Oca Ahoy!.... Thanks to Jayb

[Sholls]

Blummin' heck.  :o Think I'll take my chances and wait for Real Seeds to list some.

[Sholls]

[saddad]

If you want half a dozen just pm me Sholls...
I haven't got that far back in clearling the big greenhouse yet  :)

[chriscross1966]

Took the fleece off last weekend, we're due a frost this weekend so hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be harvesting.... Does anyone know if you can roast them?..... It would be cool to serve roast squash, potatos, JA's and Oca as a dish to the family one Sunday...... I wonder if they fry as crisps?.......

[thifasmom]

i popped into the greenhouse this week and was pleasantly surprised :D to find one of my oca plants producing tubers both above and below soil level. the plants are defo dieing back on their own (no frost here as yet though).

should i earth them up? and how long to leave before harvesting the tubers? :)

[chriscross1966]

i popped into the greenhouse this week and was pleasantly surprised :D to find one of my oca plants producing tubers both above and below soil level. the plants are defo dieing back on their own (no frost here as yet though).

should i earth them up? and how long to leave before harvesting the tubers? :)

Only reason to earth up would be to stop pests eating them... they don't go poisonous like potatos do....well at least not according to all the literature I've read.... harvest period is a bit harder to determine but two weeks after the foliage dies is soemthing I've seen mentioned a lot.... you could have a firkle and pull out a couple of decent ones if you find them now.....

chrisc

[thifasmom]

i popped into the greenhouse this week and was pleasantly surprised :D to find one of my oca plants producing tubers both above and below soil level. the plants are defo dieing back on their own (no frost here as yet though).

should i earth them up? and how long to leave before harvesting the tubers? :)

Only reason to earth up would be to stop pests eating them... they don't go poisonous like potatos do....well at least not according to all the literature I've read.... harvest period is a bit harder to determine but two weeks after the foliage dies is soemthing I've seen mentioned a lot.... you could have a firkle and pull out a couple of decent ones if you find them now.....

chrisc

thanks for the info, didn't think they would get toxic but was wondering if the earthing up would encourage more tuber growth ???. i'll have to patiently wait my two weeks once the foliage has died completely. whats strange though is only one plant is forming tubers at the moment :-\.

[chriscross1966]

Well I followed my own advice and had a bit of a firkle..... found a little tuber fairly high up the plant in the mid-season earthing up,,,, it wasn't huge, about the size of the top joint of my thumb..... tried it raw and it was very nice.... quite crunchy for a tuber (think almost as crunchy as a radish but with a flavour that I can see why people say things like "Lemony new potato"..... it was bvery nice, I think it would be great in a stir-fry or raw in salads..... if it roasts up nicely (assuming I can find some bigger tubers when I do harvest them) then I think we've got a winner here  :D

chrisc

[thifasmom]

now you have intrigued me further, will have to try a taste tomorrow :).

[Robert_Brenchley]

AS I expected, mine was wiped out by the frost a couple of days ago. I would have fleeced it, but I've had a bad cold and couldn't get down to the plot. If there's anything there, we'll probably have it over Christmas.

[chriscross1966]

I deliberately unfleeced mine for this current cold patch.... I want to crop them over Christmas (and have the bed available for digging soon).....

[Twoflower]

I think i must have the frost hardy ones as we have had a few good frosts now and they are still lovely and green.

[saddad]

Sounds like promising stock....  :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I just noticed lots of oca sticking out of the ground. Looks as though I've got a decent crop in there.

[Jayb]

Sounding good  :)

[lottie lou]

Emptied four buckets and think I got quite a nice crop - well I'm happy with the results anyway.  There's nothing better than a feeling of success.

[tomatoada]

Any chance of a picture?

[greensausage]

I have a few tubers to grow next year and would love to see photos of others crops from this year please.

[Robert_Brenchley]

When I lift it, assuming it's survived the frosts! I meant to have it out before now, but due to the freeze and some serious family problems, I haven't had a chance.

[lottie lou]

Sorry can't send photos as I gave them all away as fun Christmas pressies to my veggie colleagues.  Yours should be okay Robert.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I hope so, I was a bit worried that they would turn to mush like frosted spuds.