Hi

Planted the red OCA and Yacon last year interesting but nothing special
for eating and won't do it again

Regards

Maurice


On 14/12/2015 08:16, Bob Hobden wrote:
Planted in rows on humps they grew well and we dug up our first plant
yesterday. We had mixed colours and these were the cream coloured ones,
crop was good at just over 1.5Kg from one plant and all are usable as
the smaller ones can be eaten raw in salads. Texture raw is rather like
a radish with a pleasant quite mild vinegar/lemon taste, we roasted some
last evening and they were OK but nothing special, certainly won't
replace normal roast spuds on the plate. It will be interesting to try
the red ones IDC.

-- Regards
Bob Hobden
Posting to this Newsgroup
from the W.of London. UK

"Maurice & Doreen Larcombe" wrote
Bob Hobden wrote:
Planted in rows on humps they grew well and we dug up our first plant
yesterday. We had mixed colours and these were the cream coloured ones,
crop was good at just over 1.5Kg from one plant and all are usable as
the smaller ones can be eaten raw in salads. Texture raw is rather like
a radish with a pleasant quite mild vinegar/lemon taste, we roasted some
last evening and they were OK but nothing special, certainly won't
replace normal roast spuds on the plate. It will be interesting to try
the red ones IDC.

Planted the red OCA and Yacon last year interesting but nothing special
for eating and won't do it again

The question is why are they so popular in New Zealand?
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

Planted the red OCA and Yacon last year interesting but nothing special
for eating and won't do it again

The question is why are they so popular in New Zealand?

Longer growing season. People in the West Country should be able
to grow them better than I can.

The oca I grew were very good, a bit like lemony potatoes, but very
small. Apparently they don't start to form tubers until the days
shorten, and autumn frosts are common in Cambridge. I was told
that the key to large tubers is that the top growth should die
away gradually, rather than being frosted hard. They also need
digging up and keeping frost-free. I should have grown some this
year :-(

The yacon grew well, but don't form tubers until the autumn and,
despite what the descriptions imply, they are for water-storage and
not energy-storage. They made extremely good crunchy material for
salad (with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar), but salads are not
really what I want in the winter. They are also very frost-sensitive.

Achocha grew and cropped well, but had to be got VERY young to avoid
the seeds forming a hard coat, and they are both expansionist (4m)
and stray seeds germinate. They weren't exciting, but OK.

Mouse melons are highly amusing, and I am going to try to overwinter
some this year. They prefer a bit of warmth (e.g. a polytunnel),
and make excellent additions to cocktails. I have also made some
into dill pickles, and they are good there, too. And they can be
used in salads. All a bit chewy, but not too bad. They are a
tuberous, thin climber to 2m or so.

This year I grew magenta spreen and Aztec broccoli - very similar.
Both need to be started early, in pots, and get to 8' and 6',
respectively. As leaves, the former isn't quite as good as
goosefoot, but less fiddly, and both make good spinach substitutes
in dishes like lasagne. The flowers and young seeds of the former
can be eaten as if it were the latter, which extends the season.
The former's stems are strong enough to make walking sticks. Both
can handle dry, warm spells without problem, which spinach can't;
and I find New Zealand spinach disgusting.

I failed on asparagus peas, though my mother could grow them; mine
were fibrous and bitter.

I succeeded in getting viable seed of rampion - ha! Its leaves
are tolerable in salads, and make an interesting cooked vegetable,
but are a pain to separate them and wash out the mud (the plants
are near-prostrate). The roots have a good flavour, and can be
eaten raw, but are a Real Pain to prepare - 2"x1/4" at best (and
mine were twisty, because I had left them too long in pots), and
you need to rub off the skin. The flowers are pretty, too.

I grew Tropaeolum tuberosum once, but didn't know it was edible
at the time; I may try again. OK, but small tubers and, again,
very frost-sensitive and needs bringing in.

We called cardoons repulsant snozzcombers, for good reason. Pretty,
but bitter as gall even after both kinds of blanching.

Amelanchiers aren't vegetables, but show promise when my trees grow
to have enough.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote
Bob Hobden wrote:

Planted the red OCA and Yacon last year interesting but nothing special
for eating and won't do it again

The question is why are they so popular in New Zealand?

Longer growing season. People in the West Country should be able
to grow them better than I can.

The oca I grew were very good, a bit like lemony potatoes, but very
small. Apparently they don't start to form tubers until the days
shorten, and autumn frosts are common in Cambridge. I was told
that the key to large tubers is that the top growth should die
away gradually, rather than being frosted hard. They also need
digging up and keeping frost-free. I should have grown some this
year :-(

Ours grew well and because of the very mild autumn they got a slight frost
and the top growth died down slowly over weeks which is why we didn't dig
them till now. The rest are still in the allotment. Size wise they are as
big as I've seen them and a crop of 1.5Kg from a plant is not bad. Only
tried the cream coloured ones so far, what colour tubers were yours as I
understand it makes a difference to the taste?


The yacon grew well, but don't form tubers until the autumn and,
despite what the descriptions imply, they are for water-storage and
not energy-storage. They made extremely good crunchy material for
salad (with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar), but salads are not
really what I want in the winter. They are also very frost-sensitive.

Achocha grew and cropped well, but had to be got VERY young to avoid
the seeds forming a hard coat, and they are both expansionist (4m)
and stray seeds germinate. They weren't exciting, but OK.

Mouse melons are highly amusing, and I am going to try to overwinter
some this year. They prefer a bit of warmth (e.g. a polytunnel),
and make excellent additions to cocktails. I have also made some
into dill pickles, and they are good there, too. And they can be
used in salads. All a bit chewy, but not too bad. They are a
tuberous, thin climber to 2m or so.

This year I grew magenta spreen and Aztec broccoli - very similar.
Both need to be started early, in pots, and get to 8' and 6',
respectively. As leaves, the former isn't quite as good as
goosefoot, but less fiddly, and both make good spinach substitutes
in dishes like lasagne. The flowers and young seeds of the former
can be eaten as if it were the latter, which extends the season.
The former's stems are strong enough to make walking sticks. Both
can handle dry, warm spells without problem, which spinach can't;
and I find New Zealand spinach disgusting.

I failed on asparagus peas, though my mother could grow them; mine
were fibrous and bitter.

I succeeded in getting viable seed of rampion - ha! Its leaves
are tolerable in salads, and make an interesting cooked vegetable,
but are a pain to separate them and wash out the mud (the plants
are near-prostrate). The roots have a good flavour, and can be
eaten raw, but are a Real Pain to prepare - 2"x1/4" at best (and
mine were twisty, because I had left them too long in pots), and
you need to rub off the skin. The flowers are pretty, too.

I grew Tropaeolum tuberosum once, but didn't know it was edible
at the time; I may try again. OK, but small tubers and, again,
very frost-sensitive and needs bringing in.

I bought that to grow on the plot but reading up about it decided I would
use it as an ornamental and let it scramble over our camellia tree. So glad
I didn't plant this thug on the plot, it covered our camellia which is a
good sized tree. Also I understand it has the same properties if eaten as
Bromide in tea.


We called cardoons repulsant snozzcombers, for good reason. Pretty,
but bitter as gall even after both kinds of blanching.

Amelanchiers aren't vegetables, but show promise when my trees grow
to have enough.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

Ours grew well and because of the very mild autumn they got a slight frost
and the top growth died down slowly over weeks which is why we didn't dig
them till now. The rest are still in the allotment. Size wise they are as
big as I've seen them and a crop of 1.5Kg from a plant is not bad. Only
tried the cream coloured ones so far, what colour tubers were yours as I
understand it makes a difference to the taste?

Pink and cream. They all cooked to yellowish, and tasted similar.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.