I’m growing Lady Fingers in drought. Down in Africa, we love okra as a slimy vegetable dish. Some people even make okra with fish or meat mixed in it. It doesn’t matter because the slimy okra vegetable is simply delicious! Growing okra in drought is easy because it is a hardy plant that can thrive with minimal watering.
But starting okra seeds can be a difficult process if you have never tried to grow okra at home. Okra seeds have a tough shell, making sprouting difficult. If you want to encourage the fast sprouting of okra seeds at home, you can try out the three methods below.
1 Sprouting okra seeds by soaking them in warm water overnight
This is the first method gardeners use to break the outer hard shell of Okra. Take care not to use hot water when you want to sprout okra seeds.
2 Sprouting okra seeds by scratching or scarifying the outer skin
You can rub the okra seeds on a hard surface to soften the outer shell. Scarifying makes it easy for the seed to germinate due to a softened shell coming into contact with water.
3 Sprouting okra seeds by soaking them in cold water for two days
I prefer the third method because it works faster than the first two. I soaked the dry okra seeds in cold water and let them sit for a day. On the second day, I discarded the water and added fresh cold water to the seeds. I let the seeds soak in cold water for an extra day. After 48 hours of soaking in the cold water, I got nice sprouted okra seeds for my garden. Within seven days, I got beautiful okra seedlings for my garden.