Pickle fail

[ak474u]

I pickled some okra, Serrano, and banana peppers last month and finally cracked them open to taste. The serranos, and bananas were awesome... The okra was way too tough, it was like pickled rope. This is okra from our garden, which we're getting lots of, but it appears we are waiting too long to pick it or something, because its super fibrous and leathery. Anybody got tips on when to pick okra to avoid this?

[bacpacker]

We always pick our okra at about 2 to 4" long. Most okra gets tough quite quickly once it gets really long.

Let me know if you would like some seed. I have some red okra heirloom that can get a little larger before it gets tough. We like it better than the old kind we used to grow.

[robsdak]

i would concur with BP. just waiting too long to pick. just a thought, plant a few different types and see which one you like best. there's 1 here that grows to 4-5 in. and is still good too eat, excellent to pickle. i don't remember right off the top of my head.