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Post by mountaindweller on Jun 20, 2012 20:44:27 GMT -5
I think we've had enough frost now and I consider harvesting oca.
I read that you have to cure them for three days, is it in the sun?
Or could you cure them inside.
I read too that the biggest tubers should be replanted, but that seems very odd to me as it is an asexual reproduction, is it true?
Our frosts are up to -5°C coud I replant them straigt away or do I wait until spring and store the tubers in the cold shed meanwhile?
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Post by raymondo on Jun 20, 2012 22:02:14 GMT -5
I've read that sun curing for a few days improves flavour. I don't have much luck getting decent sized tubers because the frost takes out the plants before they get a chance. I keep trying though. I put whatever tubers I'm replanting straight back in the ground after harvest. The cold here keeps them dormant until their time in spring.
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Post by rowan on Jun 21, 2012 5:32:28 GMT -5
I got a good harvest of big tubers this year.
You have to remember that the tubers are still growing as the tops die so make sure you wait a couple of weeks after they die down before harvesting. Then leave them in the air for a week or two to lose the oxalic acid. Then you can cook them Yum, I love surprising my friends and relatives with meals of them.
Also, some people pull them up in the summer thinking they are not producing but they only start to make their tubers when the temperatures cool down. You mustn't be impatient with oca.
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Post by mountaindweller on Jun 21, 2012 6:08:01 GMT -5
Thanks then I wait longer. Do I replant the small or the bigger tubers?
Apparently they are grown in Boyaca, Colombia, which is cool climate and a high tableland.
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Post by rowan on Jun 21, 2012 16:00:58 GMT -5
Replant the small tubers, they still grow full size.  These were planted with pea size tubers. |
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Post by raymondo on Jun 21, 2012 17:23:58 GMT -5
Nice oca. I'm jealous.
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Post by richardw on Jun 22, 2012 14:42:09 GMT -5
Wow they have done well,i'm like Ray i replant mine in a different bed straight away and they do fine given i get harder frost than what you get.
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Post by mountaindweller on Jun 24, 2012 2:02:09 GMT -5
diggers has three different kind of oca! What a range of variety to choose!!
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Post by rowan on Jun 24, 2012 2:09:30 GMT -5
For those in Aus, there is a lady selling three colours on Ebay at the moment from Tas. I have bought two lots from her but the pink and orange are too close to be different to my eyes. I mainly wanted the cream anyway and the orange does seem to be a bit different to the pink that I have always grown.
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Post by raymondo on Jun 29, 2012 5:22:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up about the other colours available in Australia. I try, unsuccessfully, each year with the pink so I might as well try with the cream and orange too!
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Post by mountaindweller on Jul 7, 2012 22:44:11 GMT -5
Thanks! Today I harvested the oca. It was quite miserable, but I had only 5 or so tubers planted, I didn't hill up and the soil was a bit miserable and I planted them in full shade. Most of the tubers are quite small at least I have enough to replant for next year for a decent harvest. As the shade tubers will surely gro back, I'll try some in sun. I should make a real experiment and plant in sun and in shade but in the same fashion.
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