My Louisiana 16 inch okra smells like urine – on the plant, and on my hands when I harvest it, it has this sour ammonia smell. Any idea what could be causing it? I love okra and I have so much but it’s hard to want to eat it when it smells like piss.
The inside smells normal and clean when it’s cut. Scrubbing helps get the smell off. I haven’t used any sprays or insecticides or even any fertilizer (my soil is very rich already) except one application of neem a few weeks ago to get the Japanese beetles under control. The plants have plenty of water and airflow and they’re super healthy they just smell bad.
by tryingmybest_tbh
13 Comments
Are you supposed to let them get that long? could just be a different variety but mine said to pick at like 4 inches.
I don’t know much about growing okra, and there could be someone who chimes in with specialty knowledge about some sort of plant disease or something, but….
-odor is on plant and outside of fruit
-odor transfers to your hands easily
-odor can be washed off
It sure sounds like the most obvious possibility could be the correct one. Set up a camera, and you may find the culprit. And I realize okra grows pretty tall, so it may rule out a lot of animals, but you never know.
Feral tom cats sprayed around my garden and it smelled like piss for like a week. Guess one of the woods cats near by was in heat.
Have you grown okra before and didn’t have this problem? My okra smells terrible to me.
Mine does not smell at all. This is my first year growing it, but I’ve never heard that before. I am in Louisiana. I’m growing Clemson spineless.
From google – the plant naturally produces volatile organic compounds in its hairs and skin that mimic a sharp, cat-urine or ammonia scent as a defense mechanism, which easily washes off with plain water.
I would wash it and see if it still smells like that. Maybe you had a tomcat that was a challenge pisser.
All I know is that your okra is about 2 weeks overdue and is gonna taste and feel like rope when you try to eat it.
I can’t eat it when it grows beyond even half that size. It’s extremely fibrous when it gets bigger than about 4”.
Soak them in a vinegar solution, rinse, dry and sniff again.
Okra will put out an ammonia-like odor if the pods are reaching maximum maturity. Same is true for all okra varieties left on plant too long. Pick it a little sooner. Maybe that will help.
I’ve grown okra many times and the plants can emit a funky smell which is natural. It washes off with water. Also I recommend picking the pods when they are about 3-4 inches long. They will be very tender to eat then. I would recommend harvesting every day, maybe even twice a day. The pods grow ridiculously fast. When they get too long, they are tough and fibrous and not very appetizing. Okra is such a great addition to the garden though. Very prolific and great looking flowers.
They are oozing, that’s some long as okra