Topic: Yakon and New Zealand yams

[caroline7758]

On GQT yesterday James Wong was suggesting we grow these two rather than potatoes as they are less prone to disease. Are they really a substitute for potatoes, don't they need warmer weather and more attention? When is the best time to start them off?

[steveg1966]

Have a look at my question about yakon that I asked and they is some good answers about growing in the UK

[katynewbie]

Hi Caroline, your inbox is full, would love to reply to your last PM, but cant!

[GREGME]

Haven't grown Yacon but oca aka new zealand yam  are lovely but take a very long season,you don't get a crop until December and not so good if you have early frosts.
Neither are a potato substitute though- they just take too long.

[lottie lou]

To be honest the last three years for oca have been terrible - lost virtually all of it to frosts 2010, following year to slugs, and last year very small crop indeed.  The best turned out to be the rogue ones that came up between my other stuff - only a very small crop though.  Yacon was okay last year but neither would replace potatoes.  Have some very small oca tubers you can try if you want.  Just pm me.

[aj]

I've got about 30 Oca tubers and about 45 Yacons that I am just about to sow to sell in a few weeks. I'd give them away but they don't belong to me, they belong to a charity and I'm trying to get them their cash back that they spent on buying them in the first place! They were left over from Potato Day when James Wong himself was talking about them so they have provenance. 

[caroline7758]

Thanks for the offer, Lottie, but from the replies I don't think I'll bother! I've got potatoes chitting so I'll stick with them.

[martinburo]

Sometimes I wonder about these "experts". Yakon is pretty much a vegetable, it contains 1/10th the amount of carbohydrates as potatoes, and even that is mostly inulin which has low food energy, so that means if you get serious about growing your own calories, then you'd starve eating yakon. Yakon is nice enough if you like waterchestnut. Same thing for oca for a different reason, already noted by lottie lou and GREGME: much lower yields than potatoes. Not to mention very small tubers with lots of surface structure, so I wonder who cleans the food in the household of James Wong.

[Ian Pearson]

Ah! but man cannot live by potatoes alone. The Irish tried it in the 1850s and look what happened there! Crop diversity is good for resilience, and has health benefits. It also makes life more interesting, and these crops give fresh veg in mid winter when there is not much else available.
Don't give up the spuds yet though!

[winecap]

I agree they aren't a substitute for potatoes, but they are well worth growing. I'm still eating the yakon and it tastes fantastic raw. As for the fact they crop late in the year - that's a bonus in my book, and they are far more successful than late crops of potatoes. By late I mean new potatoes for Christmas. That has never worked for me. Personally I give them very little attention - I basically start them in pots and plant out after the frost, then let them get on with it. I'm amazed these aren't more widely grown.

[Sue7]

I haven't grown Yakon but do grow NZ yams (being a New Zealander in London)!!  I would agree that yams aren't a substitute for potatoes, more of a supplement/addition. As they are smaller than potatoes, you need more for a serving. Personally I always roast them and the flavour is unbeatable!  Cleaning them can be less enjoyable though but still worth it.

[Vinlander]

I don't understand the issue with cleaning oca (or JAs or chinese artichokes) - they are all so much smoother than spuds that a little soak and a second of gentle brushing gets everything off.

Are people trying to peel them??? that would be bonkers.

I admit that some surgery is occasionally necessary on big JAs but why bother with oca or CAs? - they have no blight so just put the dodgy ones aside for next years starts...

All well worth growing and Yacon even more so because it isn't a potato substitute and has a delicious flavour all its own (though I also love smoked cheese, Lapsang tea and highland/island scotch).

Cheers and Slainte.