Okra
Abelmoschus esculentus
Vegetables Difficulty: Moderate
📖 About this plant
A heat-loving warm-season vegetable producing distinctive elongated, tapered pods used in soups, stews, and stir-fries. Known for its mucilaginous (slimy) texture when cooked. Okra thrives in hot weather where many other vegetables fail, producing attractive hibiscus-like yellow flowers before setting pods.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
☀️
Light
Full sun (8+ hrs)
💧
Water
Every 2-3 days
💨
Humidity
Moderate (50-65%)
🌡️
Temperature
22-35°C
🪴
Soil
Well-draining sandy loam with good organic matter; pH 6.0-7.0
🧪
Fertilizer
Balanced fertilizer at planting; side-dress with low-nitrogen fertilizer when plants are 20 cm tall and again when pods begin to set
🌐 Common Names
HI
Hindi
भिंडी
BN
Bengali
ভেন্ডি
MR
Marathi
भेंडी
TE
Telugu
బెండకాయ
TA
Tamil
வெண்டைக்காய்
GU
Gujarati
ભિંડી
UR
Urdu
بھنڈی
KN
Kannada
ಬೆಂಡೆ
OR
Odia
ବେଣ୍ଡା
ML
Malayalam
ഭേണ്ടിക്കായ
PA
Punjabi
ਭਿੰਡੀ
AS
Assamese
বেণ্ডি
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- West Africa, Ethiopia
- 📏 Max height
- 90-180 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 30-60 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Summer - Fall
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow, Cream
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Annual
- 📈 Growth rate
- Fast
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic; all parts edible including pods, seeds, and leaves. Some people have skin irritation from okra fuzz
- 🌱 Propagation
- Direct sow seeds 2.5 cm deep after soil reaches 21°C; soak seeds overnight to speed germination
🛡️ Health & Safety
🐾 Pet safe
✅ Non-toxic
Non-toxic; all parts edible including pods, seeds, and leaves. Some people have skin irritation from okra fuzz
Common issues
- Root-knot nematodes in warm soils
- Aphids and stinkbugs on pods
- Tough
- woody pods if not harvested young
💡 Care tips
- Heat-loving crop that thrives in summer temperatures
- Harvest pods when 3-4 inches long before they become tough
- Wear gloves when harvesting as pods can irritate skin
- Beautiful hibiscus-like flowers make it ornamental too
🪴 Add to My Plants
One click — added instantly. Watering every 3 days, fertilizing every 30 days.
