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| Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners is a citizen science program
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' ‘White Velvet’ Okra' Okra |
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Loaded with long, white, velvety, and spineless fruits, this is a gorgeous and delicious variety eaten fresh off the plant, cooked, or canned. White Velvet Okra has been an important part of Southern foodways (particularly in Alabama) for over 100 years. It was made commercially available in 1890 and was widely popular due to its tender fruit lacking spines, and beautiful contrast to the colors of tomato based soups, or sometimes in fresh salads, pickles, gumbos, or by itself. Like many important regional food plant varieties, the scaling up of globalized agriculture brought a flooding of the market of cheaper, more standard and generic green okra varieties being grown farther away, and so tender heirloom is extremely rare these days.
This variety was given to William Woys Weaver in the mid-1990s. White Velvet Okra has been designated by Slow Food as an outstandingly tasty, culturally important, and endangered heirloom from Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and is listed in their Ark of Taste as a way to invite everyone to take action to help protect it.
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| Days To Maturity: |
NA
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| Seed Sources: |
True Love Seeds - updated in 2025
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| Rating Summary |
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Overall: (4.2 Stars)
Taste: (4.5 Stars)
Yield: (4.0 Stars)
Ease/Reliability: (4.5 Stars) |
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| Reviews |
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Login to share your Review of ‘White Velvet’ Okra.
Number of Reviews: 6
KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease
Reviewed on 10/10/2025 by
Cafolla
- A novice gardener
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 Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Monroe, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| On 7/28- too old?; fibrous\r\nOverall- 2 plants didn\'t produce enough at one time to prepare. It seemed very easy to miss the window of when to pick. |
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Reviewed on 10/10/2025 by
Gasieiwcz
- An experienced gardener
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 Overall
 Taste
Yield
Ease
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Wyoming, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Needs to be harvested very early, especially in dry conditions. Fruit becomes woody quickly |
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Reviewed on 10/07/2025 by
Schenectady CCE
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Schenectady, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Good taste and texture but needs to be harvested early before it turns woody. Yield was poor in the raised bed, better when grown in pots. 2 out of 4 plants in the raised bed were stunted and 2 grew well. |
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Reviewed on 09/29/2025 by
Tompkins MGs
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Tompkins, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| The plants grew vigorously in the area where they had full sun and heat. They produced over a long period of time. No huge problems with diseases or insects; some late season powdery mildew. Testers found the okra to be crisp and edible at a large size (8 or more inches long). While crisper, they weren’t chewy or toothy, just a succulent bite with a faint crunch, which held its texture during light cooking without getting mushy but didn’t sacrifice the signature okra mucilage contribution to dish texture. They’re subtly more sweet than common market okras. This variety has character. |
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Reviewed on 09/24/2025 by
CCE Rockland
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Rockland, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Very good taste even on larger pods. A consistently strong yield throughout the season.\r\nFriends who never tried okra enjoyed the taste. |
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Reviewed on 09/19/2025 by
Jessica Luse
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Saratoga, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| There was a lot of okra produced on the plant |
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Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners is a citizen science program, © 2004-2025, All Rights Reserved
Cornell Garden Based Learning, Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Horticulture Section
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