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Old July 1, 2020   #12
zendog
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: VA-7a
Posts: 121
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Good job! Someone at my community garden sowed all his okra in a clump and then moved them to rows when they were a couple inches tall. Good thing he had a ton of seedlings, since only about 20% made it. They definitely don't like being transplanted, but with the care you gave them it can work.

For okra, like a lot of things I direct sow, I've gone to soaking them and then keeping them in a lightly moist paper towel in a plastic bag until they sprout. Then I know when I sow them that close to 100% will come up so I can space them accordingly. I also find it helps get good germination if I'm starting them a little earlier when the soil isn't as warm as they might prefer.

It is interesting to see the different days to germinate each variety takes. A lot of the longer types (Burmese, Perkins Long Pod, Bowling Red, etc.) germinate in the paper towels in just a few days and mostly all at once, the the fat types (Eagle Pass, Star of David, etc.) take a week and sometimes longer to show any life and then germinate a few at a time each day. Perhaps it is my seed source, but I was really worried when I first tried Eagle Pass that all my seed was bad and then they finally started to germinate.
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