One of the most common questions we receive is where to find seeds of a certain fruit, vegetable, herb or flower in their city.

More often than not, the seeds are usually available in local gardening shops and seed stores which sell branded and fungicide-treated packets of seed at decent prices. Good shop-sellers usually tell their customers whether the seeds are new or old. This is because, many times, older seeds have a reduced germination rate, ie a decreased percentage of the seeds sown are likely to sprout.

One can also get seeds and pots with seedlings at plant nurseries as well. The only issue with buying seedlings of any vegetable directly from nurseries is that the buyer is unaware of the vegetable variety being grown and has to blindly trust the word of the seller.

However, harvesting your own bag of fresh seeds to grow in the next season is the next step towards kitchen gardening. For many gardening lovers, harvesting one’s own seeds to grow bears almost the same satisfaction that one may get from harvesting one’s own food, nothing less.

One or two pods of okra can provide dozens of seeds which are enough to grow for the next season

The methods of seed collection and seed harvest from the fruit or the parent plant may differ from each other. It may depend on, but not be limited to, the type, location, hardness and size of the seeds. Usually, seeds are protected within fruits, pods, flowers or flower bases.

A few weeks ago, we carried a piece on how one can easily grow burgundy okra or the somewhat reddish version of ladyfinger, at home. Today, we will discuss how one can easily harvest and collect okra or ladyfinger seeds at home. The same seed-harvesting process and photographs here apply to all other varieties of okra as well.

The okra plants usually begin producing okra pods from March onwards and continue to do so throughout the summer. As sunlight duration begins decreasing and summer starts to fade, the produce of okra also starts to reduce and diminish both in quantity and taste. With the intention of harvesting seeds, one or two okra pods are not harvested and are left behind on the plant to grow.

With the passage of time, this left-behind okra is likely to grow longer, harder and more woody compared to the previous produce. This pod is now almost bitter to taste and somewhat inedible as well. Many people still have short-cuts and remedies to make it edible, but even then, the taste is far from the fresh-season harvest of the okra produce.

The seeds of okra, too, are edible in their early stages. As the pods turn woody, the seeds within also start to change colour, while becoming inedible and comparatively harder.

Once the pod is brittle enough, it can be cut away from the plant which, at that time, is also likely to be wilting, drying and dying off. Usually at this time, the stiff and brittle pods start showing cracks and opening up on the longitudinal lines across the pod length at different portions. One may even see the seeds within the pods through these cracks while still on the plant.

Carefully, pressure can be applied to the harvested pod and it will open up. Alternatively, one may simply peel off the dried pod. The ready seeds are usually placed in a line within, still attached by their funiculus — or a small stalk — to the pod. The seeds can now be easily detached from the pod.

One or two pods of okra can provide for dozens of seeds, which are more than enough to grow for the next season. The harvested seeds can even be distributed among younger members of the community to augment a fruitful hobby and a healthy activity among children. Utmost care should be taken while storing seeds in an airtight box or pack. It should be kept away from air, moisture and sunlight and kept in a cool, dry place.

Finally, the dying okra plant left behind can be used for compost and fertilisers, and the pot or ground space behind it can be used to transplant seedlings or small plants for the upcoming winter season.

The seeds of okra are rounded, medium-sized, dicotyledonous and ball-shaped. Since it grows well in warmer regions, okra can be planted in Karachi during January and a month or so later in the Punjab region, when winters start to wither away. Within two to three months, the plant will begin producing okra pods for your meal.

Please send your queries and emails to doctree101@hotmail.com. The writer is a physician and a host for the YouTube channel ‘DocTree Gardening’ promoting organic kitchen gardening

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 1st, 2023