring and fall planting dates (underneath the spring planting dates for appropriate crops), how much to plant per person, etc. They can also tell you the average last frost date for your area and ideal planting times for specific crops and varieties in your area. Here is an excerpt: Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Okra in the Home Garden: Department of Horticulture

Prospero does best in my garden. Christopher Marlow, Jubilee Celebration, Heritage and English Garden are relatively trouble free and William Shakespeare2000 is better than average. Sharifa Ashma gets blackspot but does not defoliate and does not look so bad as Gamis Castle or Tamora and it is worth having for its perfume. I do not have it but intend to get Crocus rose because it supposedly has better than average disease resistance. Some of the new Austins are said to be bs resistant (like The Generous gardener) but I do not have any of them, so I do not have first hand experience with them. I have Abraham Darby though it gets blackspot, but not so badly as GC and AD also balls terribly in wet weather but again the fragrance makes it worth keeping it. However, if you are inland, you may fare better depending where you garden. The Raleigh-Durham area is drier in the summer than the coastal region while if you are closer to the mountains you get more rain and more moisture means more blackspot in susceptible varieties - so it all depends on your location.

Or, you could grow the bush types in containers, they produce just as well and are perennial in Zone 10, I've grown both, 2-3 plants each in 3.5 gallon containers any they did really well. One Two Baby Bubba, pretty huh? Plants are only 18" Little Lucy (red), another striking okra color-wise ;-) Tom