OCA REVISITED
 

I have been playing with a crop that is for the most part new to me this year, OCA or oxalis tuberosa. Here are some pictures.[IMG]http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab61/wingnutpeaches/DSCF2086.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab61/wingnutpeaches/DSCF2201.jpg[/IMG] Three different varieties of OCA from medbury gardens, and some poatato pulls being grown/tuberized under lights[IMG]http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab61/wingnutpeaches/DSCF2168.jpg[/IMG]. OCA developing in pots[IMG]http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab61/wingnutpeaches/DSCF2153.jpg[/IMG] Thanks go out to my friend Chris "THE MAN" Homanics and Richard from Medbury Gardens for giving me such a great start.

That is a beautiful harvest, Wingnut! Did you taste any of them yet? I like them raw (depending on variety). If you put the tubers on a sunny location (a sunny windowsill) for up to three weeks, they sweeten up nicely and loose some of the starchiness

I have eaten some. The 'rose' tastes like a raw potatoe, the 'pink', and 'white' have a more tart taste. Both the 'pink' and 'white' sweetened up significantly when left in sunlight for two days (that's all ive gotten since first harvest), while the 'red' stayed the same. I like them roasted then mashed with butter.

How many plants of each variety did you plant? Did they get killed by hard frost before you dug them out?
I've tried three different types of the White Oca but never liked them much, they always had a weird 'dirt' aftertaste. I have some more varieties I grew last year and this year I will pay more attention to the flavors. I will only keep the most productive and tasty varieties to grow further...

about 30 of each. I had a wind storm and freezing weather on friday that melted everything. Next year I will have better protection, and hopefully will get them to keep going through november. As far as taste I'm not sure what a 'GOOD' oca tastes like! I will continue to aquire as many varieties as I can, and maybe I'll find a good early one.

Too bad you dug them out already, you should have left them in the ground for another two or three weeks, as they would still be gaining weight.
The stems, although frozen, still contain lots of nutrients and the tubers suck from the stems even after those die off. That process takes two to three weeks to complete and the tubers grow significantly during that time...

Nice harvest there Doug.

Iva - you're right about putting them somewhere sunny, i did that also this winter just gone and what a difference that made.

Ive found over the years that Oca or as we call them here in New Zealand 'Yams' is that they can become a bad weed as they are near impossible to get every tuber out at harvest time,but ive found a way to clear out a bed during the following season.
Early spring i sow the bed in lupins and when they and the regrowing Oca + weeds are up to 30-40cm tall i sprinkle more lupin seed over the top, i then pull everything out and lay it back on top of ground,doing this sows the next crop of Blue lupins which i find has less weeds second time round but also pulls out a number of the Oca as well,they then dry out in the sun.
[IMG]http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/Medburygardens/IMG_0002-1-1.jpg[/IMG]

This is repeated up to four times over the growing season and by winter 99.9% of the Oca tubers have given up the ghost.Ok that bed is non-productive for a season but the lupin have done wonders for the fertility plus a heap of mulch is left over that can then be dug back under
[IMG]http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp247/Medburygardens/IMG_00012-1.jpg[/IMG]