Yacon

[Eristic]

Harvested my last Yacon plant today that has been grown in a pot in the polytunnel.

3 kilo of quality roots with hardly any thin ones. The pot was 20 litre and I would say this is adequate but should be considered the minimum size. Maybe this is the best way to grow Yacon in this climate especially if the open ground is heavy clay as they were a devil to dig up without damaging the tubers.

[Eristic]

[Garjan]

Hi Eristic
They look great. Well done!

Did you dig up your oca yet? I followed your example and grew some. They did very well, but I'm not sure when to dig them up.
Also, some of the tubers started to come to the surface. Is that normal? They look a bit small and greenish yellow. The leaves are still green and alive, even though a little frost got to them before I could cover them.
I would appreciate your expert advice. Thanks.

[thifasmom]

what a great harvest, whats the best way to store them and did you grow them in a pot on top of the 20L pot?

[Eristic]

expert advice

:P

It's only my second year growing Oca so I would hardly qualify as expert. As for harvest, I tipped some out of pots a few days ago to ease the impatience but the outside crop is due for harvest this weekend but will have to be postponed due to work commitments.

It is recommended that Oca is not dug until at least 2 weeks after the tops have been killed off. Several tubers tend to form at surface level and also along the stems but most will be below ground. A light covering of compost may assist with development and keep bright colours but the green is not toxic in the manner of green potatoes and at the end of the day they can be kept as stock tubers for next year.

[saddad]

My Oca were still going strong in the School's greenhouse last week... How do you use the Yacon? Like Sweet potato? Might give that a go as OH says the Oca tubers are a bit fiddly!
;D

[Eristic]

So far all I have done is wash and peel the smaller roots, slice and fry. Produces a sweet chip. At the moment I'm a bit spoiled for choice in the kitchen and was saving the big ones for later experimenting with baking, boiling etc.

If memory serves, they can be used as dessert too.

[Garjan]

Thanks eristic

I shall leave them undug a bit longer then.
And as far as exotic tubers are concerned I think you are the one with the most expertise on this forum.
Saddad is close though when it comes to sweet potatoes.

[saddad]

Nice of you to say so Garjan.... but I don't think that's right... all my sweet potato cuttings have keeled over and died so i'll be buying slips again!!
:-[

[(a)ndy]

Does anyone have a couple of Yacon tubers they would be willing to sell me? I don't seem to be able to find any anywhere.

Thanks

Andrew

[Multiveg]

Yacon, what yacon - did not do at all well in 2008. Oca was reasonable. As for other strange ones, Ulluco appeared but we haven't delved deeper to see if there are any tubers.

[Multiveg]

Does anyone have a couple of Yacon tubers they would be willing to sell me? I don't seem to be able to find any anywhere.

Thanks

Andrew

We bought ours from RealSeeds, along with Ulluco and Oca...

[Eristic]

I was pleased with the Yacon and the Oca but the Ulluco refuses to co-operate. Plants grow well but seem reluctant to produce any tubers.

[Multiveg]

2008 was an odd year weather-wise. Not overly disappointed. Some things did well - pumpkins!

[cornykev]

What does it taste like Eristic, I've only heard of it recently.  ;D ;D ;D

[Eristic]

The taste is a bit hard to describe and I'm still finding out how to best use it.

Raw it is crunchy and is similar to an under ripe pear with an underlying sweet taste. I've tried it in slices on top of bread-n-butter pud to great effect but have been too busy eating up everything else to venture much further.

I will say that so far at least, the tubers have kept perfectly in a lidded bucket and given that they cannot grow I'm hopeful of a storage life into summertime when it may be of use in salad meals.

It should be possible to process the tubers into syrup but as yet I've not tried it.

[cornykev]

Cheers.  ;D ;D ;D

[(a)ndy]

Thanks for the replies.

I am afraid that reel seeds don't have any as their crop failed this year. So I was hoping some members may be able to spare a couple of tubers to get me started.

Here's to hoping.

Andrew

[flossy]

   Help,     :o

   What is Yacon [ sweet potato / ]    ::)

   and Oca ?      Help an old girl out here  --  senior learning curve,     ;D

   floss x

[saddad]

Oca is a small edible tuber from Peru. It needs to be left in the light to reduce the Oxalic acid content. I have some if you want some Flossy... just sent Garjan some in Netherlands...  :)

[mat]

I have just bought 4 *very mini* ocas tubers from Edulis (at the Whitchurch potato day) for £1 each - ouch!!!  hope they do something!

I noticed they were also selling Yacon (didn't buy any tho)

mat