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Yacon
Aug 24, 2018 19:44:41 GMT -5
Post by Gianna on Aug 24, 2018 19:44:41 GMT -5
8 days after the last yacon pot harvested, I harvested another today. Number 4 of 10. I got some, but the number of usable roots was about 1 1/3 pound. Much less than just over 4 pounds from the last harvested pot. Bummer! There was one root that had rotted - I'd guess the result of our 105* weather of a few weeks ago - the plants did suffer from that.
The harvested plant had good roots. Instead of breaking it up into many smaller pieces for more new plants.. I was able to split this one into two larger pieces, and then potted them up. I'm hoping this will result in a sooner harvest and not having to wait almost a year.
There are 6 large pots left. I'm going to try to wait another month before harvesting the next one. But I am weak... I really like these things, lol.
Oh, and to keep a record of my yacon adventure, on Aug 22 I planted into the ground, 8 well-rooted divisions in gallon containers. And on the 23rd, mulched them.
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Post by Gianna on Sept 7, 2018 0:06:02 GMT -5
Today (about two weeks later) I harvested pot 5 out of 10. Much better harvest than last time. I got 4.3 pounds. And the tubers were more uniform and a little larger than last time. I got 13 of a good eating size. Average was about 1/3 of a pound unpeeled. Had a nice one after dinner. Very satisfactory. I'm getting the hang of harvesting these things from their pots and didn't significantly damage any. From the main crown, I also repotted 3 nice divisions back into 15 gallon pots. Must put dated tags on these tomorrow. And I also prepared 24 cuttings. Last time I had about 50% success. This time I didn't try any of the really soft parts since last time those all failed. I want to get a nice bed of the previous batch of rooted cuttings established in the back yard to over-winter. Maybe tomorrow, or over the weekend.
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Post by brownrexx on Sept 7, 2018 8:01:05 GMT -5
You are becoming a yacon expert.
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Yacon
Sept 23, 2018 9:50:38 GMT -5
Post by Gianna on Sept 23, 2018 9:50:38 GMT -5
You are becoming a yacon expert. Well, I am learning as I go. I'd rather read about how to do it than having to figure it out myself, but I just haven't been able to find too much about growing them in a frost free area. There is indeed good info about growing in areas that freeze (when to harvest, how to store rhizomes, when to plant), and while helpful, isn't totally applicable here.
Yesterday I harvested another 15 gallon container (6th of 10). Best ever. About 16 larger roots plus a few small ones. Weight: 6.2 pounds. Last one just over 4 pounds. This will give me enough roots to try some new things such as put them into salads for a bit of crunch. In particular, I want to make some curry chicken salad with celery, yacon, toasted almonds, lots of curry, in mayo. And 'hot' powder, etc.
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Yacon
Sept 23, 2018 10:19:46 GMT -5
Post by brownrexx on Sept 23, 2018 10:19:46 GMT -5
I just haven't been able to find too much about growing them in a frost free area. There is indeed good info about growing in areas that freeze (when to harvest, how to store rhizomes, when to plant), and while helpful, isn't totally applicable here. Do they need to be exposed to some cold temperatures at some point? I have to do this with artichoke seedlings so that they will bloom the first year. That is for a different reason. They are biennials and only bloom in their second year so the cold temperatures trick them into feeling like that have been through a So.Cal winter. I think that tulip bulbs need to be exposed to freezing temperatures to get them to bloom in areas like CA
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Post by aftermidnight on Sept 23, 2018 10:36:05 GMT -5
Apparently it also has some health benefit, lots of info out there, this is the first one I pulled up. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671746/As I mentioned above I grew two plants in ground, the tubers were much bigger than the ones I grew in 5 gal pots but still got a good harvest in them. I still have plants in 5 gal pots from last year, they grew again and have since died down, looking for someone local to hand them over to as my gardening days are very limited now but it was a fun project and I really enjoyed the veg/fruit. I cut them in strips and had them with dip or used them in a fruit salad for that nice bit if crunch. Never tried them in a stir fry maybe take the place of bamboo shoots or water chestnuts? Annette
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Yacon
Jul 1, 2019 9:55:47 GMT -5
Post by Gianna on Jul 1, 2019 9:55:47 GMT -5
Yacon update.. Still growing it. I've currently got growing about a dozen large pots, and one bed in the garden with maybe 10 plants (?). I did not harvest much over the past winter and have not kept up planting divisions of harvested material. But, a couple weeks ago, I tipped out a couple pots, and reminded myself how much I really enjoyed the crunchy roots. They were smaller than I like however. I noticed from earlier in this thread that August seems the month when the roots really started to get the right size for harvest.
The ones planted in the ground definitely do better than in pots. And watering is so much easier - unlike having to water almost daily when in large pots, even with ample water-holding saucers beneath. But the main downside is that gophers just love the fleshy, sweet roots. I do trap gophers, but they can kill a plant so quickly and I've already lost 2 large ones this summer. I've got spare unused beds in the back. Maybe now that I have potentially lots of divisions, I'll try to out-plant the gophers... As if, lol.
The ones in pots, while safe from gophers, require lots of watering. Daily almost, even when overcast and in the low 70s. I hate to think what warmer days will bring. I suppose I could rig up some sort of drip line...
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Yacon
Jul 1, 2019 11:39:55 GMT -5
Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 1, 2019 11:39:55 GMT -5
I definitely see drip line in your future. Hopefully you will get a great harvest in August when the roots size up!
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Yacon
Jul 3, 2019 11:31:14 GMT -5
Post by Gianna on Jul 3, 2019 11:31:14 GMT -5
Hopefully you will get a great harvest in August when the roots size up! I harvested another pot this morning having enjoyed the roots from the previous recent ones. This pot was in better shape and I got 1.8 pounds of 'large enough' roots. Not as large as later in the season, but this year I have both more, and larger plants, so starting harvest now is good. With the harvest of these, I've also been getting nice large starts for the next generation. Think I'll put these in pots again instead of in the ground, and maybe be able to harvest the same plant again come fall/winter. They are soaking in water right now. I dunno... the ground would be so much easier. But the gophers... When harvesting/replanting, I've also learned to keep the young fleshy roots on the plant. If they are too small to peel, let them be in order to encourage faster harvestable roots in the next generation. I've also realized that when harvesting these roots, it's better to not rinse them off immediately, even if dried quickly. Rinsing causes some to split immediately, and when split, even shallowly dirt gets in and it's more difficult to peel, etc. So now I just cut off obvious small roots, and wipe down the main storage root, put them in a bag, and pop them into the fridge.
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Yacon
Jul 4, 2019 13:41:53 GMT -5
Post by september on Jul 4, 2019 13:41:53 GMT -5
Do yacon taste similar to jicama?
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Yacon
Jul 4, 2019 18:58:57 GMT -5
Post by Gianna on Jul 4, 2019 18:58:57 GMT -5
Do yacon taste similar to jicama? I think yacon is a little sweeter tasting. And a different texture. Jicama seems to have a more fibrous texture, and yacon is crunchy - a real perk. Sort of like celery without the strings. Wet and crisp. When growing it, it is amazingly forgiving.
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Yacon
Jul 4, 2019 19:16:06 GMT -5
Post by september on Jul 4, 2019 19:16:06 GMT -5
I don't know how it would do in my short season conditions, and I'm a little leery of the gaseous effects, but I like to try new things, so may give it a whirl next year. Sounds like you have it figured out and can be our go-to expert.
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Yacon
Jul 5, 2019 19:58:17 GMT -5
Post by Gianna on Jul 5, 2019 19:58:17 GMT -5
I don't know how it would do in my short season conditions, and I'm a little leery of the gaseous effects, but I like to try new things, so may give it a whirl next year. Sounds like you have it figured out and can be our go-to expert. I've heard some of the gaseous affects can be bad. I think someone here had a bad experience with it. If you have the right stomach bacteria you will be less affected. But who knows about such things until you eat it. I've read that the affects do get less as your intestinal flora changes. I started eating only a small amount and was prepared for the worst. But I didn't notice much of anything. Had a nice root today with lunch and don't expect anything bad. I think a bigger concern for you would be your short season. I know some people with cold winters grow it however. There are YouTube videos. After they dig it up (as in tip out the growing pots), they store the tubers (which look very similar to sun-chokes) in buckets of sand in basements to keep them alive and dormant. Or something like that.
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Yacon
Jul 5, 2019 20:02:37 GMT -5
Post by september on Jul 5, 2019 20:02:37 GMT -5
Gianna, All good information, thank you!!!
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Post by Gianna on Jul 11, 2019 23:26:35 GMT -5
Gianna , All good information, thank you!!! If you give it a try, let us know. I've found it to be a fun plant to grow. Other than underground gophers, not much seems to bother it. Not bunnies, not snails... I noticed today the first of the yacon in large pots is just starting to bloom. Not showy, but pretty yellow daisy-type flowers. That is supposed to be the traditional signal of when the roots are large enough to harvest. I'll look back in this thread - I hope I noted it. I think this is about a month earlier than last year.
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Post by Gianna on Jul 11, 2019 23:42:42 GMT -5
Gianna , you're thinking you'll be able to grow them year round? So they can take the heat and the cool? Are you growing them instead of something you would normally grow? Lots of questions but this has gotten me curious. From July of last year... Yes, I was able to grow them outside through the winter. We had some cold days for us, but no frost. The plants were not as healthy looking in winter, and for some reason, I had stopped harvesting them. But a month or so ago I noticed new shoots coming up around the older, 'shop-worn' shoots. And decided I need to empty the pots of the few oldest ones that had not been harvested yet. The tubers were too old to eat IMO. And the new tubers (technically not tubers, but roots) were beginning to form. The newer divisions I had started later last summer were still growing, and the stalks were both taller and more lush. These are the ones now beginning to bloom. I have not yet tipped out any of these pots, but one will be next. The stems of some of these are about an inch in diameter, and shoots taller than I am (in pots). Last year the first ones never got that large. The ones I'm growing in pots are in 15 gallon - about as large as I can handle. "Are you growing them instead of something you would normally grow?" Not really. While I am generally growing fewer things this year, except for one in-ground yacon bed, the yacon is in pots and not really replacing anything. I still have a couple nice beds in back that I dont think will get planted with anything this year.
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Yacon
Jul 26, 2019 9:38:59 GMT -5
Post by Gianna on Jul 26, 2019 9:38:59 GMT -5
Yesterday I harvested one of the yacon's growing in the ground in the back yard. There is one bed there that I had planted with rooted cuttings sometime last year. There has been some gopher activity, but most of the plants survived. That bed did not get as much regular watering as the yacon in pots in the front, and while there was some wilting, it was never really that bad, but it was more 'on its own'.
So I decided to dig up one of the established plants, I'd guess about a year old. ?? Not that difficult to dig, soil slightly moist. Turns out it was not that hard to dig because most of it's root system, including the storage roots, had been eaten from beneath. Sigh. Underground land sharks.
There were a few storage roots nearer the surface that were not damaged, and I ate one. It had a stronger flavor and more dense texture that I did not enjoy as much. So I decided I'm goiong to remove the remaining gopher magnets yacon plants, and use the bed for something else. Maybe cabbage or peppers. Or both.
Going forward, all yacon will be grown in pots.
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