[NAFEX] Yacon anyone (OT?)
Karen Tillou
arboretum at homeorchardsociety.org
Wed Jan 16 13:26:27 EST 2008
in the willamette valley, oregon, several farmers are growing yacon
as a crop to add to their CSA harvests, and farmers market booths.
some yacon even make it into the wholesale distributors, usually
Organically Grown Cooperative (OGC). in the scheme of things though,
still very small scale production. Sunbow Farm in Corvallis, OR was
our local pioneer of growing out and selecting yacon for our climate
over the last 10 years.
for commercial harvest, i would say the biggest drawback is the
brittleness of the tuber - it is so crisp, so full of water, that it
needs more gentle handling than a potato or other root.
we store crowns in pots of soil or compost in a greenhouse, pantry,
root cellar for the winter.
karen
oregon city, OR; zone 8a
On Jan 16, 2008, at 7:42 AM, John S wrote:
> Yacon has two kinds of tubers, the ones you eat with no eyes for
> propagation and the tubers with eyes. After pulling off the
> storage (eating) tubers from the crown, I store the washed and
> dried propagative tubers (and crown) in a zip bag and store in the
> fridge. I bring them out in Jan/Feb and start them growing. I
> divide them into major pieces, but it is very common for a piece
> with multiple eyes to send up multiple plants which I further
> divide into individual plants. I ususally end up with more plants
> than I need and give some away but the neighbors have a tendency to
> plant and not harvest. I plant out after frost risk passes and
> plants are usually about 6". While I've not experimented much with
> storage, from observing the crowns in storage, I would suspect that
> viable crowns may not store well for more than a few months the way
> I do it but under optimal conditions this could much longer. I've
> stored JA tubers for more than a single season (year and a half as
> I recall) without any effort or problems.
>
> For some unknown reason, one year I lost my yacon to rot in the
> fridge and had to re-purchase. I am far from expert on them, but
> they are really productive and so easy that I remain surprised that
> they are not available in the produce department. I think the
> harvest and ease of use/cleaning are superior to Jerusulem
> artichoke, but JA has that knobby novelty appearance that is more
> attractive and due to smaller tuber size is probably easier to
> handle from a commercial point of view. Yacon tubers look a lot
> like smooth large potatos, but I understand that larger sized
> potatos are not always desirable from a marketing perspective.
>
> John
>
> Naomi <dragon-star at cableone.net> wrote:
> Okay, thank you. Could you tell me about the refrigeration thing.
>
> I do not have neighbor problems. I have done so many nutty things
> already that they are totally desensitized.
> Naomi
>
> From: nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-
> bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of John S
> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 11:08 PM
> To: North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Yacon anyone (OT?)
>
> Naomi, I guess there are a few of reasons. 1) To grow in amounts
> I would like to have would take up too much of my limited growing
> space. 2) Commercially available yacon might be available to me at
> seasons other than mine. 3) I have limited space to store the
> crowns under refrigeration and limited space to start and divide
> sufficient plants during the winter for spring planting.
>
> My neighbors think I am that gardening freak down the road
> already. That doesn't prevent them from stopping by for samples,
> but I dare not plant more than I currently do Expanding yacon
> means less supersweet corn or moving the gooseberries closer
> together or not getting that yellow autumn olive that just came on
> the market...
>
> John
>
> Naomi <dragon-star at cableone.net> wrote:
> Why would you rather buy it than grow it?
> Naomi
>
> From: nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-
> bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of John S
> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 3:33 PM
> To: North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: [NAFEX] Yacon anyone (OT?)
>
> I've been growing yacon for a few years and think it is a
> worthwhile investment of time. Each year I've been increasing
> space for it but space is severly limited and I'm getting lazier.
> Considered and treated as a fruit in some cultures, this is a tuber.
>
> I think yacon has potential as a commecial crop in the states and
> was wondering if anyone here has experience with it or has tried it
> commercially. I find it easy to grow, highly productive, no
> disease issues, decent storage characteristics, good taste and easy
> to dig. With apologies to to the apples guys/gals, I would rather
> eat yacon than apples. My supply is usually gone by Christmas and
> this year I am significantly increasing my production (home use only).
>
> Any thoughts? I'd rather buy it than grow it but that can only
> happen if someone starts to produce it commercially. Yacon is
> available from Nichols and Seeds of Change this year if anyone is
> interested.
>
> John
>
>
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