Climbing Okra

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If picked while still young and tender, vine okra has a sweet, delicate taste and can be used like summer squash. For boiling, stirfrying, or steaming, select fruit that are no more than 6" to 7" long. You can then peel them—or simply slice off the ridges, as the Chinese do.

For batter-frying, choose pods that are 10" to 12" long and 2" or so in diameter. Cut the fruit into 1/4"-thick slices, leaving the peel on to hold the tender morsels together as they cook. Dip the slices in a milk-egg mixture, then in flour or cornmeal before frying.

Harvest the fruit of the climbing okra regularly, even if you have to give some of your crop away. Like other cucurbits, this vining plant should not be allowed to set seed—that is, produce mature fruit—until fall. (Once it does, the vine begins to wither.) Come September, you can allow a few pods to ripen on the vine for next year's seed supply.

If you enjoy craft projects, you might want to let a few pods dry as gourds. They turn a warm light brown and make interesting additions to dried arrangements that are especially appropriate for Thanksgiving. However, if a frost is forecast before your gourds are thoroughly dried, cut them off the vine and hang them by their stems in a warm, dry place indoors.

A VINE WAY TO GET A GARDEN STARTED

Climbing okra requires the same growing conditions as melons and cucumbers . . . soil that's rich in organic matter, and plenty of sun. The plants are very sensitive to cold and won't thrive in wet, chilly soil. You can start climbing okra seeds outdoors when nighttime temperatures are staying above 55°F. Or plant them indoors (no more than three weeks before your best guess at what will be the last frost date) by sowing two seeds for each 3"- to 4"-diameter pot. Remove the weaker seedling from each container as soon as the little plants have developed their first set of true leaves.

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