Okra

King of Summer

Every summer we plant okra. And there's really only two reasons why we grow it.

1. It's quite tasty and fairly useful in the kitchen. Boiled okra (click here for recipe) is delicious and kind of like french fries, because you have to drop them in boiling water to cook them and they're only good fresh. It's also great cooked down and then added to gumbo.
2. It's really the only thing that grows well in the brutal Louisiana summer heat, besides cowpeas. I suppose you could add sweet potatoes to that list, but those aren't eaten until after summer is over.

But okra is not the easiest or most profitable crop we can grow.

The Downsides

First of all, once in production, it has to be picked at least every other day. That harvest doesn't store very long, either. So whatever we pick has to be sold that week.

Secondly, the spines! The okra plants have tiny spikes loaded with sap. Once that sap gets into your abraded skin, the itching starts and doesn't stop for a while.

And third, by the end of the season the plants are a mess. They can get 10 feet tall or more, with trunks two or three inches thick. After cutting down the plants, digging up the stumps, and piling up the debris, you are thinking to yourself, let's not plant okra again next year!

By the way, that pile of okra trunks, once set out for a few weeks or months to where it should be dead and compleltely dry, WILL NOT BURN! Ask me how I know.

Boiling Okra

We tend to focus on frequent harvests of small, three inch okra pods. Smaller pods are more tender and have much smaller seeds, making them perfect for serving whole.

Due to its extremely short shelf life, you won't find fresh okra in grocery stores. If you find it at all, it will be cut up and frozen.

There are still some okra growers in the area where you can get okra fresh, but not all of them sell the boiling okra. Typically they sell large okra by the sack.

So enjoy our unique, niche product each summer while we have it!