六月底才播秋葵，還來得及嗎？Is Late June Too Late to Sow Okra in the UK?

　　沒想到今年英國遇上熱浪，七、八月的高溫恰巧非常適合秋葵。這棵六月底才播下的秋葵很快便長大、開花、結果，到了八月，我陸續收成了四條相當粗壯的秋葵。第四條之後，天氣轉涼，它也停止生產了。

　　這次經驗讓我知道，在英格蘭南部的夏天，秋葵的確種得到。不過，今年有熱浪幫忙，不能當作一般年份的標準。

　　Then came the heatwaves.

　　The prolonged hot weather in July and August turned out to be exactly what the okra needed. The plant grew quickly, flowered and began producing pods. By August, I had harvested four impressively plump okra. After the fourth pod, the weather became noticeably cooler, and production stopped. So the experiment showed me that okra can certainly grow well in southern England. At the same time, this unusually hot summer was clearly working in my favour, so I would not take this year as a typical example.

更令我思考的是：秋葵究竟值不值得佔用花園的空間？

　　秋葵不像節瓜、黃瓜等攀爬植物，可以向上發展，利用垂直空間；也不像通菜、莧菜等葉菜，可以密植，又能剪完再長。秋葵一棵一棵直立生長，每棵都需要自己的空間，果實卻是一條一條陸續成熟。

　　如果每次煮菜只需要幾條，種兩三棵也許很合適；但如果想一次炒一整碟秋葵，便可能要種上好幾棵。這樣一算，它的「空間效益」似乎沒有我種的瓜類和葉菜那麼高。　　不過，今年六月底才開始，而且只用了一個20厘米的盆，也不能算是公平的測試。

　　所以明年，我可能再試一次：四月底在室內播種，改用較大的盆，但只種兩棵。

今年：一棵 × 六月底播種 × 20厘米盆 × 熱浪 = 四條秋葵

明年：兩棵 × 四月底播種 × 較大的盆 × 英國夏天 = ？

　　到時候，我應該就更清楚：秋葵究竟值得在花園裡每年佔一席位，還是偶爾種一棵、每次收幾條來吃，已經足夠。

　　

What interested me even more was another question: is okra really worth the space it takes up?

　　Unlike climbing vegetables such as cucumber or hairy gourd, okra cannot make use of vertical space on a trellis. And unlike leafy greens such as water spinach or amaranth, it cannot be planted densely and harvested repeatedly by cutting and regrowing. Each okra plant needs its own space, while the pods tend to ripen one or two at a time.

　　If I only want a few pods to add to another dish, then growing two or three plants could work perfectly well. But if I want enough okra to make a whole dish on its own, I would probably need quite a few plants. In terms of harvest per square metre, okra may not be as efficient as some of the climbing vegetables and leafy greens I grow.

　　Still, this was not exactly a fair test. I started very late and used only a 20 cm pot.

　　So next year, I may try again: start the seeds indoors in late April, use larger pots, but grow only two plants.

This year: one plant × late-June sowing × 20 cm pot × heatwave = four okra pods

Next year: two plants × late-April sowing × larger pots × a British summer = ?

　　By then, I should have a much better idea whether okra deserves a regular place in the garden, or whether it is best treated as an occasional crop—something to grow for the pleasure of picking a few fresh pods at a time.