How to Save Okra Seeds- Simple Steps to Save Organic Good Quality Seeds
Okra is one of the easiest vegetables to grow. It is one of those vegetables that never disappoint you. Usually, I grow the plants from the purchased seeds but this year, I decided to save seeds for the next year. Here are some simple ways to save Okra seeds.
Step1
The first step to collecting good quality seeds is to pick a healthy and strong mother plant from your garden.
Step 2
Then the next step is to prepare early in the season when the fruits are big and healthy. I let a few pods stay on the plants. I do not harvest them until the pods become completely dry.
Step 3
The third step is to harvest and dry the pods for a few more days until they are completely dried.
Step 4
And finally, we are going to open the pods to save the seeds.
I’m saving seeds of two different varieties. One is this Louisiana Long Velvet okra and the other one is a smaller variety named crimson. Both are very tasty and even though they get pretty big they stay tender.
I measured the lengths of okra pods. The long one was almost 10.5 inches long. The Clemson variety was also 7.5 inches long.
You also need to keep seed bags ready. I’m using these Ziploc bags but you can buy special seed bags if you want to protect your seeds better. I typically write down the name of the variety, the date on which we are saving the seeds and you can add some additional details about the seeds like the size of the fruit or any other special characteristics. That way you can make better decisions while sowing the seeds and use the best available seeds.
The pods are very crunchy and hard because I dried them well. Take a big plate or a tray underneath because okra seeds are like small balls and they are going to bounce off the plate in all directions if you are not careful.
You can also use a blade to open the pod first and then carefully take the seeds out. They are arranged in columns so when you slit the sides it is easier to just drop them down in the plate.
Out of curiosity, I compared the size of the seeds with the original seeds. The seeds from my plants are distinctively bigger than the seeds that I had purchased. So, if you give good nutrition and care to the plants, you can produce your seeds bigger and better than the purchased ones.
I hope that next year, I’ll get even bigger okras. Can’t wait to germinate these seeds.
