SEED TYPE : Open Pollinated, Heirloom, Traditional

PLANT TYPE : Annual

FRUIT COLOR :  White with Green tip

SOWING TIME : Summer

SOWING METHOD : Directly from seed

GERMINATION TIME : 6 -12 Days

GROWING CONTAINER : 12 inch Pot / Garden Bed

GROWING MEDIA : 2 part  Garden soil 1 part Cocopeat 1 part Vermicompost.

HARVESTING : 60 Days after sowing.

DESCRIPTION :

White velvet okra are loaded with long, white, velvety, and spineless fruits, this is a gorgeous and delicious variety eaten fresh off the plant, cooked, or canned. White Velvet Okra has been an important part of Southern foodways (particularly in Alabama) for over 100 years. It was made commercially available in 1890 and was widely popular due to its tender fruit lacking spines, and beautiful contrast to the colors of tomato based soups, or sometimes in fresh salads, pickles, gumbos, or by itself. Like many important regional food plant varieties, the scaling up of globalized agriculture brought a flooding of the market of cheaper, more standard and generic green okra varieties being grown farther away, and so tender heirloom is extremely rare these days.

The towering stalks of the okra plant provide height, texture, and color to the home garden. Both beautiful and productive, okra can be harvested for several weeks throughout the summer. Because okra germinates and grows best when planted in soil that has warmed above 80 degrees F, northern gardeners often start seeds in flats and transplant seedlings when the weather heats up. In warmer regions of the country, seeds are often direct-sown. Nicking the seed coat of okra seeds can help improve germination rates.

Sow okra seeds ½ inch deep. When direct-sowing okra, space seeds 2 inches apart and thin to a final spacing of 12-18 inches apart and it take 6 -12 day for germination. Okra develops best in warm climates with warm nights, preferring temperatures between 68° and 95°F.

Okra pods are harvested for eating when they are young and immature, just after the flowers fade. Okra pods can be harvested every few days with pruning shears or a sharp knife. If pods are longer than 5 inches, they might be tough, though there are some varieties that grow longer than others and these may still be tender.