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Post by khoomeizhi on Jul 7, 2015 4:10:57 GMT -5
i've had them like that from time to time.
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Post by billw on Jul 7, 2015 18:51:04 GMT -5
From what is unsaid there, I take it the crown doesn't go on to produce three-leaved plants?
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Post by billw on Jul 7, 2015 18:56:01 GMT -5
Ulluco seedling #8. It has been two months since the last one, so I was started to think that was all there would be. Philip also got one from my seed and Cesar got one from seed that he saved, so that makes a total of ten new ullucos so far this year. That's progress!  |
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Post by philagardener on Jul 7, 2015 21:09:30 GMT -5
From what is unsaid there, I take it the crown doesn't go on to produce three-leaved plants? I don't know if it will be stable, but wouldn't be surprised if it reverts in vegetative growth. Keep us posted! |
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Post by billw on Sept 4, 2015 15:41:40 GMT -5
Much better results with mauka this year. It needs about 11 months to get to this size:  |
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Post by steev on Sept 4, 2015 19:35:22 GMT -5
Resembles some carrots I've grown, though not orange.
I'm guessing this works like dahlias, where you can re-plant a tuber that has some crown attached?
Given appropriate protection, maybe potted in a greenhouse, for planting out in Spring, seems it could get that eleven-month growth easily?
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Post by billw on Sept 4, 2015 21:42:06 GMT -5
It is able to grow outside year round up here, so I imagine it would for you as well, Steev. Frost kills back the foliage, but it just sprouts and grows again as soon as the weather warms up. Within the limits of my ability to test, it seems like a pretty tough plant - drought didn't phase it. Can't really test heat, but people in hotter places are growing it without much trouble. New plants can be started from any of those caudices or sausage-like stem pieces. I don't even have to baby them - just cover with soil and water and you have a new plant in a couple of weeks.
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Post by steev on Sept 5, 2015 0:50:21 GMT -5
So I think it would grow year-round in the SF Bay Area, where I have no land, but my farm is way more rigorous; clearly another interesting project, when I get my act/infrastructure together.
BTW, my oca are looking not great, but better than last year; poor babies need to not be kept in pots, but that's what I can currently do, here in the East Bay; they've not a snowball's chance on the farm without major protection, which I can't currently provide.
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Post by richardw on Sept 5, 2015 1:12:50 GMT -5
I will grow for first time oca, mashua, blue potatos, canna indica, yacon, curcuma longa and zedoaria, stachys affinis, amaranthus and quinoa. I could't find ulluco tubers to grow (infortunately). Wow , thats impressive |
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Post by notonari on Sept 5, 2015 1:27:04 GMT -5
billw: that's a pretty nice mauka. Is that blanka? Interesting to read you can leave it in the ground year-round, how much frost do you usually get where you live?
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Post by hortusbrambonii on Sept 5, 2015 7:17:06 GMT -5
Waiting for the ocas and yacons (and not expecting too much from Ulloco; especially since they're completely overgrown by my edible 'yellow black nightshade'...) , but in the fruit vegetable department I've been eating some interesting recipe with Cyclanthera-fruits lately.
I'm stuffing a lot of 'fat baby' achocha fruits (Cyclanthera brachystachia I think) with cheese for the tapas party tonight. If you get the technique they are quite easy to prepare and they taste quite good. They also grow and produce very well here in Belgium, with a lot of fruits from half August until the first frost or so...
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Post by billw on Sept 5, 2015 13:11:00 GMT -5
Matuyama, some years we have dozens of nights with frost and occasionally we get no frost at all. It rarely gets colder than -5C here and that doesn't last for long. Most tubers survive the winter here in the ground, although really shallow ocas and potatoes will sometimes freeze.
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Post by notonari on Sept 7, 2015 3:27:22 GMT -5
Bummer, I had hoped I could experiment with leaving some of my mauka in the ground this year, but it definitely goes (far) below -5C here. I'd better not risk it until I have far more plants to play with.
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Post by rowan on Sept 7, 2015 3:59:38 GMT -5
It is spring here, after a record cold winter (for us anyway - it would probably be t-shirt weather for many of you, lol) and it looks like the El-Nino is going to be a whopper so we will have a very dry spring and summer. Anyway, I have just finished planting all my oca and yacon, and the arracacha, mauka and ulluco will go out as soon as the frosts finish at the end of the month. I have leased another few acres so I have a heap of room to play with my new seedling oca varieties.
Apart from the dryness and risk of a very hot summer I am really looking forward to experimenting more this season with my Andean crops.
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Post by philip on Sept 8, 2015 3:38:55 GMT -5
 Two ulluco plants grown from seed (thanks Bill) The one on the left has orangy stems and the right one is red-stemmed. The stick structure is there cause i wanted to cover them with black plastic to initiate earlier tuber formation but i have too many other things to do. I have yet to manage to produce ulluco seed if my breeding efforts are to become more than efforts. Just letting them grow and do their own thing doesn't seem to result in seeds so i will try hand pollination next year. I am quite hopeful about these two plants cause they were grown from seed and may produce seed more readily. The plant on the right is very floriferous (does that word exist?) I also have a third ulluco from seed but it's so small and doesn't look good so it may die before winter unfortunately. If i can get my act together i ll try and put it under artficial light.   |
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