Harvesting Okra Seeds

Our okra plants are still producing nicely, so I decided to leave a few okra on the plants to mature fully for seed harvesting.  While okra tastes best when it is small and dark green, it is ideal to wait until the okra is giant and faded to a creamy white before picking if the aim is to collect lots of mature seeds.  After harvesting, leave the okra to air dry.  I leave them on top of our microwave, but you can also let them dry outside.  After a few days, the okra will be dried out and the seeds ready for collection.  Just split open the orka vertically, easily done with your fingers, and let the seeds drop into a bowl.  Label and store for next year.