10 Okra Companion Plants for a Bountiful Harvest

Keep locoweed and pests out of your vegetable garden with these top fellow plants that give okra the good chance to thrive .

Jay Wilde

Okra is a delicious and versatile vegetable that is used in legion recipe , includingflavorful gumbo . The insolence and taste of homegrown okra outmatch anything you buy at the computer storage . Even beginning gardeners have successgrowing okrabecause it ’s a low - sustentation plant . However , gardening with okra companion industrial plant is key to a successful harvest .

flowering okra plant

Credit:Jay Wilde

Companion plantinghas several benefits . The correct fellow traveler plants keep pests aside , promote harvesting , and even improve the maturation and flavor of veg . Here is a list of companion plants that will help you grow a salubrious harvesting crop of okra .

Basil

powerfully odoriferous herbs are often used in fellow traveller planting as their smell helps to dissuade pests . Basil , in particular , keeps aphids and mites aside from neighboring plants . In turn , St. Basil leaves are less potential to develop Lord’s Day scorch when grown in the spectre of taller Abelmoschus esculentus plants . While Genoese St. Basil is a commonbasil character to grow , you may need to keep Thai basil ( shown here ) or else , which is commonly used with okra in an assortment of recipe .

To get the most from St. Basil the Great , pinch off flower bud to keep up flavor — but consider set double the amount so one-half can bloom forpollinatorsand amass seeds .

Beans and Peas

Beansandpeasare used in several ways to benefit gumbo flora . First , pea , beans , and other leguminous plant add N to the soil , improving the nutrient substance of gardens and supporting the growth of okra plant plants over time . Vining bean and peas also apply the marvellous prow of gumbo as anatural treillage . Bush beans that originate humble to the ground suppress sess and shield soil from vivid Dominicus with their dense leafage .

Cosmos

Okra is a self - pollinating plant , it does n’t necessarily require insects to acquire seedcase . However , the best okra companion plant are 1 thatattract pollinators , which are always good to the okra plant . you may bear an increase in pollination rate and a boon to your gumbo harvest . Cosmos flowersare top choices among pollinators and growing them in your garden lures bees , butterflies , and other good insect to your okra plants . Some of these louse may also prey on okra pests , which is a win - win for you .

Coneflowers

Coneflowersare attractivenative plantsthat are perennials throughout much of the United States . As a top pollinator plant life , coneflower will pull bees and other beneficial insect to your garden , hike pollination rates and aid you grow a larger harvest . Plus , coneflower are exceedingly small - maintenance plants and they are comparatively drought - liberal once established , which cause caring for them a breeze .

Leave coneflower seedheads through wintertime to provide a naturalfood source for shuttle .

Cucumbers

Cucumbersand okra are pure garden companion because they have similar care requirements . They both expand in full Sunday and moist , rich soil . Vining cucumber help shield the soil around okra plants , prevent weeds and reducing soil moisture evaporation . However , cucumber vine may need to be dress or trellised to keep them from flood out your okra flora . Bush - type cucumber stay much smaller . They can also be produce incontainer gardensalong with Abelmoschus esculentus .

Hot Peppers

Cabbage wormsare serious garden pestilence that prey on a range of vegetables , including okra leaf . But planting hot pepper near your gumbo can keep cabbage worms away . If you want to get even more out of yourpepper plants , make a homemade garden spray with red-hot peppers and ail , which will repel a variety of garden pests .

flora hedgerow of louse - friendly flowers to attract the cabbage looper ’s natural predators and help control these pest in your garden .

Melons

Carson Downing

Melonsare top okra fellow plants , avail with their broad , flat folio . The foliage acts as a live mulch around the base of gumbo plants , sheltering the grime from too much sun and smothering out troublesome weeds . Melons and okra also have alike grow want , and since melon grow lower to the ground , they wo n’t block the twinkle from reaching your okra plant .

Oregano

The impregnable aroma oforeganohelps dissuade different plague . With its groundcover - similar growing use , oregano acts as a living mulch , keeping mourning band from germinate around the base of okra . Aperennialthat is winter - Thomas Hardy even in coolheaded climates , Origanum vulgare will come back reliably year after year .

usurious oregano flowers to make a soothing afternoon tea that may aid assuage coughing and sore pharynx .

Radishes

Cameron Sadeghpour

Radishesare some of the fastest - growing vegetables you could grow . Planted at regular intervals around the base of your lady’s-finger , you will usually get a harvest or two of radishes in before your gumbo ripens . Plus , daikon act as a trap craw forflea beetles . Another benefit is that their roots snap off up problematical soil , make it easier for okra beginning to spread .

Zinnias

Zinniasare another plant that pollinators ca n’t resist . When farm near okra , zinnias will lure in bee and otherbeneficial worm , which may translate into a large okra harvest . What ’s more , the scent of zinnias run to lure whiteflies by from your okra . And , of course , the gorgeous bloom of zinnias animate up any garden in pinks , purpleness , orangeness , and other cheery colors .

Do not institute okra next to any crop that is susceptible to settle greyback nematode worm : aubergine , squash , tomato , and sweet potato . The microscopically small roundworms that live in the territory harm roots to the point where the plant life can not take in water and food any longer .

“ Herbs for Pollinator Gardens . ”University of Florida IFAS Extension Gardening Solution .

‘Sweet Thai’ basil

Credit: Carson Downing

Bogdonas , Kristin . “Flowers in the Kitchen : Oregano Flowers . ”University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign College of Agriculture , Consumer & Environmental Sciences.2014 .

shelling bean plant with red blossoms