Zeedman, that sounds similar to what I do now. I get them germinated on heat mat and then outside and into the ground a soon as possible. I seem to have trouble keeping them for any length of time. I think they want that tap root formed and when they can't make it, they don't do well.
The big difference is I use 2" soil blocks that are 50% peat, 25% perlite, and 25% vermicompost. Also a splash of lime bring up the PH. After that dry, a quarter volume of water is added. That is pretty much my starting mix for everything, with generally great success. Okra seeds I will push down into the block, about halfway with a little tube or eraser side of pencil. I always cover with dome to prevent the blocks from drying out. Okra always pops up quick with 90-95F heat mat, two days or so. In the ground is simply too unreliable for me, between lack of heat before late June and lack of water, if it is dry. I am a terrible seed sower; I forget to water consistently. But for okra it is lack of heat until about this time of year.
The problem I have, even doing it this way, is intermittent damping off with okra. This year, with most of my starting trays, I added a bag of old chamomille tea to the water for the soil blocks. I had no damping off this year at all, until the later okra starts. By that time, I had forgotten the tea I guess, plus that was a hectic day. The first two okra flats back in mid-May were fine. I got them out in the ground fairly early, but had losses due to a couple heavy rains and some wind damage flapping my plastic sheets. 75% or more made it and waiting for the heat.
It was a couple weeks later when I coached my brother through two flats, and two days after that a flat of fill-ins for my losses. That was when damping off hit. His two trays just were a complete loss, like dominoes, after two days on heat and then two days outside. After I saw that, my tray went right into the ground instead, with just two days to get the emerging loops showing, and still a few them damped off in the ground.
I don't know if it something particular to okra and its heat requirements or tap root, but I have had more damping off issues with okra than everything else combined. By okra starting time, my basement is humid and warm, compared to cool and medium humidity before May. The vermicompost is mine, from an outside bin I fill over the spring/summer and empty/collect/reset in March. That gets bagged into old dog food bags. Maybe by end of May/June, I'm towards the bottom of the bag and it is wetter, and the temps are higher..? I can't really figure it. I have no problems starting sweet corn, late tomatoes, squash, or anything else at the same time of the year. Grass, I just tested some old grass seed for germination in that same mix and had no problems with damping off.
I guess the next step should be to do a side by side test, same seed same time frame, my regular mix versus no vermicompost. I'd really like to get to the bottom of this and be able to grow okra for transplants or for quick starts like I am doing now, without any damping off.
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