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  • Mother Earth Gardener

    KEEPING SEEDS ALIVE

    Nov 30, 2018 4 minutes
    By Chris Smith

    SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT in 1932, All-America Selections (AAS) — a nonprofit plant trialing organization — has only given its annual award of recognition to an okra cultivar seven times. In 1939, two okra cultivars were designated AAS winners: ‘Clemson Spineless’ and ‘White Lightning.’

    ‘Clemson Spineless’ is popular in India, Africa, the Middle East, America, and elsewhere. This cultivar has withstood the test of time, and if you’ve ever eaten okra purchased from a supermarket or farmers market, there’s a good chance it was ‘Clemson Spineless.’ In 1939, it was released as a refined seed cultivar by Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, but Thomas H. Davis began the process in 1880 by saving seeds based on the spinelessness of the pods.

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