Okra Help needed

[Roopesh Vakharia]

Okra showing symptoms of very dark green leaves turning a pale green is a phosphorus deficiency. Your pictures show this but they also show signs of either thrips or spider mites. The leaves appear to have been sucked almost dry of chlorophyll thus turning them the light yellowish green blotchy color. I would treat with a high phosphorus plant food and spray the both sides of the leaves with a regimen of Neem Oil. Also on the first and third picture there appears to be a reddish insect. Just to be on the safe side I would also spray with either spinosad (if available) or a pyrethrin.

The redish thing is just some chilli powder to scare the squirrels away, but it doesnt work it seems, they eat all my hibiscus buds and leaves

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for all the help. Have mixed a handfull each of vermicompost, organic fertiliser and neem flakes to the soil. hope it regrows to full strentgh or will change the soil and plant new. will update.

You really need to spray for spider mites and/or thrips. Those light colored blotches are a sign of sucking insects. Organic fertilizers and compost are great but they do not have much phosphorus. If you can put bone meal onto your plants.

 

[alp]

I am blushing now... Er, what is cornmeal? You mean cornflour? When I was young, I used a lot of cornflour when I cooked. My mum taught me: a bit of salt, a bit of sugar (I never understand the logic of using sugar and salt at the same time, but as mum said so, ...) a bit of oil, a bit of soya sauce, a bit of pepper and a bit of cornflour, the diced chicken would come out nice and smooth.

I don't think I have seen any ready made tempura mix in this country. Let's put it this way, I have made tempura 3 times and all ended in disasters and once ended up throwing the saucepan away as the flour all stuck to the bottom of the saucepan.

Oh, dear! There is yet another term - Cornstarch!

Thank you all for the lovely suggestions. By the way, what is buttermilk? I need to go to the shop to have a look! That's why I am divorced... No good at kitchen! You guys put me to shame!

 

[DirtMechanic]

@alp you will be a lot of work but I will endeavor translation when I get loose from work today. World peace is possible through fried okra.

 

[DirtMechanic]

@Roopesh Vakharia onion and garlic have the same effect, maybe stronger, as pepper. A dogs nose knows.

 

[DirtMechanic]

@Roopesh Vakharia this is my squirrel pacification device.

 

[alp]

World peace is possible through fried okra.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Do not question me.

edit: lol my stomach has gotten me this far!

 

[DirtMechanic]

@alp, the cornmeal is a coarser grind of corn, and is used best when browning with oil or butter. Cornbread cooking in a cast iron pan with a little oil or butter gets such a nice tasty crust when well baked!

Buttermilk is used a great deal in breadmaking here. Buttermilk biscuits for example. You cannot taste it when cooked, and it makes a nice soft bread. Old-fashioned homemade buttermilk is the slightly sour, residual liquid which remains after butter is churned. It is usually flecked with tiny spots of sweet, creamy butter that did not quite make it to the top to be skimmed. The liquid is left to ferment overnight, which converts the milk sugars into lactic acid.

Corn flour as you call it probably is cornstarch, as that is another name for the extremely fine powder made from corn to which I referred.

 

[alp]

Thank you for the enlightenment!

Haha! Now I have one more name - cornbread???!!!

I've heard of starch - something to stiffen a collar. Once I bought a breadmaker as it was cheaper than the one I liked. When I saw the buttermilk in the instructions, I returned it as I had never heard of it and actually one asked for milk powder or something like that. The instructions just sounded so alient to me. I don't even add butter to our bread as it has been OK when I don't add butter.

Good to know. I will go to a bigger store to nose around and find out it they store all the the named terms here!

 

[DirtMechanic]

Haha careful I would see that anyone around me ate enough to gain at least a half kilogram!

 

[alp]

Haha careful I would see that anyone around me ate enough to gain at least a half kilogram!

You mean it has the same effect as beer to Adonis!?