A friend gave us starts to these South American tubers years ago and they've been a family favorite since.
We mostly eat the yacons raw, simply peeled and sliced. They are a great snack. We've also grate them onto salads or combine them with grated carrots and a sweet salad dressing.
They are also a low maintenance crop. After the last chance of frost in late spring, we roll out a round bale of mulch hay over the length of the row we are going to plant into, creating a thick weed free and moisture holding layer. We then set the transplants 3 ft. apart. Then we simply let them grow.
By fall they have grown to large bushes, about 4 feet tall and touching each other. We let them frost a few times then dig them. Unlike digging potatoes, you need to be very careful as the tubers are brittle. We slice the ground in a circle around each plant then lift out the plant. The part just below the soil is the propagation part. These we trim then store in slightly moistened sawdust in a building that doesn't freeze for the winter. Come spring, we break the propagation part into pieces then start in pots in the cold frame. Underneath the propagation part when digging, is the edible tubers. Some are skinny as a finger. Others are bigger than a hand. We bring some into the house right away to cure for a couple weeks. When the skin looks a bit wrinkly, they are ready to eat. The others we store in the freeze free outbuilding and bring in the house to cure as needed.
We mostly eat the yacons raw, simply peeled and sliced. They are a great snack. We've also grate them onto salads or combine them with grated carrots and a sweet salad dressing.
They are also a low maintenance crop. After the last chance of frost in late spring, we roll out a round bale of mulch hay over the length of the row we are going to plant into, creating a thick weed free and moisture holding layer. We then set the transplants 3 ft. apart. Then we simply let them grow.
By fall they have grown to large bushes, about 4 feet tall and touching each other. We let them frost a few times then dig them. Unlike digging potatoes, you need to be very careful as the tubers are brittle. We slice the ground in a circle around each plant then lift out the plant. The part just below the soil is the propagation part. These we trim then store in slightly moistened sawdust in a building that doesn't freeze for the winter. Come spring, we break the propagation part into pieces then start in pots in the cold frame. Underneath the propagation part when digging, is the edible tubers. Some are skinny as a finger. Others are bigger than a hand. We bring some into the house right away to cure for a couple weeks. When the skin looks a bit wrinkly, they are ready to eat. The others we store in the freeze free outbuilding and bring in the house to cure as needed.
