Prize-Winning Okra?

I pulled this monster out of the garden yesterday:

That's a big ol' dang okra, y'all.

It was at least 8 inches long. It looked amazing.

Trouble was, it was very tough. We sauteed a bunch, including this guy, up for dinner, and the smaller okras definitely tastes better. The big ones have a hard texture to them. They are difficult to chew. Things #1 and #3 ate them up and loved the taste, though, so okra is definitely something we'll do again. We just need to be more diligent and not let 4 days go by between pickings.  :/