Had no idea okra can get so big!!

I hope it isn't tough. I test mine before cooking by how easily it cuts. I use a very sharp knife and start at the narrow tip. If it cuts easily it will be fine. If I have to "saw" it, I just keep going up toward the stem until it does. You will soon learn just when to harvest it for your best uses. Did you know it is one of the most nutritious foods you can grow? Besides the traditional method of frying it, we like it steamed only enough to be tender. No "slimminess" that way.

I'm really surprised that your plants got that tall before producing. You may have had some help harvesting by local critters before you noticed the pods. Okra are members of the Hibiscus family and produce a yellow blossom that only stays for a couple of days before falling off. Ours start producing at about knee height. You can actually "Prune" them early in their growth to encourage bushier lower plants but we have never done that on purpose. One year my DH had to take a stool to the garden to harvest the okra. When steaming the Okra, I do not cut it at all. I use very young pods.