Okra will cross if it’s within several hundred feet of another variety.
If you want to save okra seeds and are growing more than one type you will have to either stagger the plantings so only one type is blooming at a time, plant only one type per year, or use some sort of restriction (bagging the blooms and pollinating by hand) technique.
http://www.southernexposure.com/okra-ezp-63.html
Says 1/8 mile separation for home use.
Which isn’t to say you can’t keep the seeds you have. They will all still be okra :) But you may have the odd child or two in the bunch...
The southernexposure.com site has a lot of seed saving tips for each type of veggie.
http://www.southernexposure.com/kohlrabi-ezp-59.html
http://www.southernexposure.com/muskmelon-cantaloupe-ezp-62.html
etc.
The best book I’ve found on the subject is ‘Seed to Seed’ by Ashworth. Worth every penny if you want to save seed from this or that. Plus it gives tips for each region as to planting dates and other cultural notes to increase success for each particular veg. including how to bag or hand pollinate if you can’t use the distance isolation. Gives detailed instructions on how to save corn seed which I found highly useful. YMMV.
LOL! Thanks for the info on the crossing okra and seed saving. Had not realized that they would cross!
Odd children do not bother me, so I’ll take your advice and plant them anyway! I just really wanted to see what the three varieties were like. I already knew about the Clemson Spineless, but also wanted to see what the Orange Jing and the Eagle pass were all about. Love all three!
I’ll probably do that rotation in the future now that I know that all three are happy here in this locale.
I am interested in that book. Thanks for the Amazon link!