Those of us who planted Aunt Hettie’s Red Okra seeds in May and early June are watching the luscious flowers and vibrant red pods appear on our plants. It’s harvest season, y’all! It’s time to get creative in the kitchen and reap the tasty rewards from our gardens. If you’re a home or community gardener, please let us know how your harvest season is coming along.
We’ve heard from some folks that they experienced minor bug damage on the leaves, but nothing that has prevented the plant from fruiting. What has your experience been?
For those of you who want to taste Aunt Hettie’s Red Okra, but didn’t get a chance to plant any seeds, head to the farmers’ markets! A number of professional growers planted seeds from SFA and are now harvesting the pods and selling them at local tailgate markets. We can’t guarantee that they will have Aunt Hettie’s Red okra each week (or how much they will be selling), but you can reach out to them directly and find out.
Let’s support our local growers and food entrepreneurs when they need it the most!
Searching for Aunt Hettie’s Red? Check out our partners below:
Mighty Gnome Market Garden in Marshall — find them at the Historic Haywood Farmers’ Market, Waynesville, NC, Saturdays 9-12
Lee’s One Fortune Farm in Marion — find them at the RAD Market, Asheville, NC, Wednesdays 3-6
Patchwork Urban Farm Alliance in Asheville — visit their website to find out about their online market OR visit them at the Haywood Common Market in West Asheville on Sundays, 11-3
Gaining Ground Farm in Leicester — find them at the North Asheville Tailgate Market on UNCA’s campus, Saturdays 8-12 and the RAD Market on Wednesdays, 3-6
Fermenti Foods in Madison County — you can expect to see okra appear sometime soon in Fermenti’s various products — visit their website to learn more about their 2020 market schedule and which stores carry their products
Sweet Brine’d out of the Asheville area will be fermenting Aunt Hettie’s Red okra this season as well – visit and follow along with their facebook page for more information
You will also find Aunt Hettie’s Red Okra as one of the upcoming menu items featured in Ashley Capps’ and Travis Schultz’ new pre-ordered meal service, New Stock. Reach out to them for more specific details.
The folks at Hominy Farm planted some Aunt Hettie’s Red this year. Visit them at the North Asheville Tailgate Market on UNCA’s campus, Saturdays 8-12 and the RAD Market on Wednesdays, 3-6, to find out how they will incorporate okra into their delicious offerings!
