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Red bende kayi plant

₹329.00

Yields A pick every single day for 8–10 weeks

Live red okra with deep burgundy pods on a red-stemmed plant. As forgiving as the green type, and far better looking.

Abelmoschus esculentus
Kempu bendekayi / ಕೆಂಪು ಬೆಂಡೆಕಾಯಿ (Red okra, Red ladies finger)

  • Grow bag12 in wide x 18 in tall
  • Ships at5-6 in tall, 4 weeks old
  • First harvestFirst pods in 6-7 weeks
  • Sunlight6+ hours direct
  • Best plantedFebruary-August

Grown to order — delivered in about 15 days

We start it when you order and hand it over once it is established and hardened off. That is what makes the olla work from day one: the roots have already grown down to it before it reaches you.

SKU BEN-RED

Water it through the olla. That is the only instruction.

A buried terracotta olla releases water at exactly the rate the soil draws it, over a base of well-rotted wood that holds moisture through a hot week. You cannot overwater it and it will not dry out on you. The roots reach the olla before the plant leaves us, so it works from the day it arrives.

How these bags are built

Details

Deep burgundy pods on a red-stemmed plant. It grows exactly like ordinary bende kayi — just as forgiving of heat and irregular watering — but it looks striking enough that people grow it as much for the plant as the crop.

The colour is in the skin and it cooks out. Pods turn green when heated, which surprises people the first time. Sliced raw into a salad or a kosambari, the colour stays.

Once it starts, pick every single day. A pod left two days too long turns woody and, worse, signals the plant to stop setting. Pick at three inches even when it feels small.

Wear sleeves when harvesting. The stems and leaves carry fine hairs that itch on contact for some people.

Specifications

Botanical nameAbelmoschus esculentus
Grow bag12 in wide x 18 in tall, filled
Ships at5-6 in tall, about 4 weeks old
First harvest6-7 weeks from delivery
Sunlight6+ hours direct
PickingDaily once pods start
SeasonFebruary-August