Chubby Okra

70 days — The plants of 'Chubby' okra are productive, reach five feet in height or taller, and produce large, tasty pods. The exact harvest point is partially based on personal preference, but we like these when they reach four to five inches long and are about six inches in circumference. At this stage, they are about twice the diameter of common okra varieties.

'Chubby' is an old family heirloom that was received into our seed bank in early 2018. Originally sent to us by a seed saver named Joan Baron, she received them from the Dallas (Texas) Public Library's Seed Library.^[1] The variety had been donated to the library by Angela Mattingly who had been gifted the seeds from her uncle, the late Virgil Redwine. Mr. Redwine had been growing 'Chubby' for over fifty years.

As a deliveryman for Jackson Cookies in Little Rock, Arkansas, part of Mr. Redwine's route included the grocery store on Grand Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas operated by Ruby Dockery and her husband. Mrs. Dockery is who shared the seeds with Mr. Redwine indicating to him that they had been grown by her family for around one-hundred years.

We sent the seed to our friend David Pendergrass, who grew out our seed stock for us on his farm in Tennessee. Each packet contains two grams, which is approximately 30 seeds.