Yacon

[clumsy]

Never grown it before so while I was browsing the seed sites I thought I'm going to try it this year something new. Has anybody grown this before?

[jayb]

Did you grow this Clumsy? If not sorry to be so late replying but yes yacon is very easy to grow, plants get huge and leafy. I'm not sure it has a huge cooking application but it does give a nice sweetish crunch and the roots are really big and store well over winter. It's a good prebiotic but watch out gut bacteria love to feast on inulin, same thing as in Jerusalem Artichokes with the same windy affect for some people!

[clumsy]

Okay I did buy one from pennards. Now I didn't expect it delivered as a plant in compost or I didn't read the description before ordering. It was delivered in a pot unfortunately it was January I put it in a cold greenhouse it never grew. But was looking at different colour varieties last year but never got round to but them. So no never grown one yet on my bucket list of veg to grow.

[Galina]

Will see what I can find, Clumsy. I have a red yacon.

[Jang]

I also have red yacon kindly donated by Galina to the Seed Circle. It grew really well. Mine might well be OK to send if yours are tricky to put your hands on easily, Galina.

[Galina]

Thank you I. I have found it. Cut 3 starts with eyes which are drying for a couple of days. Then will post. These eyes will grow into new stems and leaves, but first the base needs to root.

[clumsy]

Wow thank you for the great offer. I haven't even thought about what I'm growing yet.

[Galina]

They are cuttings and need to be placed into or rather onto slightly damp compost. They will root very fast, but cannot tolerate frost. Plant out after frost.

[triffid]

Yacon is alleged by the great Dr. Kapuler to be as 'stimulating' for the soil bacteria as it is for gut flora :P
So even if you can't cope with it in your diet it's likely a fantastic biomass plant and soil carbon accumulator.
I've never grown it, but if it's anything like Jerusalem artichokes it needs no attention and has no pests.

[Galina]

There is a good lot of biomass left after harvesting. Usually yacon is left in the ground until first slight frost has just slightly damaged the leaves or definitely before the first penetrating frost. The stems are quite thick and substantial and quite 'juicy'. I have been wondering whether yacon foliage would be a good addition to my comfrey and nettle liquid fertiliser bin. Thank you for the information, I will add them next time.

[Galina]

Yacon is a bit more demanding than JA. They need wide spacing to make big plants. A bit of earthing up or mulching helps too (I just chuck cut grass on them). And they like fertile soil in full sun for the largest roots. You eat the actual tubers and leave the nodules which are at the top around the stem. These nodules have the eyes. The tubers are just for eating, the eyes with a little bit of crown attached get rooted for new plants.

The effects on the digestive system are milder than JA. Nice to eat sliced raw in salads and stir fried where they make a great water chestnut replacement. They get sweeter with storage. Tubers can also be chopped and boiled down for a syrup which is very good and entirely diabetes friendly as it contains no sugar. Worth considering making your own when seeing the health food shop prices for yacon syrup. .

[triffid]

Great info, thanks Galina. Makes sense that they're more demanding than Jerusalem artichokes; bigger plants and I was until recently under the impression that they were both from the Andes; I didn't realise the latter are from North America. Would explain their hardiness and semi-feral nature down here.

The dry leaves are 25% protein by mass*, so undoubtedly would be a good source of fertility for any compost or liquid tea.
*Fernández et al. (2006) Yacon [Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poeppig & Endlicher)H. Robinson]: a new crop in the Central Europe. PLANT SOIL ENVIRON., 52 (12): 564–570

[jayb]

Do you have a link to his quote triffid?

[triffid]

http://mushroomsblog.blogspot.com/ right-hand column, 6th paragraph.

[jayb]

Thank you, very interesting.

[clumsy]

Thanks galina I've potted them this morning in a plastic propagator in the greenhouse. The flu is starting to take a hold really not feeling well.

[clumsy]

The first signs of life.

[Galina]

Yeah!

[jayb]

Looking promising.
Deceptively small starting out.

[jayb]

Yes, it'll need to be a biggish bucket if it's a permanent home, they get very top heavy. Or are you thinking to grow it at the allotment after the risk of frost? They are great plants as they pretty much grow themselves and would be fairly safe as no outward signs of a crop.

[clumsy]

I'm in two minds scared to go out. I was thinking maybe go very early around 6.00 in the morning do an hour only plant few things probably half of the plot.

[Jang]

Of course, the new measures have come along since you wrote your last comment.
There seems to be a feeling though that food production should be considered ‘essential’. It’s also exercise of course which is encouraged.

[clumsy]

The other two are showing so three out of three.

[clumsy]

They are showing now.

[Galina]

Glad all three are looking good. That means that the cut pieces are developing roots. Mine are only tiny dots like in your last photo, but I started them later.

[jayb]

Two varieties?

[triffid]

Looking good, cute little buds

[clumsy]

jayb you'll have ask galina the third one seems different but it's early could be weather or compost. It was first to grow.

[Galina]

No just the one, red yacon. The only one I have ever grown.

[jayb]

Thanks, Galina.

[clumsy]

Update how they are getting on looks like they are spreading more new growth springing up.

[Galina]

A second eye in the right hand pot is turning into a stem. They are looking well. By the time they can go out when frost is gone, they will be reasonable plants already. Thanks for showing us Clumsy.

[jayb]

They are coming on well.

[clumsy]

Seem to be liking the warm weather.