permaculture

["John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net>]

Aloha,

> On a totally different topic, I had had a taro plant in a sawn off 5
> gallon water cooler container, which survived, but didn't do well. Now
having recently transfered it into a clay soil garden area, it's doing
quite
> nicely without any bog like conditions. Are there any varieties that are
adapted to a more dry growing environment?

There are hundreds of varieties of taro.  Some are definitely dryland taro
(meaning grown in soil - they still need water, they're not a 'dryland'
plant in the temperate climate sense), others are wetland taro.  The
wetland varieties have historically grown in terraces with some flow of
water through them, not in standing water (thus my question to Robyn about
the taro in the fishtank).

I don't know enough to say whether yours is happier now because it's
dryland taro or because it's wetland taro that would rather be in soil
than standing water... ;-)

There are not very many places left (not in Hawai'i anyhow) where wetland
taro can still be grown properly, so it seems more likely you got a
dryland variety since there's more of that around.

Some varieties are grown primarily for the corm (tuber), and some are
grown primarily for the leaf (these latter may not develop much of a corm,
especially if the leaf is cut several times).

Also, taro corm does not grow down into the soil like carrots or beets or
similar.  It grows 'up', so to speak.  So if you plant your huli (start)
right near the top of the soil you won't get much corm either.

a hui hou,
John S.


John Schinnerer, MA
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