mostlypurple
grub
SE Michigan, Kitchen garden, Z 5b-6a
Posts: 86
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Post by mostlypurple on Jan 28, 2009 17:51:49 GMT -5
Just wondering, is anyone familiar with this? aka ground nut, or potato bean. I'm thinking of trying it this year.
OOPS..I meant to post this in Fabaceae!
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Post by macmex on Jan 28, 2009 18:19:35 GMT -5
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 28, 2009 19:02:46 GMT -5
I finally got my hands on some tubers last fall and planted them. There are others here though that have previous experience with them. The tubers I got from a friend were large grape sized in a string and he said they tasted quite good but took several seasons to grow I think. The vine itself is vigorous with attactive brownish pea-like blossoms. My friend grew his in a fairly shady garden.
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mostlypurple
grub
SE Michigan, Kitchen garden, Z 5b-6a
Posts: 86
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Post by mostlypurple on Jan 28, 2009 21:33:40 GMT -5
Macmex, that is a FABULOUS link- I never heard of Oikos before...they have lots of other stuff I'd be interested in. Apparently the owner is from Saginaw Michigan and specializes in local native plants... prices are not bad either. thanks  Ottawa gardener, I was thinking to grow it up a bare northwest brick wall. The flowers are really quite lovely...it's supposed to be found in the wild, I wonder if I should just go foraging for it this summer. All sources I have found are out of tubers until september anyway. But how does it taste?? it's supposed to have latex in its sap... |
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Post by orflo on Jan 28, 2009 23:46:08 GMT -5
Here are some thoughts I wrote down for an article: Apios thrives very good in my Western European conditions. They prefer a sunny place, a little bit of shade doesn’t seem to harm them though. Make sure the ground stays wet (permaculture?), they don’t like really dry conditions.  By orflo, shot with DiMAGE A2 at 2009-01-28 Plant out the tubers immediately after arrival, don’t let them dry out! If your ground is frozen,put them in a pot with some potting earth or something similar and keep them wet. Space the tubers in full ground 50x30 cms and place a sturdy support (2 metre or more) right next to every tuber. Plant the tubers 7-8 cms deep. In summer, they will wind themselves along the supports, in ideal conditions plants reach over 3 metres , although they can be slow to appear (sometimes even in May). The plants like a bit of food, but ,as a member of the leguminosae family , they are not greedy and will grow well without heavy fertilization.  By orflo, shot with DiMAGE A2 at 2007-10-24 Harvest begins whenever the leaves have died , usually around October, after flowering. The tubers can be left in the ground during wintertime, they are hardy, in my experience to at least -11° Celsius (I didn’t have a chance for testing lower temperatures, winters have become very mild). If you decide to dig them up,place them in a box of wet ground or sand or… ,keep them cool and moist. Again, don’t let them dry out or they will shrivel and become useless. Bear in mind that every over-wintered tuber is likely to produce a new plant, so this can become a wide –spaced apios patch if you just let them go. There are a few selections of apios, but they are not commonly available in Europe, the plant originally comes from North America and was once an essential food for native people and the first settlers. It is gaining a new interest lately as a potato alternative, some Universities are selecting on bigger crops and bigger tubers (tubers over here become at the most 8-9 cms long and 3-4 cms thick. Small tubers will grow big within two years, if they have the right conditions. They can be prepared the way potatoes are prepared : boiled, fried , ….The taste is good, somewhat chestnut-like... |
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Post by stevil on Jan 29, 2009 3:50:29 GMT -5
I've had Apios in my garden for about 10 years. I've tried it both in the greenhouse and outside. It survived outside, temperatures down to around -20C without snow cover, but never produced much. The last few years I've just grown it in the greenhouse, and I get a small yield every year, but not as big tubers as Frank reports. It only just manages to flower here (daylight sensitive?) around late September (in the wild it apparently flowers from July). I may well have lost it this season as it wasn't as vigorous this summer and I couldn't find any tubers.
I also remember somebody told me about 10 years ago about a university in the US working on developing better selections. I tried to get in touch without success. A quick search now seems to suggest that nothing came of it and that the research was done at LSÙ (some discussions on Garden Web about this). No time to look properly...
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Post by flowerpower on Jan 29, 2009 3:54:05 GMT -5
Interesting looking tubers. The flowers look alot like Lupine. Very pretty.
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mostlypurple
grub
SE Michigan, Kitchen garden, Z 5b-6a
Posts: 86
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Post by mostlypurple on Jan 29, 2009 9:21:44 GMT -5
Beautiful pics, and great advice, orflo. So you've tasted them? I understand the beans/seeds are also edible. But I'm worried about the latex content, which I've read about. Can cause severe reaction in people with latex sensitivity, apparently. See the EatTheWeeds guy dig some on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqQ7LcB9cdUYou can see latex sap oozing out of one of the tubers at one point. stevil, Oikostreecrops (thanks macmex) offers a cultivar with larger tubers that they say was developed in Louisiana (maybe LSU?) called "nutty": www.oikostreecrops.com/store/product.asp?P_ID=560&PT_ID=80&strPageHistory=catI'm particularly intrigued because unlike potatoes, the tubers have such a high protein content, 16%. |
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Post by orflo on Jan 29, 2009 9:38:27 GMT -5
I eat them quite a lot , actually, and I think I'm still posting here... ;D I like them mixed up with potatoes, gives a very nice taste... Strange, about 8 hours ago I discovered this eattheweeds guy, and now suddenly someone is posting a link...  This big tuber from oikos looks amazingly interesting, unfortunately they seem to be out. I tried two varieties from Louisiana university last year, one was called Bonsall, but I can't remember the other one's name right now. Anyway, I don't know what happened, but none of the two varieties did produce something, they popped up, made a small and tiny vine and disappeared. The most probable theory is that mice ate the tubers, I have a friend who grew them out as well, and he did have good results (he mentioned the tubers were really much alike his original nameless variety). Another very interesting plant, also native in North America, and a member of the fabaceae family, is hog peanut, but I'll best open up a new topic about that one.. |
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mostlypurple
grub
SE Michigan, Kitchen garden, Z 5b-6a
Posts: 86
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Post by mostlypurple on Jan 29, 2009 9:48:26 GMT -5
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 29, 2009 10:06:24 GMT -5
Not surprisingly there are tubers adapted to different regions and the ones my friend gave me were the second set he tried. The first kind were from the south and did nothing for him. The second were from the north (of NA) and they flower from mid-summer, producing tubers, though not huge ones. I'm going over to oikos now...
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 29, 2009 10:13:00 GMT -5
Oh yeah, now I remember why I love looking at their catalogue - ECOS potato... though I suppose naturalizing potatoes has its disadvantages in terms of disease control but it looks so neat.
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Post by stevil on Jan 29, 2009 12:43:51 GMT -5
Not surprisingly there are tubers adapted to different regions and the ones my friend gave me were the second set he tried. The first kind were from the south and did nothing for him. The second were from the north (of NA) and they flower from mid-summer, producing tubers, though not huge ones. I'm going over to oikos now... Yes, this did occur to me - I was probably unlucky and the person who sent them was probably living on the southern tip of Florida - range map in the following link: plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=APAM I'll be needing a Canadian source, not the one for Louisiana... |
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 29, 2009 13:40:15 GMT -5
Next year Stevil, I'm your (wo)man. Just remind me, unless someone beats me to it of course.
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Post by orflo on Jan 29, 2009 15:58:29 GMT -5
Stephen, shall I add some to your wish list? Belgium is more up to the north compared to these southern Canadians.... ;D ;D ;D and I got some kilos left...
But I would like to have a variety that flowers earlier as well, no way I can get seeds from september flowers...
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