Remove old pods from the plant or it will stop producing. When pruned, the plants develop a bush rather than a single stalk which usually makes harvesting difficult. Okra is a self-pollinated crop, and seed can be saved from one year's garden for the next. To do so, allow some of the pods to remain on the plant, and harvest them when they become fully mature and almost dry at the end of the season. Subsequent production is greatly curtailed when okra pods are allowed to remain on the plant.
Okra seed remain viable for up to five years.
This selection produces red-colored okra. When cooked, the red disappears and the pods take on the normal green appearance. Q. Small drops of liquid are oozing from various areas on the leaves and stems of my okra plants. The liquid is natural secretions from the glands on the leaves and stems of the okra plant. The process is natural and causes no damage.