How To Grow Yacon

Alright, this is obviously the next plant in our series of ‘weird things that no one else grows in their garden’. After growing tomatillos and rutabagas, I think we are ready to take this one on too. I was introduced to this one by a very close family friend and naturally I became curious on how to grow yacon, in my garden. Yacon can be enjoyed as a stir fry or in salads, some people are have experimented with extracting syrup & making tea from the leaves.

I understand this tuber (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is native to South America, where they eat it as a fruit. Also known as the Peruvian Apple or Earth Apple, it can pretty much grow anywhere and produces two types of tubers. The potato looking one, crunchy and sweet like an apple or watermelon is the one you can eat. The pinkish one is used more for propagtion. They produce an enzyme which probiotic bacteria in your colon and digestive tract feast on.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

Although it is recommended you propagate your yacon from the pinkish rhizomes, you can also get potted ones and plant those instead. Just make sure that you do not plant them too deep, or they may take too long to sprout or not at all. I am going to plant mine in mounds, just like I would with potatoes or sweet potatoes. Når du skal lære deg noe nytt om et emne er det alltid lurt å begynne litt fra scratch, som om du ikke visste noenting, for da ser du gjerne ting på en ny måte https://www.casinonorske.com/poker-på-nett.

Make sure you keep them well watered, and they should grow to about 5 to 6 feet high with small sunflower like flowers. When they are ready for harvest in the fall after light frost, carefully dig them out and select the edible ones from the rhizomes. Store in a cool dry place, but not for too long as they may start to oxidize and turn ugly grey. They actually get sweeter they longer you store them before you enjoy them.

You can get more information from the Attainable Sustainable blog, here…

How To Grow Yacon

You can watch the video below on how to grow & harvest yacon from tubers…

You can watch the video below on growing & harvesting yacon from potted plants…

.

---------------------- Advertisement ----------------------