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I haven’t really grown okra before (I grew one experimental plant last summer, and it grew well, but I planted it too late in the year to get but a few okra from it). I want maybe about three servings of okra a week. How many plants should I grow this year?

If you have the room I would say about 2 dozen plants or more, maybe a packet. They should be about 12" apart in 3 foot rows because they get tall and will grow into each other. They are actually in the Hibiscus Plant family. Grow them in full sun and well drained soil. Use a fertilizer that has a high second number like 5-10-5. I usually spread a little super phosphate 0-20-0 as they start to flower. Super phosphate helps the plant to produce more flowers. The more flower you have the more okra you can pick. I usually pick every third day during the early summer into the fall. Pick them early and often as this forces the plant to produce more fruit. Once you see the flower then look again in about 3 or 4 days and you will see the pod. I have a small farm and grow Brazilian vegetables and Okra, or in Brasil it’s called Quiabo (key-ah-bow) is one they love along with Jilo (G -Low) a Brasilian egg plant. I grow about 2 to 3 thousand of each per year. Depending on rain I water about every 3 days or so. I usually transplant about 100 for an early crop but find planting by seed a lot better as some of the transplants don’t do as well. Besides planting this many will kill me as it is quite laborious. Clemson spineless is a good choice and matures in abot 2 months. If all your growing is a small amount then start the early indoors to be planted when the danger of last frost is over. Here in New England it’s around Mid May. I would say to start them indoors about mid March depending on where you live.

How do you roll back the water hose,used for gardening ?

Good question. I’ve been having to deal with that pesky hose a lot lately, and there never seems to be a good way. I bought a nice big ceramic pot to coil my hose nicely into, but haven’t been using it lately. Sometimes I drape it over the gate. A lot of the time it just ends up in a big messy heap. Maybe the easiest thing to do is to just leave it in a long line along side the house. A sprinkler system or site specific hose connectors with quick connects would be ideal.

I’m interested in breeding flowers and plants and making hybrids and was just wondering what species of plants and flowers are good for this kind of hobby.

I’m looking for plants and flowers that have male and female and have varied colors, shapes and sizes etc. I want to grow many different ones and mix them and pick and chose the qualitys for the next generations.

Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

hard question to answer as there are so many things to ask: like indoor, outdoor, annual, perenial, houseplant? African violets are realitivley cheap and seed quite readily and you can probably get blooms in about 3-6 months from seed to se what your cross had produced. I grow orchids but seriously you dont get to see what your cross did for at least 3 years. I do know that lillys and bearded ireses are popular for this but they only bloom once a year. Violets might be your bet. Good luck!!!