Is it still a bit early to plant okra seed in my garden?

I’d say yes - late April/early May - okra is truly a hot weather crop.

A little Okra story. My uncle had farmland and cattle, along with a nice size garden. His garden was about 2-3 acres on the side of Bayou Plaquemine. The side of the bayou had very Sandy soil. He grew some of the best root crops, along with corn, for feeding / fattening up his caves.
The back of a section of land away from the bayou had black Jack mud, one day I went to visit, he was getting back for that section of land. Told me he was planting in that black Jack mud section. I asked what would grow, he said one thing, Okra. Months later he had a nice stand of okra.

On a side note: Okra is in the mallow family of plants, it along with Cotton and Hibiscus.

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On a side note: Okra is in the mallow family of plants, it along with Cotton and Hibiscus.

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Yep. You look at the okra flower and it is just like the hibiscus flower. The ONLY thing I don't like about okra is when it's time to pull the plants. Most years will see my plants getting near 8 ft. tall with stalks near the base being 2 or more inches across.

I usually have to resort to digging around them a good bit to loosen the roots enough to pull them out the ground. Then it's time to fill the bed of my truck to dispose of them. They are so woody it would take way too long to compost in my small composting area.

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They are so woody it would take way too long to compost in my small composting area.

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Another Uncle story. My uncle was a machinist, welder, mechanic, farmer, rancher, etc. He could repair, rebuild, fix anything. A friend of his had died. The friends son called one day, told my uncle, he had his Dad’s grinder, but it had been under a tree, outside in the elements. Was rusted and frozen up, might only be good for scrap metal. My uncle loaded it up, took in completely apart. Cleaned and greased. You had to use a leather belt, hooked up to the PTO of a tractor. When the corn stalks, would turn brown, some with an ear or two, he’d run the stalk and all grind it up to feed / fatten his calves.

Thanks CrawDude, that is a very informative article.