Steve Yoder
I'm Steve, a 30-something urban gardener fascinated by companion planting research. Growing up surrounded by greenery sparked my passion for gardening early on. I enjoy transforming my small backyard, experimenting with companion planting techniques and eco-friendly practices. Sustainability matters—I advocate for native plants and composting.
Table of Contents
Okra is a low-growing vegetable that produces edible pods. It’s easy to grow and it thrives in warm weather. It grows well with other vegetables too. As always, there are certain plants you must when planting okra. Now, you will learn more about this wonderful plant and okra companion plants.
Okra in General
Grow okra in a greenhouse. That is the best circumstance for it. Only in sunny vineyards, you can dare to grow it outside in the garden. The tropical fruit needs at least six hours of sun a day, otherwise, it will bear little or no pods. The soil for cultivation should be loose and permeable. Also, okra is always hungry, it needs a lot of nutrients. The optimal pH1 for the cultivation of okra is between 6.5 and 7.0.
The delicious and healthy pod needs plenty of water to grow and thrive. The okra does not survive drought, but you can’t give it too much water. Thus, water your okra every day, even daily on hot days. The best time for this is in the early morning.
About two months after planting okra, it’s time for the first harvest. Use a sharp knife or pruning shears for this. The pods should be between eight to ten centimeters long for harvesting. Cut the stem in front of the pod.
Best Okra Companion Plants
Parsley and Okra
Parsley is a good companion plant for okra. It will repel pests and attract beneficial insects. Also, its strong fragrance gets parsley among good okra companion plants. The smell of parsley deters aphids2 and other bugs that eat off plants. Besides repelling pests, parsley will also attract beneficial insects like bees and ladybugs. These help keep pest populations under control.
Potatoes as Okra Companion Plants
Potatoes are excellent companion plants to okra. They provide a good source of nitrogen for okra, which is essential for healthy growth. Plant potatoes at the same time as the okra seeds and they will help keep the weeds down around their roots. Potatoes and okra both belong to the nightshade family.
Peppers with Okra
Peppers are also good okra companion plants. They help okra to grow and thrive, which is important since it’s not easy to grow these plants on their own.
Celery, Carrots and Dill as Companions
Celery, carrots, and dill are all good companion plants for okra. They help to deter pests like aphids, carrot flies, and whiteflies.
Eggplant & Okra
One more addition to okra companion plants are eggplants. Plant them in the same bed or use eggplant as a trap crop to lure pests away from your okra plants.
Eggplants are also great at attracting beneficial insects and pollinators to the garden. Especially, when they’re flowering during the summer months.
Okra and Beans
Okra and beans are a classic companion planting combination. Beans fix nitrogen in the soil, which helps okra to grow more and produce more pods than it would without beans. The canopy of beans provides shade for okra, helping it stay cool and avoid sunscald. Furthermore, attracting beneficial insects to your garden is always a good thing!
For the largest effectiveness, you must consider the gap between them. Plant your beans around two or three feet apart, with rows spaced four feet apart between each row of plants. Plant them closer together so that their leaves overlap if you want to profit from the shade.
Corn with Okra
The last okra companion plant we are presenting today is corn. This legume will share its nitrogen-rich fertilizer with okra. This means that you’ll need less fertilizer than usual to keep your garden healthy.
What Not to Plant With Okra
Most gardeners consider nematodes useful for the garden. But they are harmful to okra because these tiny creatures like to feed on the young roots of okra plants. The presence of nematodes is high in soils where broccoli or squash is growing. Avoid planting them next to each other. Even wait a whole year after digging your broccoli and squash out, before planning okra. Apart from this consideration, there are no bad okra companion plants.
References
- Bai, L., Zhu, P., Wang, W., & Wang, M. (2020). The influence of extraction pH on the chemical compositions, macromolecular characteristics, and rheological properties of polysaccharide: The case of okra polysaccharide. Food Hydrocolloids, 102, 105586.
- Chakraborti, S., & Nandi, P. (2022). Search for safer ways to protect Okra plants. Journal of Entomological Research, 46(2), 272-277.