How to cultivate Yacon - TvAgro por Juan Gonzalo Angel

Twitter @juangangel

We have been growing Yacon for many years and it is one of our favourite vegetables, a 'winter treat'. Yacon is native to Colombia and Ecuador and is a hardy, attractive herbaceous perennial that yields a large harvest of tubers. The tubers have an appealing crunchy crispness that is a cross between apple and watermelon, with overtones of sugarcane. It is always a bit tricky describing the taste of a new food as we are forced to compare it to familiar foods but generally it gets a very positive response, especially from children. As a member of the sunflower family, yacon can grow to 2 metres in height with small, daisy-like yellow flowers. When growing it is similar in appearance to Jerusalem artichokes but is not invasive in the same way.

Yacon actually produces two types of underground tubers, reddish rhizomes directly at the base of the stem, which can be eaten when young but are mainly used for propagation and the larger brown tubers, which are mainly eaten. When harvesting we separate the reddish rhizomes from the tubers and wash off any soil, taking care not to break the skin. The brown tubers are dried in the sun and then stored. The reddish rhizomes are kept out of the sun and covered with slightly damp sand, sawdust or cocopeat to stop them drying out and put aside for replanting in a dark, dry place. As soon as the rhizomes begin to sprout it is time to plant. Prepare the soil by loosening well with a fork and working in compost. To plant, cover a large rhizome which has several sprouts, with soil to a depth of 3 cm. Mulch well, yacon will grow up through the mulch, just like potatoes. Little weeding is needed as dense shade is created as the yacon grows. Plants are large and vigorous, so space them at least 0.5 metres apart. Yacon grows fast even in poor soils but crops best in rich, friable, well-drained soil. Yacon can be planted all year round in frost-free areas as it is day-length neutral. It appears to be drought tolerant compared to other vegetable crops and so far, pest-free. For cold areas of Australia the rhizomes can be started in styrofoam boxes in a greenhouse or on a warm verandah and planted out when frost is past.

The plant takes 6 - 7 months to reach maturity. After flowering top growth withers and dies back and the tubers are harvested. They

Fuente:https://www.greenharvest.com.au/Plant...

Juan Gonzalo Angel
www.tvagro.tv