Okra in September

I did my best to keep up with the okra this year, but in the end, the okra was just too much for me. For the past two months I have been trying to cut okra every two or three days. When it was the third day, I would have to cut and discard about a quarter of the harvest and the rest was a little bigger than ideal. Cutting every two days was better, but in a perfect world, I would be harvesting every day.

Okra before cutting and composting

Well I have found that the world is in fact not perfect and about a week ago I just got busy and didn’t get out to the garden at all. I finally got around to looking out at the garden and there was the okra just mocking me; these giant spears atop six-foot tall stalks. It’s a shame to let so much go to waste, but I have already blanched, sliced and frozen lots of bags of it, I have shared some with other okra-minded folks, and I have several large bags and bowls of it laying around the house.

A few were saved, but most were headed for the compost

Okra is a hard sell to many people. When I tell them I have okra to sell or trade (even give away), I am usually met with a sour face and a comment about gooey slime. I try to tell them how delicious it is cut fresh and roasted or put in soup, but they usually pass. Their loss has been my gain – until now. Now it is the compost pile’s gain.

If I run out over the winter, I’ll be amazed and disappointed, but that seems unlikely.