Has anyone grown Yacon? I've just bought a few new tubers from Real Seeds and thought I'd better plant them straight away as they have started sending out shoots.
I've put them all in a largish plantpot in the greenhouse as I don't want to risk them outside.
Any comments or info about this veg. would be useful.
I've read all about its food value and beneficial properties. It also says it has a nice sweet flavour and is good in stir fries etc, but it would be handy to hear from someone who had actually eaten some.
Yacon
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PLUMPUDDING
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snooky
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1.
1
Make sure your soil will work for Yacon. It needs consistent moisture and moderate heat. The plants themselves need a long growing season, six or seven months, before tubers can form in the fall. These plants might not do well in extremely cold areas as they are frost tender.
2.
2
Order small potted plants to place in the ground or start your own indoors in the spring by dividing crowns of existing plants with tubers. Place the plants about 3 to 4 feet apart, add compost and water when dry. Yacon can grow to 5 to 7 feet tall but will only produce little yellow flowers in warmer climates.
3.
3
Be patient. Harvest won't come the first year because Yacon needs to adjust to the weather. But after they do, look for a great harvest - nearly triple that of potatoes. With general care, you'll have a plant that's almost pest and disease free.
4.
4
Place straw around the base of the plants in early fall, before the first frost, to protect the tubers. Don't harvest the tubers and crowns until the first frost has killed off the upper parts of the plants, but do it before the ground has frozen. Then remove the entire root system from the ground, take the tubers from the crowns and place them in the sun for a couple of weeks.
5.
5
Store the crowns indoors in peat moss or loose in tubs like you would potatoes until early spring. Then you can split apart the sections that have green buds and plant each one in its own pot as new plants for next season. Yacon tubers store well in a root cellar or cool, dry basement where their sweetness naturally increases. They can be eaten for up to 8 months after harvest.
Read more: How to Grow Yacon | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2121817_grow-ya ... z17oaQ3NpF
1
Make sure your soil will work for Yacon. It needs consistent moisture and moderate heat. The plants themselves need a long growing season, six or seven months, before tubers can form in the fall. These plants might not do well in extremely cold areas as they are frost tender.
2.
2
Order small potted plants to place in the ground or start your own indoors in the spring by dividing crowns of existing plants with tubers. Place the plants about 3 to 4 feet apart, add compost and water when dry. Yacon can grow to 5 to 7 feet tall but will only produce little yellow flowers in warmer climates.
3.
3
Be patient. Harvest won't come the first year because Yacon needs to adjust to the weather. But after they do, look for a great harvest - nearly triple that of potatoes. With general care, you'll have a plant that's almost pest and disease free.
4.
4
Place straw around the base of the plants in early fall, before the first frost, to protect the tubers. Don't harvest the tubers and crowns until the first frost has killed off the upper parts of the plants, but do it before the ground has frozen. Then remove the entire root system from the ground, take the tubers from the crowns and place them in the sun for a couple of weeks.
5.
5
Store the crowns indoors in peat moss or loose in tubs like you would potatoes until early spring. Then you can split apart the sections that have green buds and plant each one in its own pot as new plants for next season. Yacon tubers store well in a root cellar or cool, dry basement where their sweetness naturally increases. They can be eaten for up to 8 months after harvest.
Read more: How to Grow Yacon | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2121817_grow-ya ... z17oaQ3NpF
Regards snooky
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A balanced diet is a beer in both hands!
WARNING.!!... The above post may contain an opinion
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A balanced diet is a beer in both hands!
WARNING.!!... The above post may contain an opinion
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PLUMPUDDING
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Thanks very much Snooky, that's useful - sounds rather American.
The info I found said they had grown them in Czechoslovakia, so they should be fairly hardy. They were quite expensive though, so I'm going to keep an eye on them in pots in the greenhouse for a while. If they are cold, hopefully they will stay fairly dormant until the spring.
They look and sound from their description very much like Jerusalem Artichokes, but sweeter.
The info I found said they had grown them in Czechoslovakia, so they should be fairly hardy. They were quite expensive though, so I'm going to keep an eye on them in pots in the greenhouse for a while. If they are cold, hopefully they will stay fairly dormant until the spring.
They look and sound from their description very much like Jerusalem Artichokes, but sweeter.
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PLUMPUDDING
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Have a look on the Real Seeds website Primrose, that's where I bought them from. A bit expensive, but shouldn't have to buy anymore once they get going.