oca - is it time to harvest?

[pigeonseed]

I noticed that the base of the stems was going dark brown and I wondered whether it was the low temperatures - so thought I'd better rescue the tubers, in case they got frosted before I could get at them. I've heard of people losing their crop.

But anyway the yield was very good and so I have a lovely crateload of them. I'm going to take some to the seed swap in Hastings tomorrow.  8)

Has anyone else harvested theirs? And is the brown a sign of frost?  ???

[pigeonseed]

[goodlife]

Mine are still 'green' and lush..I haven't even checked yet if they have produced anything...but I grow mine in GH.
How about you...indoors or outdoors?

[lottie lou]

Moved mine indoors a couple of weeks ago after last year's disaster.  Trying to lengthen their "nights" by covering with that black stuff and removing in the day.  Planning on haryvesting end of month.

[galina]

Moved mine indoors a couple of weeks ago after last year's disaster.  Trying to lengthen their "nights" by covering with that black stuff and removing in the day.  Planning on haryvesting end of month.

Interesting!  I have never gone to these sort of lengths.  yes, my plants are also still green and lush and have one or two yellow flowers this year - they don't flower every year.  The tubers usually survive light frosts that don't penetrate the ground, but at this time it might be a good idea to throw a cloche over them or some leaf mulch.  If a frost kills the plants, the tubers will be sure to survive underground.  Short of covering with black to overcome their daylength sensitivity and tendency to swell tubers too late, all we can do is to make their autumn growing time as long as possible by frost protection.  I will leave mine growing for a little longer.

[gwynleg]

I wasnt going to bother with them again as the harvest was so small before. They had other ideas though - must have left some behind and they are still growing well. I will leave them as long as I can and see what happens.
Do any of you eat them and do you like them?

[aj]

Oca needs the frosts to kill the leaves. The tubers only grow large after the frosts.

The tubers can double in size from the date of the first frost when the leaves are killed, to when they need harvesting sometime in December. It looks cruel, but that's the way they work!

It's a balance between leaving them in longer and the slugs getting them. The longer they are left the bigger they get but the wetter the ground gets the more the slugs get them.

http://ecofarm.ie/oca/

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm not touching mine till the tops have been knocked right back. The top growth is much lusher than when I grew it before - to the point where it swamped sweetcorn which wasn't growing in the drought - so I'm hopeful.

[galina]

Ecofarm website has several good suggestions on how to use them in the kitchen.  We love this one:

Rice with oca
Take one cup (mug) of rice and one mug of prepared oca and place in a saucepan.  Season and add a bit of garlic if liked.  Add two mugs of water.  Bring to the boil.  With a tight fitting lid on the pan, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and let simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Turn off the gas or take the saucepan away from the hot electric hob and leave it to rest for another 10 minutes.  All the water should have been absorbed by the rice.  Do not stir and leave the lid on the whole time.  The oca and rice will both be cooked perfectly and the flavours blended well.  Especially nice with basmati rice, but any non-pudding rice will work equally well.  

[goodlife]

That recipe sounds easy enought to follow.. ;D...now I just need the Oca.
I had a forage around my plants to see if anything is happening yet..and yes..I can see something forming on.
Some of my plants are showing some brown stems too..so those are coming to an end of their lives.
I had few plants that did have odd flower on too..first time I've seen them doing that.
Some of the stem have 'aerial' tubers on ..unfortunately my plants have run out of space so those are not going to develop any further..but they have nice bright red colour on them.
Looks like I'm getting some interesting colours on this year ;D
I started with 4 different coloured tubers and the plants are showing some interesting shades on too..plus I've had some 'volunteers' come up from old pots that I've emptied last year on that bed.
Ohh..can't wait! ;D

[pigeonseed]

This is all interesting! I'd just heard people saying you have to make sure to keep them out of the frost. Next year I'll leave them longer.

Actually now I think about it, of course - I had a volunteer plant on the plot, so that survived last winter's snow and ice! (mine are all out of doors)

I won't be so hasty next Autumn!  ::) ::)

[Robert_Brenchley]

They overwinter quite happily, like potatoes, as long as the slugs don't get them.

[irridium]

thanks for the tip re. the slugs. i shall have to put a sprinkling of baked eggshell on them tomorrow. mine's still looking green.