Anyone grow tall okra in raised beds?

[RalphVa]

I cannot get decent okra nor corn from my raised beds. Used to grow both about 7' tall down below in that 2 or 3 feet of topsoil. After CHF, had to give up the big garden and put in raised beds. Too much effort to weed and to take gobs of mulch down to the big garden and to quickly clear it if a flood was forecast.

Been saving toilet paper and towel paper rolls and even have some larger such rolls in the garage. I'd planned to fill them with mushroom compost and put a couple okra seeds in them to try growing decent okra. Thinking also about just digging post holes in the raised beds and filling them with mushroom compost. Could bring up some of that soil from down below; it's good but also very weedy. My okra down below used to get multiple shoots out to the side at the bottom and formed a huge, multiple root thing at the bottom to keep that tall top up.

Okra and corn are big feeders and also need lots of water, which the soil down below held well. Redoing my soaker hoses in the raised beds to be sure of getting water where I've plants. Before, I just had it snaked in the 4x8 raised beds. I've added more spigots and plan to run it for every row and along the back side where I grow climbing stuff like peas and pole beans.

Any other ideas/answers? A friend of mine at bowling loves her okra. Haven't had any extra to take to her since having the raised beds.

I've just given up on corn. Get good corn, probably that GMO/glyphosate-laced stuff, at the grocery store. Corn really takes up space. Even tried growing it a couple years in cleared spots in the grass in front of the raised beds. Still wouldn't grow more than 18" or so tall and made tiny ears.

Ralph

 

[BlackOps]

i have no issues at all. grew a few green and the orange chinese variety from baker creek last year. they were beautiful color. wife likes okra - i do not not. green were from shaby plants from the co-op and the orange were from seed.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I can see where your corn problem probably lies; it takes a fairly big plot of corn before it will pollinate correctly...also, if you don't have an early maturing variety, it doesn't do well in very hot weather, like we have here in Oklahoma. Okra, on the other hand, I have never had a problem with it; it grows like a weed here. In fact, if you plant it too early, it does not do well, as it is a hot weather plant and has to have warm and wet weather to germinate and do well. The only real problem I ever had was planting it too early. The variety may make a difference; I always had better luck with the full sized as opposed to the dwarf. You might check with your local agricultural extension service.