I don't know the answer to any of your questions, but if you raise some, let me know, and I'll come pick my own.
Okra takes a lot of heat to germinate, so I always wait until hot weather sets in, which is usually early May down here. Then it takes a while to grow and flower, so I usually don't get okra until mid to late summer. Getting the seeds to germinate is the tricky part - they may need heat and good drainage, but they also need regular water.
The price of labor? I don't have any idea!
Sherry

Following information is good for most of Kentucky and Tennessee and is "general". Depending on row width and planting density, you are looking at 10-12 pounds of seed per acre and you will harvest 8,000 pounds of okra per acre when drip irrigation is used. They need to be picked almost every day in peak season and should be picked at 2" for best selling but up to 3 1/2" are ok. Hired labor is safer if based on a per bu.(about 30 pounds) but a per hour ($7.50 - 8.00/hr) is common. Fertilizer, lime, pesticides, plastic mulch, irrigation, repair, seed etc. will run you $500-$750 an acre. Harvest labor, fuel, land taxes, machinery depreciation and boxes will add up to much, much more than that. If you have a good market and waste isn't too high, you can clear $1,000 per acre. If you use family labor (no $), profit goes way up. You are thinking in the right direction...alternative farm products...they will make more $ per acre than most people realize (but are usually labor intensive). Hope this helps.

Blueflint