When is the best time to sow okra? A detailed guide to sowing time

Okra, also known as coffee okra, originated in India and likes warmth but fears severe cold. To grow okra well, you first need to choose the right time to plant it. When is it better to sow okra? How do you grow it?

1. When to sow okra

In the South, where temperatures are higher, it can be sown in February to March; in riverside and coastal areas, sow in April; in the North, where temperatures are lower, start sowing in May.

2. How to grow okra

1. Okra can be direct-sown or raised as seedlings and transplanted. Soak the seeds for 12 hours before sowing, then place them at 25-30°C to germinate, and sow after most seeds have sprouted white. If direct sowing, sow 2-3 seeds per hole, using about 300-500 grams of seed per mu. You can also raise seedlings in plug trays and transplant when the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves.

2. It is better to choose soil with high organic matter content and a deep soil layer for growing it. Before sowing, deeply plow and prepare the land into beds, and apply enough base fertilizer: about 3000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer per mu, 15-20 kg of diammonium phosphate, and 15 kg of potassium sulfate. Make the land into raised beds 1.2 m wide, with drainage ditches 20-30 cm wide between the beds. Note that okra is a light-loving crop, so cultivation should not be too dense, with a plant spacing of 40-50 cm.

3. Okra is a moisture-tolerant plant with tall plants and a relatively high water requirement. After emergence and after seedling establishment, water once each time; during flowering and fruit setting, water frequently to keep the soil moist, especially in hot weather and during the peak harvest period, when the water requirement is high, so water supply should be maintained even more; but when there is excessive rain, drain it promptly to avoid waterlogging damage.

4. In the early growth stage, it needs more nitrogen fertilizer, and in the middle and late stages it needs more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, so it needs multiple topdressings during its growth period. Combined with watering, apply 15 kg of urea per mu in three topdressings at seedling establishment, fruiting, and full fruiting stages (from the second topdressing onward, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers also need to be added), to promote high yield.

5. When the branches and leaves are too lush, properly prune the basal side branches and remove old leaves. In the middle and late growth stages, after harvesting tender pods, keep 1-2 leaves below the pod and remove all the remaining lower leaves. Pinch off the growing tip when the plant reaches 1.2-1.5 m tall.

6. The main disease is viral disease, and the main pests are cotton bollworm, aphids, thrips, and so on. Viral disease should be prevented mainly; cotton bollworm mainly damages the fruit and can be sprayed with 9080 or wolfsbane toxin; aphids and thrips mainly damage the pods and can be sprayed with a 1000-fold solution of 10% imidacloprid.

Okra can be planted in spring, summer, and autumn, generally with spring sowing as the main season. Growing okra requires good control of temperature.