During a long growing season, apply additional fertilizer every four to six weeks. Use 1 pound of ammonium nitrate or urea per 100 feet of row. Shallow cultivation near the plant keeps down weeds. The flower on the okra plant blooms for only one day. For early harvests of okra, use black plastic mulch to warm the soil and plant transplants through the mulch when the soil is 60 degrees or warmer.
Okra pods are ready for harvest four to seven days after the flower opens.
Harvest pods every other day. Remove mature pods and discard as they reduce the plant's production ability. The large pods rapidly become tough and woody. When the stem is too difficult to cut, the pod is too old to use. The plant bears until frost, and four or five plants produce enough okra for most families.