Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Down in the Okra Patch

Have I mentioned how much we love okra? We didn't name our place Okra Hill Farm for nothing--this crop continues to produce. Although we're used to seeing these plants growing, most folks who visit our place for the first time always ask "Now, what's that growing right there?" pointing to the pretty pale yellow flowers. 

Okra is in the hibiscus family. Where the blooms are, an okra pod eventually arrives. 

You can see the various stages of the okra on this plant...pre-bloom (top), bloom (left), and small pod (right). 

We're not the only ones who enjoy the okra...

 I spent a few minutes researching online what these black ants are up to on the okra but I can't find a definitive answer. They don't appear to be harming the plant--and move away when I pick the pods. 

 Here are my three boys in the okra patch. We've jumped right back into the routine of going to the garden every morning, thanks to the stroller. It's hard to believe that I've been a mama of three boys for almost a month!

Oh and green beans...goodness, the green beans that just WON'T stop! I've been picking buckets full, trying to find people to take these off my hands. I hate to see the food go to waste--but at some point we're probably just going to pull up the vines and be done with them. I've finally mastered picking the younger, tender beans, which means no strings. We're spoiled by the "stringless" green beans we get at Publix (grocery store) and I don't always do the best job removing the strings before cooking the beans. I'm getting better though.

All this said, I think we may be nearing that "tired of green beans" point!

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