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Post by steev on Apr 2, 2014 20:03:25 GMT -5
Potted up the three seed-grown oca plants; each has at least one tuber growing.
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Post by billw on Apr 2, 2014 22:03:20 GMT -5
Cool! I'm surprised that they're forming tubers. When did you sow them?
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Post by steev on Apr 2, 2014 22:18:13 GMT -5
Right after the seeds arrived, around mid-August.
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Post by richardw on Apr 7, 2014 0:37:11 GMT -5
While weeding some pots today i found a small Oca plant which looked to be at least two-three months old,i lifted it out to see if it had a tuber underneath,but no,its from seed,it was growing in compost that i made and would be at least two years since it was made,so its got me buggered where it came from as my Oca never grow seed.
Oh well,i'll certainly be nursing this wee plant over winter.
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Post by steev on Apr 10, 2014 20:59:11 GMT -5
I fear two of my three seed-grown ocas have terminally resented being transplanted; we'll see. The tuber-planted five(?) varieties are burgeoning, the sole white one being the most robust. Should these be hilled up, like spuds?
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Post by rowan on Apr 11, 2014 0:24:23 GMT -5
I have found that hilling them causes them to rot and die but that could just be my cultivation techniques. I would be interested to hear if hilling has worked for others though.
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Post by copse on Apr 11, 2014 1:03:44 GMT -5
I have found that hilling them causes them to rot and die but that could just be my cultivation techniques. I would be interested to hear if hilling has worked for others though. I hilled mine up, one side rotted away and died and the other side is growing great. Each row was a different variety. |
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Post by richardw on Apr 11, 2014 4:55:08 GMT -5
Ive never hilled mine but have noticed rotting when the weather is damp cooler towards autumn.so i cover with plastic sheeting to keep the plants dry
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Post by billw on Apr 11, 2014 10:40:51 GMT -5
I only hill them enough to cover errant stolons. Some varieties produce stolons that plunge right into the ground from the main stem. You don't need to do much with those. Some produce a lot of lateral stolons that follow right along the surface or weave in and out of the ground. Those seem to do better with covering. I'm not talking about a lot of covering though - maybe 2 inches at the most. I didn't have any bad results with higher hilling, I just didn't see any increased yield for the large amount of labor.
Steev - I'll bet that your seedlings recover as long as you make sure they have plenty of water. Some of my seedlings died back alarmingly after being transplanted out, but then grew back from beneath the surface.
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Post by steev on Apr 11, 2014 21:44:46 GMT -5
Yes, they were plunging stolons (which I found a tad disconcerting).
I'll certainly not give up on them; the third is looking very healthy, indeed.
It's interesting to see how differently the various varieties behave.
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Post by Tiirsys on May 18, 2014 0:19:54 GMT -5
Gha! If only I had found this forum last summer!!! I acquired all sorts of wonderful andean crops this winter and now have them planted out in some raised beds. Two of them almost completely Oca. I was so excited when I found your blog, billw!! Funny thing, we live really close to one another... vaguely geographically speaking. (Rochester, here. Not trying to be a creeper.) Aside from Oca I have: Mashua, Mauka, Yacon. (R.I.P. Ulluco.)
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Post by khoomeizhi on May 18, 2014 6:57:14 GMT -5
i've been waiting (relatively) patiently for sacred succulents to have mauka available...where did you find yours, tiirsys?
(welcome, by the way)
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Post by billw on May 18, 2014 13:24:52 GMT -5
Welcome Tiirsys! You should be in a good climate to get oca seeds if you have the right varieties.
Is your mauka established? I have mauka blanca for the second time as a cutting and it looks unfortunately like it is going to die on me for the second time. Looks like failure to root even though it is supposed to be easy to root. Bah!
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Post by billw on May 18, 2014 14:36:24 GMT -5
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Post by Tiirsys on May 18, 2014 19:53:22 GMT -5
i've been waiting (relatively) patiently for sacred succulents to have mauka available...where did you find yours, tiirsys? (welcome, by the way) Thank you! I got my Mauka from Peace Seedlings down in Corvallis, OR. I don't know if it is something they are marketing or not, but I asked them if they had any available and they were happy to make some cuttings for me. |
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