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Post by richardw on Jul 13, 2014 14:18:48 GMT -5
It is excellent hey, there was 15 in total from your lot Bill and then there's still the one plant that came from seed off Franks original stock,all yours are in small pots now.
I think the best plan is that i carry on growing them in the tunnelhouse till spring,but they will need to go into larger pots during this time,i'll plant them out in the garden late September but cover with wool blankets against spring frosts,they will end up growing for 12 months this way.
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Post by steev on Jul 20, 2014 21:12:12 GMT -5
One of the seed-grown tubers has sprouted; seems redder than the well-grown plant.
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Post by notonari on Jul 30, 2014 6:33:55 GMT -5
This sounds very exciting. I'm planning to get in on the Oca growing/short season variety creation next year, anyone know what the best source for some promising seeds/tubers is in Europe? Anyone who can perhaps hook me up after summer?
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Post by billw on Jul 30, 2014 10:27:12 GMT -5
Where are you in Europe, Matuyama? Depending on your climate, you may be able to easily produce seeds with a few of the right varieties or you may need to start from seed to have a good chance of flowering.
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Post by notonari on Jul 30, 2014 11:18:03 GMT -5
I'm in the very south of Sweden (Malmö), lat. 55. I've a fairly favourable microclimate here though, about 6 frost-free months on average, probably a bit more in recent years, with relatively mild winters.
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Post by steev on Aug 3, 2014 21:46:07 GMT -5
Friday, rushing to get off to the farm, I found that the tuber from the last of the three seed-grown plants I'd germinated has sprouted! Happy, happy, joy, joy!
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Post by steev on Sept 17, 2014 23:41:23 GMT -5
While I certainly don't want to jump the gun, I am so itching to tip out my ocas, to see what they've done.
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Post by billw on Sept 17, 2014 23:45:41 GMT -5
Remember, they are short-day for tuber formation. They won't even get started for a week yet.
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Post by steev on Sept 18, 2014 0:25:06 GMT -5
Me, neither, so my kind of crop. I think I can resist the urge 'til they are cold-killed or late November, whichever comes later, but I'm so antsy. Oh, well; Protestant Ethic, deferred gratification and all, pie in the sky, oca by and by; one must have faith that one will survive to reap what one has sown.
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Post by richardw on Sept 18, 2014 0:57:10 GMT -5
Remember, they are short-day for tuber formation. yes and as a seedling they start growing a tuber soon after germination,the plant that i grew through winter just gone ended up growing a tuber that was nearly as large as the foliage above. |
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Post by billw on Sept 18, 2014 1:40:30 GMT -5
I know what you mean, Steev. 80% of what I grow is short-day. I think it has given me greater appreciation for what pregnancy is like. Nine months of work followed by a brief period of pain and terror, the outcome of which is all or nothing.  |
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Post by billw on Sept 18, 2014 1:45:10 GMT -5
Richard - I think that is the best way to start them. Much better results starting seed in late summer to harvest mini-tubers than to plant fragile seedlings out in the spring.
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Post by steev on Sept 18, 2014 2:01:47 GMT -5
OMG! Not the pregnancy thing again! I'm too damned old for that kind of helpless stress! Well, one of my 2nd-great-grandfathers got his last child when he was 72; I guess I'll survive. Oca better be tasty, is all I can say.
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Post by richardw on Sept 18, 2014 13:52:37 GMT -5
steev - remember to give them at least a month of indirect sunlight before giving your final verdict on whether you like them or not,they are a bit tasteless fresh outa the ground i reckon.
Bill- ended up planting out 10 from your seed,the rest pulled the pin early and gave up..(gutless bastards),i did notice a few bean size tubers on some but i would imagine that they will stop these tubers now the days are getting longer.At least i got a sneak preview of what colours to expect.
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Post by jeremy on Apr 26, 2015 22:37:49 GMT -5
Hey everyone - I thought I'd share some pictures of the babies I have going from some of Bill's 2014 seeds. This was the first one to come up, from the OP Group 2 tray... (Also visible are a couple Potato Onion seedlings)  That one came up after just a week. Here it is again 19 days later with a couple new friends...  And again with still another. I see four in the Group 2 tray now - all visible in this shot...  And there are a couple up in the OP Group 1 Tray as well (actually, I now see a third in this photo with its helmet still on)...  |
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