Vegetables on a vine....

Does anyone know where I can locate okra on a vine? I found one member through the threads I read and have never heard back, so I thought I might ask everyone if they knew...

The reason is I have a small veg. garden against my fence and last year I grew some cucumbers and cantelope on the fence and it worked very nicely until I planted regular okra and it kinda took over and hardly produced enough to feed a family of three???? So, I was thinking this year I wanted to see if I could find Okra on a vine.....also, my cucumbers ended up getting pulled up towards the end of the summer due to some kind of whitish stuff...I would rinse the plants every morning and pick off as much as I could and it did improve a little but not much till they just stop producing...so is it safe to replant these in the same place????

Any other type of vegetables anyone can think of that would grow on a vine, would greatly appreciated....!! The garden did so well in direct sun, otherwise with tons of tomatoes and bell peppers & peppers...so I was greatful for that...so this year, I plan to enlarge my garden out and plant more!!

Any info is greatly appreciated!!

Rose in Texas

Vine okra is actually a gourd (Luffa) which is edible at a very young stage.
cooper seeds offers this description; "Luffa aegyptiaca. Burpee's 1888 catalogue said, "A natural dishcloth, and a most admirable one. Many ladies prefer this dishcloth. the fruit grow about 2', and the vine is very ornamental, producing clusters of yellow blossoms, in pleasing contrast with the silvery-shaded, dark green foliage. In the North this variety requires to be started in a hotbed. The dried interiors of these gourds have already become an article of commerce; grown in Florida, they are sold by Philadelphia and New York Druggists." The fruit if picked young, are tasty cooked like squash, and have long been popular with the mountain people."
In my opinion, a poor substitute for real okra, Read what others say in the PDB http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/712/

Thanks Farmerdill,
I thought it was too good to be true!!! Shoot...well I'm back to square one...

I'm not about to try in eating gourds, sorry I love Luffa's for what they are and nothing else...but, you did spark my interest in possibly growing some this spring...wish me luck...

I grow the bird house gourds for my granddaughter who loves to paint them and give them away for presents...everyone fights over them now and I will have to grow a lot more next time...

Thanks for the input, if you know of anything delicious I can grow on the fence trellis, let me know!!

Rose in Texas

I grow Butternut & Delicato winter squash on trellis. George

As Geoz states most of the smaller vining types of winter squash will grow on a fence. The smaller icebox watermelons will also do well. You did not mention pole beans. Both snap beans and limas do well in a vertical environment.

The " whitish stuff" that you mentioned in your first post will be either Powdery or Downy mildew. It is a persistant fungus on cucurbits. The first line of defense is resistant cultivars. It can be controlled most of the time with timely applications of fungicides. I usually use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) , some organic growers use milk formulations, and of course copper based fungicides will also work .

Rosebruce...there is still a chance you can grow your "climbing okra" and eat it too.

The type mentioned above, and also in the PDB, is Luffa aegyptiaca. It is mainly grown for dishcloth, filters, etc and grows very big. They're fun to grow and when small are edible.

However, to grow a "climbing okra" specifically for a food crop you need to grow a different type called Luffa acutangula; this one only grows to about 12 inches and is the preferred variety for eating. You may find more info on it listed as "Chinese okra" however, oftentimes I've noticed (as in the Plants DataBase) people use the same term when referring to aegyptiaca. (Aegyptiaca is a "smooth" fruit and rounded on the ends; L. acutangula is heavily ribbed and comes to a point, just like real okra.)

I'll try to find a pic later today sometime.

"Luffa acutangula. The angled loofah is commonly grown in hot, humid tropical areas in Asia. Plants are generally grown on a trellis. Immature fruits, which are dark green with tender ridges, are used in soups and curries or as a cooked vegetable. They generally grow up to 0.6 m (23 inches) in length, and the flesh is spongy although the skin is coarse. The mature fruits are bitter and inedible, but the fibrous skeleton can be used as a sponge. However, the reticulated inner tissue is not as easily separated from the outer skin and inner flesh as L. aegyptiaca (= L. cylindrica)."

It is still a gourd, but quite a bit more rare than the smooth cultivar. Whether it is preferred for eating I don't know. Both types are known as Chinese okra. I never have tried this one but doubt that it tastes anymore like okra than the more common smooth skinned one.

Gourds are a somewhat popular edible in Asian cuisine. Willhite offers Harita, Karela, and Surekha Ridge hybrid gourds and the open pollinated Bitter Green Long and Tinda.

Yep, definitely a "gourd"! Most likely referred to as 'okra' due to its ribs (referring to acutangula here).

There are quite a few folks around here that grow it yearly, and love it! One of my local friends here says, "it's the best tasting okra I've ever had". (He's 84 yrs old; perhaps either his taste buds are completely shot, or are they nowadays more refined? Beats me!)

I'll grow some out this coming year, besides, we need some pics of it in the database, eh?

I was given a few pods of the 'edible' kind. Note that edible is in quotes.

Grew it out the next year, and yes, it bears a resemblance to the real thing and even the taste resembles it.....somewhat.

Never grew it again....the novelty wore off in 1 season.

That being said, I'm a real fiend about my okra. I love it dearly and use it in lots of dishes....this just didn't stack up for an okra lover.

There might be different strains of the gourd, and I may have one of the blander varieties. I'll dig around in my seed box....the seeds are old, but I may not have tossed them....If I still have them, you are welcome to them.

Personally, I'd use the fence space for some kind of bean....lots of production in a small amount of space....and most everyone likes beans...not so for poor old okra.

I have always loved okra, Melody. Breaded and fried - best thing around. Well, I could say that about yellow squash, too. Oh, heavens, I like so much! :)

Question, what kind of climbing lima bean should I try? My space here in OK is limited, so I have to "grow up". :)

If you like the white baby limas (butterbeans in the southeast) the Carolina/ Sieva is the best producer. For colored baby limas, the Florida Speckled Butterbean, for giant limas; white , King of the Garden; colored, Christmas/Calico. There are also a few "heirlooms" out there that are highly rated. See the Plantfiles.

I love the Christmas Lima....but I love them as a dry bean for soup...they are huge, meaty and hold up well when cooked. I'm not much on them fresh...I think the baby 'butterbeans' are better fresh eating.

I should have known I'd be directed to the PlantFiles. :) Thanks for the input. Time to find some sources now.