Okra 'White Velvet'

Pods are absolutely spineless; the velvet name is well earned, as that is how they feel. No need for a ladder in the late season, as pla...Read Morents only grow to about 6 feet. No need to trim side branches; every branch will make pods. No need to cut leaves to force fruiting; you can't stop them from making pods. When I was tired of eating and putting up okra, I left the plants to dry up the last few pods for seed. To my surprise, when I went to collect, I found the top 2 feet of each stem covered with pods. Plenty of dry ones for seed, with fresh ones still forming at the top! Hands down the best experience I have ever had growing okra. It is sad that this variety is becoming so hard to find. I will be saving seed from it for years to come.

Edit, September 2011: I previously said that they only grow to 6 feet, but they proved me wrong this year. Not sure if I gave them more fertilizer than I thought or if they are just adapting to my garden, but this year's plants are over 9 feet high! I've also noticed increased production with successive generations. The first few years I grew these I needed 9 plants to get enough in a single picking to bring in and cook; now 4-5 seem to be plenty.

White Velvet is an older variety which is no longer readily available. It is similar in growth and production to Emerald but has pale green pods.