Anyone tried yacon in the Midwest?

Re: temperatures, nothing that a well tucked hoop house can not fix. We do get close to 6 months frost-free these days. But more important, where to buy yacon starter tubers? Even google does not help, though I did find one link where it was sold out.

RE: Anyone tried yacon in the Midwest?

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Posted by NilaJones 7b (My Page) on
Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 19:32

I would grow them if I could find them!

RE: Anyone tried yacon in the Midwest?

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Posted by weedlady Central OH 5 (My Page) on
Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 22:43

I grew it quite successfully when I lived near Pittsburgh, PA. 6-7 years ago. I ordered my starts (young plants) in spring from Nichols Garden Nursery.
The plant grew very tall and bushy (+/- 4 ft high and wide) and yielded nice-size tubers. They were good.

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Posted by steve_in_los_osos CA 10a/Sunset 17 (My Page) on
Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 23:53

Raintree Nursery in Washington State sells yacon crowns.

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Posted by madroneb z8OR (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 0:27

I'm in Oregon and grow lots of yacon for market. If you contact me via my page, i'll try to get you some crowns after harvest this fall/winter.

Here is a photo from a week ago and another from harvest a few years ago.
-Mark

This post was edited by madroneb on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 0:35

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Posted by zeedman 5 Wisconsin (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 2:42

I tried growing yacon here several years ago. The plants were healthy, but had only small tubers when frost came. Tuber formation is triggered by short days, so the plants need a fair amount of growing season following the Autumnal equinox... probably at least until November.

Those are beautiful plants, Mark... wish they did that well here, I'd grow that much myself. What month do you harvest? Do they bloom for you?

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Posted by glib 5.5 (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 10:01

This is perhaps a stupid question, but they look like deer candy, don't they?

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Posted by madroneb z8OR (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 10:43

I start digging in late oct and dug the last just before christmas this past (mild) fall. Probably 20% of the plants made flowers and seem to have larger yields than the others.

I would guess the deer would go for the plants if I didn't have a fence. The leaves are used for tea and taste a bit like mint. As of now, the yacon is the most problem free plant in the garden. A few cucumber beetles in the late spring and some vole damage in the fall.

The biggest challenge is the digging. The tubers are so juicy, they fracture oh, so easily. Sometimes you just touch them while they're in the ground and they crack. I haven't found any way to use the tractor to dig, and even levering them with a digging fork causes damage.
My only option is very time consuming. I loosen some soil on the edge with the fork, and pull the dirt away by hand, carefully separating the tubers from the crown as I go.

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Posted by glib 5.5 (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 14:32

Yes, I thought of the tubers. I dig large trenches as root cellars every winter, then I fill them with leaves (then I plant something that will grow in there, such as squash). My soil is clay, and quite hard, but those spots are crumbly for the first 18 inches.

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Posted by NilaJones 7b (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 14:34

Thanks for the sources, folks!

This post was edited by NilaJones on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 14:35

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Posted by manylittle 4 (My Page) on
Thu, May 29, 14 at 15:38

There are still a few tubers and or plants available on ebay but they are expensive. I will order them in the fall so I can start them indoors in grow bags this Feb. I'll move them outdoors mid to end of may as I'm in mid west Wis. I would imagine I should have a fairly large grow bag. lol

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