Claremore Okra Grower Seeks To Set World Record

An Oklahoma man from Claremore wants to set a world record for "tallest okra plant" after he thinks he crushed the Oklahoma state record.

Autumn is peak harvest time. And in David Robison’s garden, one plant is hard to miss.

“If you’re a true Okie, then you love okra,” he said.

But his okra plant is not just any okra plant, because it measures more than fifteen feet tall.

David says since April, the plant's grown 3 to 4 inches per week and could produce 6 pounds of okra every 36 hours.

“By July of this year, I’d say, it was up and around eleven or twelve foot and I had never seen it that big before, well I start Googling and I find out the record in Oklahoma is 13’6" and I’m like ‘I might have a chance at that’,” he said. 

While the stalk doesn’t reach above the clouds to a magic kingdom with giants, it does reach above his backyard fence.

But David says he didn’t do anything special.

“Everybody’s like ‘what’s your secret’ I’m like ‘I didn’t do anything, I put the seed in the ground’ the master makes it grow, not me,” he said. 

The Guinness World Record is currently held by a plant in New Orleans that 16'4.8".

“It’s now at 15 foot, maybe a little over, I’m a foot and a half away from that Guinness record, so if that happens, that’ll be cool,” David said. 

Until then, he’ll keep his fingers crossed and is looking forward to hopefully making that call.

“It’s crazy....anybody who wants okra, come get it,” he said.