Companion Planting
If you plunk the good okra fellow plants you ’ll better your garden . We ’ve got information about what ’s correct and wrong for your okra !
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Okra , Abelmoschus esculentus , is one of the hardiest plants in the mallow menage . It is thought to have originated in Africa and Asia but today it is turn across the United States , especially in temperate zones and mild time of year . But did you get laid that there are great okra companion plants that will enhance your garden effort ?
Growing lady’s-finger plantsis not hard if you have full sun and good soil in your garden . They need plenty of space for estimable veg product . Each okra plant life will take at least two pes between itself and the next one . And because they are marvellous , they will produce patches of shade . Any full sun needs in your garden should go to the south of your okra plant crops .
An gumbo plant ’s attach to bloom are light upon in color and give off an aroma so endearing , it has been used historically as a base in aroma . Sow some seed and in a few months tall stalks tower up to 6 or 7 feet over you and the rest of your garden . Okra is justificatory and releases spines when harvest into gardeners ’ hand . Spines are much humble than cactus backbone and can be gravel to the tegument . Still , consuming okra is worth the effort and the tenuous painfulness here and there .
If you ’ve ever seen a row or two of gumbo arise in the summer , you know it can withstand the intense heat of even the deep Confederate States of America . But it thrives well in meek clime too . Nutritionally , lady’s-finger is a great source of protein , fibre , and carbohydrates . It is eminent in vitamin and alimentary content too . Be indisputable to glean the pod at the right time . Overripe pods are often too fibrous to exhaust .
If you need to originate okra plant and offer its stain with a healthy system of rules in which to proliferate , try companion planting ! Okra is tall and can ply shade for lower - lying greenery that covers the primer when they grow in your garden . Before we talk about which okra companions are best , permit ’s get into the basics of what companion planting is .
What Is Companion Planting?
fellow planting is an organic gardening practice of sow seeds or transplanting different fruit , vegetables , flowers , and herbs next to one another for mutual support . The most well - known of all companion planting practices is Three Sisters . This method of maturation , which originated in tribal cultivation , involves seeding squash , bean , and corn together . As the three grow from seed , they furnish a mutual system that supports each in a beneficial feedback loop .
In the Three Sisters method acting , edible corn is one of those improbable plants that provides squash with shade to shroud the primer coat . Okra can stand in for clavus , put up vining bean with a stalk to climb and grow . The dome vines provide all three with atomic number 7 that helps respectable theme break and in bit the flavor of each flora is enhance . The bean vine also works to keep pests away from squash racquets plants , and the squash shields Zea mays stalks or okra from pests and weeds too .
Three Sisters is just one example of companion planting . More generally , companion are practiced neighbors that can gross out pest insect in a mental process call trap cropping . blighter stop up in the bunker crop , like pepper plants or tomato rather than feasting on the okra . Just a few companions can pull beneficial insects to handle gadfly problems . Inviting lacewings give lacewing nymphs little pest like aphid to prey on .
Some plants may improve the flavor of others or help them to grow via nitrogen - repair . For example , beans are atomic number 7 - influence peddler and can help supply the nitrogen need of leafy putting green . Low - lie plants can play as ground cover and boil down Mary Jane that fight for nutrients . Taller plant like okra provide dappled sun for other plant if necessary . tight - grow plants can be used as dustup markers for slow - germinating mixed bag so you do n’t accidentally bivalent - plant an arena . This is great particularly if you ’re shape in a high production setting .
So what is okra doing in the soil , and what are the best fellow plant for gumbo ?
Good Okra Companion Plants
Although an gumbo industrial plant can be a bit spiny to human hands , it ’s a neat companion to many others . Most of your common garden truck will do well with okra . But which are salutary ? Gardening with okra companions will give your garden a great boost and will also provide you with a way to watch a few tip on how all these system work together .
Like many redolent herbs , basilis among the just fellow traveler plants for okra . Basil repels dreaded spider mites , flea beetle , and whitefly due to compounds in St. Basil the Great leaves that are toxic to diminished pests . An added bonus to engraft basil among your Abelmoschus esculentus is it will also repel mosquitos . The last thing anyone want to do when they ’re harvesting okra is devote nature ’s taxes in the form of many bites ! To admit basil among your okra plant , plant mature part about 6 inches apart at the bag of okra stalks .
Another great herb for okra iscilantro , which draw in hoverflies that prey upon aphids . Cilantro also deters potato beetle . To garden with cilantro , tuck start of it under ground cover plants . It does n’t necessitate a wad of sun to do well and it can be planted early on in the arise time of year when the weather is cool . A good garden friend , Chinese parsley is a salutary companionfor many species .
Onionsandgarlicare good to gumbo as a pest repellent as well . Like St. Basil , onion and garlic greens discourage insect pests like Scarabaeus sacer beetles and aphids . They also dissuade rabbits who opt light tastes than the hard flavor ofgreen onionsor garlic scapes . Onions and garlic assistant to break up the soil and help okra source recover water and nutrients .
Everyone knows there are layers of benefit that come from planting flowers in your garden . Pollination is key in flowering plants and in organic gardening too . Plantsunflowersalong the margin of your okra plant garden to pull in central pollinators like bees , hummingbird , and butterflies that move from sunflower to your okra plant . This is just one exercise of companions that are great for attracting pollinator . Zinniasare also beloved by bee , as arecalendulas . Nasturtiumsare keen for deterring insect pests as well . And okra plant is a expert fellow for more delicate flowers .
terra firma handle plants likemelonsandcucumberare excellent for preventing the growth of weed that can sap nutrient from your gumbo . Okra grows tall provide shade for cucurbit that favour dappled sun . Planting cucumber and melon flora also add an special stratum of pollination power to your garden as okra prime grow before fruits produce . Since these plants are spreader , it ’s just to implant melon or cuke two to three pes between plant . Give them a large berth to work with .
Lettuce , prickly-seeded spinach , andpeasare all fast - producing plants that can be harvested while your okra plant is still mature . For the same reason that cucurbits like to be with lanky plants in the garden , lettuce , spinach , and pea relish living below an okra plant and relish in the tone it provides . More specifically , peas relish cooler conditions , so plant them with okra in the early stages before the pods have matured enough for crop . When their liveliness cycle end for the season , cut down the greens and get the decaying thing feed your vegetable increase .
Lettuce does not have an extended surreptitious organisation as its roots are not that cryptical . So they wo n’t herd out other companions you found with your okra . Feel liberal to plant them near most other companions . bang that lettuces and greens require extra water for crispness and flavor , so garden with them will require extra maintenance in that area .
Peppers such asbell peppersorjalapenosare great veggie for gumbo . Not only do peppercorn reduce pests like dinero worms near fellow traveller , but okra is also tall enough to protect the more fragile capsicum flora from solid winds . Madagascar pepper can be plant between okra plants in former spring or summertime ( depending on how hot it gravel where you last ) . Any pepper variety will do as long as the timing is right .
Eggplantandtomatoare other summertime plants that you could constitute with your Abelmoschus esculentus . If institute with sunflower , expect an extra boost as sunflowers enjoy sharing grime with both plants . Eggplant loves shade and grow smaller than tomatoes , for example . brinjal also promote the potassium content in the soil which okra loves . As you water your eggplant , it releases nutrients into the soil that fertilize okra harvest . Both are expectant for deterring stink hemipterous insect , put up trap craw .
Other ice chest weather crop likeradishestend to enjoy the benefit of being near a craw of okra . Okra also appreciate the way radish offend up the soil making style for roots to originate as they seek out water in the territory . Radishes are not bad class - bout producers that survive in most filth and last a longsighted clip after harvesting . They ’re a veg deserving a try if you ’ve never grown them before !
What Not To Plant With Okra
On the whole , works lady’s-finger and acquire lady’s-finger with any respectable fellow traveller . It ’s very friendly to others in the garden and there are n’t many “ do n’t ’s ” when it comes to planting with okra . There are a span of formula of thumb , however .
radical burl nematodeslove the same conditions that okra plant do : full Lord’s Day and live weather . They can proliferate in the same weather and make it so that nutrient absorption is more difficult for Abelmoschus esculentus plants , which not only depletes the plant of nutrients but also make crop more unmanageable or impossible .
Frequently Asked Questions
Q : Can I plant marigolds with lady’s-finger ?
A : Yes ! In fact , marigoldswill help deter detrimental nematodes that can block nourishing absorption in your Abelmoschus esculentus crop . Okra and marigold make out each other . Give them plenty of Sunday , and space adequately . marigold demand about 10 column inch of space between plants . Okra needs a lot more space between itself and other gumbo plants but can have smaller plants nestled between .
Q : Can you plant cucumbers and Hibiscus esculentus together ?
A : cucumber and melon are two of okra ’s best-loved fellow traveller . cucumber cater ground cover for gumbo that prevents weed growth and keep nutrient content funnel into okra stalks . They can also act as an offhand trap for plague that would otherwise banquet on okra leaves .
