How many okras per plant? There are many vegetables you can grow out there and of vegetable, you can try growing in your garden is okra. Okra has many health benefits which are why it is great to grow.
Although some people don’t like its taste because it’s slippery when you eat it, it doesn’t matter for those people who love eating okra. That is why there are people who grow okra in their garden. But do you know what is the possible yield of okra per plant?
How Many Okra Per Plant?
A single okra plant can produce 20 to 30+ okra pods. The number of pods per plant may also vary on some factors. If the plant grows well consistently until it matures, then those number of pods may really grow on the plant.
It will be a good harvest if all the okra plants you grow in your garden grow well which will lead to an abundant harvest. Caring okra plant is essential to achieve those number of pods.
The plants have their needs for them to thrive well and give you more pods. The pods are being harvested when they are still young because old pods are hard to eat. But what if your plants don’t bear more okra, what can you do to increase the yield?
How To Increase The Yield Of Okra?
All plants have their needs to achieve healthy growth. You need to make sure that okra plants are getting their needs regularly for them to grow fast.
Some of those needs of okra are sunlight, water, and nutrients. Those things are essential in okra plants’ growth.
Okra Plant Needs Sunlight
You need to grow the okra plant in an open area where it can receive sunlight for around 6 to 8 hours per day. The sunlight helps the okra plant to create their food.
The leaves of okra process the sunlight and converts them into food. When a lot of the sun is being converted by the leaves, the plants will grow faster.
Avoid growing okra plants in the shade because they will grow stunted if they receive less sunlight. Also, stay away from the tall trees because surely they will block the sunlight away from your plants.
Water Is Essential For Okra Plant
The okra plant is drought tolerant which means it can grow well even if there is no water for a couple of days or weeks. It will be great to grow if there is less rainfall in your area.
But still, okra plants need water in order for them to thrive well. You need to keep young okra plants hydrated to make them grow faster and more established. Once the roots of the plants get established, you can lessen the watering.
Okra plants need 1 inch of water per week for them to grow well. Don’t overwater to prevent problems like root rot and yellowing of leaves. You may check the soil moisture first to make sure that you will not overwater the plant.
Fertilizer
Improve the soil nutrients in your garden so that there will be more okra per plant. Poor soil means there are fewer nutrients found in the soil. There are many factors why it happens but you can still improve it by adding fertilizer.
You can use 10-10-10 or 15-5-10 fertilizer in your garden. In that way, the overall growth of the okra plants will be improved. When the plants grow nicely, they may bear a lot of flowers and pods sooner. Fertilize okra plants so that you will achieve 20 to 30+ pods per plant.
Pests Control
Some pests that might attack okra plants are; caterpillars, aphids, thrips, whiteflies, and mites. You need to use pest control on okra to control those pests and stop the damage.
By keeping okra plants in a good condition, the plants will grow to the fullest which can lead to a good harvest. You need to observe the plants regularly to see if the plants are being attacked.
Plant More Okra Plants
If you want more okra pods on your plants, it is great to increase the number of plants you grow in your garden. For example, a single okra plant will produce 20 pods then if you have 10 plants you will get 200 plants all in all.
But sometimes things don’t go that way. Some plants will produce less and some may produce more. By growing a lot of plants you will not worry about the harvest to come. A single pod has many seeds which are great and you can use as many seeds as you can to make your okra garden.
Some pods may grow small and some may grow bigger. If the okra pods in your plant are growing small you can increase okra pod size by keeping them fed with nutrients, sunlight, and good watering.
The pods of okra grow fast and you can pick them in just a day or two. You can harvest okra when they are large enough and still soft. If you are going to save seeds, you need to let the okra pods dry before getting the seeds. You can use those seeds for another growing season.
The okra plant blooms between 50 to 65 days. But in some cases, they may bloom earlier or later. You need to care for okra plants when they are young so that when they mature, the flowers and pods will show up nicely.
When the okra plant does not produce pods, you just need to wait, and sooner the flowers and pods will appear. You will be excited once the first flowers and fruits appear on the plant.
It is great to know how many okra per plant. Knowing that there will be 20 to 30+ pods that may grow on a single okra plant is great. If you have a large garden then you can have a few hundred or even a few thousands of pods to be harvested. You can consume okra or sell some of it at the market to earn some money.
