tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58776031717177414312024-03-13T21:07:37.866+00:00Growing OcaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-63067867372058833592014-03-18T19:08:00.000+00:002014-03-20T19:55:25.801+00:00Oca as a Late-Planted Crop… Seems to WorkMost growers start their oca tubers in pots indoors as early as possible, and move them outside to their final planting site as soon as the threat of frost has passed. This gives the longest available growing season, and hence more foliage with which to make more tubers. This is quite logical, but oca grows slowly in Spring, and quickly in late Summer, so the question arises - why squander valuable Spring planting space on widely spaced small plants? Why not treat Oca as a late-planted follow-on crop utilising space made available by the harvest of Spring crops? Worth a try I thought, so these plants…<br />
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... were held in modules until the beginning of August when a crop of garlic was cleared to make space for them.<br />
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Here they are on the 28th of October...<br />
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...less than three months after planting out, having seemingly made up for the late start. The yacon (another slow-starting crop) were planted at the same time.<br />
During November, there were a few mild frosts, but the killing frost came on 10th December...<br />
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…followed by an unusually wet and stormy winter, which meant that harvest was delayed until early March. Rather late, so I was expecting the voles to have polished off most of the crop, but actually...<br />
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…most plants have done no worse than those planted at the conventional time. Maybe the voles drowned this year.<br />
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I have to conclude that there is probably little benefit in the labour-intensive business of starting plants early under cover. The fact that oca tubers survive prolonged storage, and are resilient enough after sprouting, means that it is not even necessary to hold the tubers in chilled conditions until the chosen planting time.<br />
With yield apparently unaffected by early August planting, the crop can comfortably follow or relay with overwintered Alliums, Brassicas or roots, early potatoes, peas, or green manure crops.<br />
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That's one less thing to do in the April rush.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-77133968415326289032014-01-03T20:52:00.000+00:002014-01-04T18:19:37.156+00:00Skirret—Growing, Selecting (and Eating)I grew <a href="http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sium+sisarum" target="_blank">skirret</a> from two sources last year; seed from a commercial supplier, and a few root-cuttings presumably from plants which had already received some selection.<br />
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Seed-grown plants are highly variable, and give the chance to select for larger root production, so rather than lift the plants piecemeal as required for the kitchen, I'm checking the whole crop to choose and propagate from the best.<br />
About two dozen plants...<br />
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…showing wide variation in quality and productivity...<br />
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... those with the thickest and largest roots are used for division. Skirret crowns conveniently provide ready-rooted shoots which can be split off...<br />
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…ready for potting up or planting out directly...<br />
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Apart from being easy to propagate, skirret has a lot else going for it. To my taste, this is one of the best flavoured and textured vegetables I've eaten; sweet and floury, with more character than say potato or parsnip.<br />
It's perennial, easy to grow, showing no sign of pest damage, tolerates rough weather, and produces attractive flowers and ample seed. In my experience, it stores well simply left in the ground until needed. With all this, it seems sad that it has almost disappeared from the vegetable garden just because it's a little fiddly to clean compared with potatoes or carrots.<br />
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There are varied ideas about the best way grow the crop, but I sowed indoors at the end of April, transplanted the strongest seedlings to modules, and planted outdoors promptly to avoid any risk of amusingly shaped roots. I used block planting, spaced at 12" on a bed of silty soil in full sun, and mulched with 4" of raw woodchippings. During mid Summer they got a sprinkling of wood ash, and a little dilute nitrogen feed. During dry spells, they got perhaps 2gal of water per sq.m/week.<br />
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I can also see potential for my now improved stock in a polyculture system, perhaps with alliums, as the two are active at different ends of the year, but I need to experiment more with basic cultural conditions first before I start getting too creative.<br />
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- And not forgetting the taste test...<br />
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…mmm, farinaceous!<br />
Many reports mention skirret roots having a woody core, but I've seen no instances of this in my harvest, and suspect it may be due to cultural conditions, perhaps lack of water.<br />
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There is a recipe for an impressive Skirret Pie <a href="http://foodhistorjottings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/elizabeth-rainbows-skirret-pie.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and more about growing the crop <a href="http://backyardlarder.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/sizing-up-skirret.html" target="_blank">here</a> at The Backyard Larder Blog, and <a href="http://wettingthebeds.cultivariable.com/search/label/skirret%20%28Sium%20sisarum%29" target="_blank">here</a> at Wetting the Beds.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-10530604662547511212013-12-12T20:10:00.001+00:002013-12-29T20:10:54.144+00:00Extending the Oca Growing Season through Frost ProtectionThe death of foliage from frost signals the end of the oca season, but at this time of year when tuberisation is in full swing, any slight extension of the growing season will have the maximum effect on crop yield. I stress that again; even one extra week without killing frost could easily have more effect on yield than any other factor over the whole growing period.<br />
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But it's important to point out that oca can survive light frosts, and there may be some variation among varieties in this ability.<br />
Furthermore, it has been speculated that cold weather or slight frost damage may contribute to initiate or accelerate tuber bulking.<br />
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Most frosts in autumn are radiation frosts, occurring on clear windless nights, often just for an hour or so at dawn. These are capable of being combatted more easily than advection frosts, which are associated with a more fundamental and long lasting atmospheric low temperatures.<br />
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So until new varieties with day-length-neutral tendencies come along, here are 20 ways to minimise the risk of crop loss from frost:<br />
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<u>Topographic placement and aspect.</u> Avoiding frost pockets, and facilitating cold air drainage away from crops is a well understood method. Less commonly understood, is the effect of the upslope area; depending on the soil surface, this can chill or warm the air flowing down over the cropping area. Bare soil, or hard surfaces will produce warmer conditions than continuous ground vegetation or thick mulch.<br />
South-facing slopes will receive and store higher levels of the sun's energy than north facing, and so have more to radiate during the night.<br />
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<u>Mini-scale cold air drainage.</u> Raised beds can protect from slight frosts by allowing cold air to drain away to the lower path areas. Paths should be unobstructed, and run downslope to drain air efficiently, though this may conflict with soil erosion considerations. Beds with high wooden edging are as likely to trap frost as they are to shed it. Growing on supports such as netting, pea sticks, or a tall companion crop may also have some beneficial effect in keeping top growth above the coldest air.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come the first frost, this oca crop should benefit from its bed being raised by a foot or so above the paths, and from its companion crop of sweetcorn, who's dried stems will be left in situ after harvest to trap radiated warmth. The mulch of rotten hay will prevent the soil from keeping the air warm, so should be removed before frosts are due in autumn.</td></tr>
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<u>Downslope air flow</u>. Any areas or rows of harvested tall crops should be cleared away before frosts if they are located where they may obstruct or slow the cold air flow away from the crop bed in question.<br />
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<u>Cold Hardening</u>. Exposure to cold conditions is considered by some to increase the crop's frost tolerance, but this effect is apparently nullified by any following period of warm weather, so refrain from adding polythene crop protection if the weather is merely cool. Interestingly, cold hardening of many plant species is associated with the translocation of carbohydrates to the roots, so this may be significant in accelerating tuber bulking.<br />
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<u>Nutritional Hardening.</u> There is some research showing that plant nutrition may influence frost resistance. Understanding seems poor, but it's probably beneficial to avoid nitrogen feeds in the period coming up to the frost season.<br />
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<u>Sacrificial companion crops.</u> A taller crop grown with the oca can help to hold warmer air close to the ground. Yacon works well, and can usually produce good crops itself before frost arrives, as it is not day-length sensitive. A slight disadvantage is that once frosted, the companion crop looses some of its protective value due to reduced canopy density.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yacon burned by frost. The Oca underneath is undamaged.</td></tr>
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<u>Crop debris from previous companion crop.</u> The dead standing remains of tender tall crops (such as <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/oca-sweetcorn-bicrop.html" target="_blank">corn</a>, tomatoes or quinoa) grown with the oca during the Summer can provide some slight frost protection if they are left in place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cordon tomatoes growing over oca in late Summer. The dead foliage canopy can provide some frost protection later in the year.</td></tr>
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<u>Self sacrificial protection.</u> Outermost foliage of oca plants will be killed by the first light frost...<br />
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...leaving the rest of the plant unharmed. This is possibly instrumental in boosting the plants' rate of tuberisation. Growing large healthy plants from a full season's growth, or planting at close spacing will result in dense, thick foliage capable of absorbing several frost events before the plant is killed.<br />
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<u>Physical covers.</u> Polythene, horticultural fleece, newspaper, netting, straw, or sacking can protect against several degrees of frost. For simple management, they need not be removed between frosts, but simply left in place until harvest. Avoid placing them too early, or the plants' cold-hardening adaption may be compromised.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scaffold debris netting protecting a bed of oca. After a night of -4°C the plants are limp but not killed. Other root crops in the photo are (from top left clockwise) celeriac, Hamburg parsley, chuffa, skirret.</td></tr>
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<u>Casual covering</u>. Crop debris collected from nearby spent crops, such as pea haulms, corn stalks, weeds, etc can simply be thrown over the crop, then left until harvest time. N.B this is not a soil mulch, which would reduce soil radiation; it must be placed over the crop foliage to hold radiated warmth around it.<br />
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<u>Water spraying.</u> Popular with commercial fruit growers, this relies on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latent_heat" target="_blank">latent heat of fusion</a> released during the freezing of water sprayed over the crop. Automated systems are de rigueur for this method, but for really precious crops, some folk may be willing to get up in the middle of a freezing night with the hose! There is an account of using this method on oca crops <a href="http://wettingthebeds.cultivariable.com/2013/11/frost-not-with-whimper-but-bang.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It's strange and counterintuitive, but having the foliage plated in ice really can stop it freezing.<br />
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<u>Air disturbance.</u> Some commercial fruit growers use giant fans, or even <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336886/Three-helicopters-crash-overnight-Florida-protecting-frost-bitten-crops.html" target="_blank">low flying helicopters</a> to mix air layers, and so prevent crops freezing. Rather an expensive method!<br />
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<u>Added thermal mass.</u> Laying bricks, concrete slabs, containers of water, etc on or near the crop beds will increase thermal capacity.<br />
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<u>Soil density.</u> Soil with a high ratio of voids (air pockets) will hold less heat than solid soil, and will give up that heat more slowly due to the insulating effect of air, so avoid cultivating the bed, especially as the frost season approaches, to keep the soil dense, and maximise heat storage capacity.<br />
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<u>Soil colour.</u> Dark colours are more efficient absorbers and emitters of radiated heat. Building up soil humus levels to darken it, or dusting the surface with soot are effective and traditional. Small amounts of charcoal might work, but there is a danger that the effect is counteracted by its insulating properties.<br />
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<u>Soil surface area.</u> Soil surface with corrugations or 'lumpiness' has a greater surface area, so is able to deliver heat faster than a smooth soil surface. Raised beds or ridged rows also score here, having a greater area than flat beds.<br />
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<u>Soil surface insulation.</u> Any mulch present will greatly reduce radiated heat from the soil compared to bare soil. Rake back mulches when frost threatens. Peaty soils are also poor heat radiators.<br />
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<u>Weed Management.</u> Weeds under the crop are undesirable as they reduce radiation from the soil, however weeds taller than the crop are protective, holding warmth under them.<br />
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<u>Soil wetness.</u> Water has a higher heat storage capacity than the mineral content of soil, so wet soil will have more heat to radiate to the air. If soil is dry in early winter (as if!) extra watering will help protect against frost.<br />
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<u>Active heating.</u> Some fruit orchards used to be protected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smudge_pot" target="_blank">smudge pots</a>, or even heaps of burning tyres, but this has fallen out of fashion/become illegal, to be replaced by <a href="http://poststar.com/news/local/growers-battle-late-frost-in-variety-of-ways/article_6ec3da00-bcf2-11e2-a7a9-0019bb2963f4.html" target="_blank">large propane or petrol burners</a>. Obviously none of these methods are particularly sustainable, or justifiable in current times. The use of manure-fueled hotbeds may work, but controllability and reliability of effect is poor, and the labour involved huge. If heat has to be added artificially to a crop, in my mind, it's a sign that it's the wrong crop for the location.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-53546808284314438422013-12-06T20:44:00.000+00:002013-12-06T20:44:09.137+00:002013 Oca True Seedling SelectionIt was later than I intended, but several weeks ago I checked <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/oca-true-seed-progress.html" target="_blank">this year's seed-raised oca</a> for early tuberisation. This is the vital process of deselecting individuals which fail to meet the crucial criterium of earliness. It's tempting to wait and see their full potential, but a bit like shooting runt puppies, sooner is better than later. The difference here is that these puppies are nearly all runts, and the good one is a rare exception.<br />
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From my <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/oca-true-seed-progress.html" target="_blank">Spring sowing</a>, I ultimately got about 25 seedlings. A couple managed to get deselected at an early stage by their own efforts, while the remainder were moved out of pots on to ground vacated by the onion crop in mid summer.<br />
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This artificially short growing period is enough to see that some individuals are clearly useless, and can be flung without any hesitation...<br />
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…while others ...<br />
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…show some promise, being of a similar size to the commercial clones that do best for me.<br />
<br />
…So I've decided to retain tubers from four individuals, as having potential. Next year they will be grown conventionally from tubers to give them a fair chance of comparison against existing clones.<br />
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So the international search for a day-length neutral oca variety continues apace, with reports of Rhizowen at <a href="http://radix4roots.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/ocas-pop-up-apace.html" target="_blank">Radix</a>, and Bill at <a href="http://wettingthebeds.cultivariable.com/2013/11/oca-seedlings-update.html" target="_blank">Wetting the Beds</a> routinely producing vast numbers of seedlings apparently with minimal effort. And Belgian <a href="http://www.thevegetablegarden.be/" target="_blank">Frank</a> is no doubt quietly hatching a fresh horde for this year.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-8121537836949673122013-12-05T18:46:00.000+00:002013-12-18T19:10:02.001+00:00Chipboard as Soil Improver. No... Seriously!Chipboard and MDF, with their synthetic constituents and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1997/sep/21/antonybarnett.theobserver" target="_blank">health concerns</a>, would not immediately spring to mind as compost material. Surely not something the organic gardener would want coming in contact with their soil — that would be my automatic reaction. But please read on!<br />
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I had a lot of scrap chipboard lying about, and got thinking about the resin glue that it contains; urea formaldehyde. That's a recognised agricultural fertiliser isn't it? So after a bit of research, I found <a href="http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Feasibility_of_Composting_Wood_and_Card_-_Trials_Research_Report.3947.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> about composting wood composite materials.<br />
It's a long read, so for those that just want the highlights, it seems that chipboard and MDF, when composted with green waste, make compost that surprisingly contains less contaminants that compost made from domestic green waste alone. The urea resin is broken down by bacteria and fungi, releasing nitrogen which becomes available to combine with the high-carbon wood particles. This should counteract the usual stated disadvantage of composting wood — a temporary state of nitrogen mopping.<br />
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So I'm incorporating it into the bottom spit of my double digging on beds to be managed in future by minimum tillage, where it will provide slow release nutrients, and improve long term water-holding capacity. Deeply buried wood products may also be effective in catching soluble nutrients that would otherwise be leached by winter rain.<br />
Not quite <a href="http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/" target="_blank">hugelkultur</a>, but brings a whole new meaning to composting your kitchen scraps.<br />
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Gotta do something to improve this stuff...<br />
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If you're thinking of following my example, it's probably a bad idea to use:<br />
-coated or foil laminated board,<br />
-MR (flooring) grade chipboard (that's 'moisture resistant', which contains fungicides),<br />
-board contaminated with paint, varnish, or wood preserver.<br />
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UPDATE: There is another study <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/iwg/fiberboard.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> by the University of Tennessee which finds benefits from dressing soil with mdf sawdust at 8 tons/acre.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-58312576023276744012013-11-01T19:40:00.001+00:002014-04-27T10:22:37.198+01:00Oca/Corn/Huauzontle Polyculture — Still Seeking Low-Work Resilient Growing Systems.In 2010 I posted <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/oca-sweetcorn-bicrop.html" target="_blank">here</a> on interplanting Oca and sweetcorn. This year, I'm going a stage further by adding Huauzontle (or 'Aztec Broccoli') to that system. Huauzontle is a Chenopod crop producing greens and edible flower-shoots, historically an encouraged weed or tolerated volunteer in Central American maize fields.<br />
Here are the three constituent crops ready to plant out on the 16th of June, Huauzontle on the left...<br />
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The Huauzontle seed came from <a href="http://www.realseeds.co.uk/cookinggreens.html" target="_blank">Real Seeds</a>, and was ridiculously fast to germinate; the seedlings were up in 48 hrs, so in future, I would direct sow with confidence. But this time they were multi-sown in cells a week or so after the corn.<br />
The maize is <a href="http://www.seedweneed.com/index-1.html" target="_blank">Painted Mountain</a> obtained in a seed swap parcel a few years back, (thank you Jayb). It gave 100% germination despite its age, in sowing conditions that were not really warm enough by normal standards. It's a many-coloured genetically diverse, heat and cold-resilient variety, bred to thrive in the Rocky Mountains. After last year's weather, I'm seeking resilient varieties! Two trays of commercial sweetcorn sown on the same day all rotted, thanks probably to chilly nights in the greenhouse. Not chilly by Rocky Mountain standards evidently.<br />
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The oca are a motly collection of leftovers stunted from being left in small cells too long.<br />
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Here's the scheme on planting day. That's a four foot wide bed...<br />
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...which has just been newly created by double digging, incorporating all available organic matter to full depth. Carrying through the resilience theme to the soil, there are even logs buried under there; anything to build up this silt soil, and give some water holding capacity.<br />
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Just four weeks after planting, quite remarkably the huauzontle was already providing greens and seed shoots for steaming, but proving too vigorous for this scheme, or at least is too thickly planted, and is shown here just before receiving a serious cutting back...<br />
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A few spare lettuce were squeezed along the edge too, and the paths mulched to limit water loss during the ensuing heatwave.<br />
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By the beginning of September the corn is ready to pick...<br />
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...and, despite occasional chopping back, the Huauzontle continued to be a bit too resilient. The Oca are definitely suffering from lack of light and water at this stage.<br />
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Here is the view of the bed on 31st October...<br />
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<br />
...The oca are expanding fast, fighting back, and flowering, with every indication of a decent harvest to be had by mid winter. The Huauzontle, disheveled by recent gale-force winds, has turned spectacularly red and carries a massive seed crop, so it seems likely that I, just like Central American peasants, will have it as a tolerated volunteer in seasons to come.<br />
With wider spacing of the Huauzontle, this scheme would approach my ideal; no weeds had a chance, and the bed yielded well, but required almost no work input once created. And like the Forth railway bridge, it has redundancy — bits can fall off it, but it still works.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-5473540053944102642013-06-02T17:23:00.000+01:002013-06-05T11:43:42.473+01:00Oca True Seed Progress.What little true seed that I managed to collect last autumn was sown in mid March, and here is the result so far...<br />
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...not a flush, but a long slow ongoing trickle of germinating seedlings. The difference this year, is that I surface sowed the seed, and it seems to have improved success, with the first emerging after four weeks, and no end in sight so far at ten weeks. They had artificial heat to start with, but for the last six weeks have been in an unheated greenhouse, with temperatures oscillating wildly from over 30°C to near freezing. Who am I to know, maybe this is helping.<br />
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Meanwhile, last year's true seed success story, IOW2, gets its first chance to grow from tubers. Here it is about to be planted out amongst the outdoor cordon tomatoes.<br />
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The soil is still very poor, but we'll see how they do.<br />
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Incidentally, I've settled on a quick and easy overwinter storage method for tubers; in autumn I just drop them into multicell trays, add dry compost on top, and leave them to it. It makes sense when there are lots of varieties to keep track of, since the cells can easily be labeled, and it's a simple matter to just start watering when shoots emerge, and they turn into plug plants...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-87780681698942120962013-03-16T21:53:00.003+00:002013-04-03T11:50:51.423+01:00Yacon — Storing and Dividing Propagation CaudicesYacon propagules (or caudices) are easily bought these days, and most new yacon growers will quite rightly be expecting to save their own replanting material for future years. Certainly, that's what I confidently planned when I first grew the crop, but in fact I found out that it's quite easy to lose yacon caudices during winter if they are poorly stored.<br />
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The two killers are frost, and rot caused by cold wet conditions. Err, then there's desiccation if they dry out. Oh, and not forgetting mice.<br />
So, simple enough you'd think, but finding a successful storage method has taken me a few years, and resulted in a few failures along the way.<br />
I've tried storing them in plastic crates of damp compost in a greenhouse (one time frost got in, another year 'sweating' caused rotting).<br />
I've tried storing them in cardboard boxes in an unheated room in the house (some dried out, while some sprouted far too early, and were then difficult to keep alive until planting out time)<br />
Some growers claim success leaving them in the ground, but this can't be totally reliable, and would only work in favourable climates. The climate here is decidedly unfavourable.<br />
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In practice, the temperature criterium is fairly simple to control; I've settled on storing in an unheated brick-built shed (with the proviso that I may need to temporarily rescue them during times of penetrating frost).<br />
Maintaining ideal moisture levels is not so easy, but my experiences have led to this method:-<br />
<br />
When lifting crowns in autumn, I remove most of the spindle tubers for eating, but leave a few of the small ones attached. These (I assume) provide the crown with a reserve of moisture. Do not separate the caudices for storage — leave them attached to the crown, where they will be able to draw on moisture from the spindle tubers.<br />
I brush off as much of the attached soil as is practical (if it is wet), and cut off the stumps of the stems as these often seem to be the starting point for rot during storage.<br />
If the crowns have been lifted in wet conditions, I would leave them under cover for a day or two to dry off.<br />
I then place the crowns in lidded buckets (the lids are perforated to avoid condensation) surrounded by a mixture of almost dry spent compost and very coarse sawdust. Any open and slightly damp medium will do, the important point is that it should not be too moist.<br />
I then hang the buckets from rafters to exclude mice.<br />
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In March, I start checking the crowns every week, until I notice signs of growth...<br />
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This is a good time to divide the caudices and pot them up; small live buds confirm which caudices as viable. Any larger, and they will almost certainly be damaged during the violent dividing process.<br />
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I prepare by gently brushing away the storage medium to reveal the caudices, being careful not to harm any shoots ...<br />
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Then I start by trying to break the crown in half on any obvious line of weakness, though often a knife is needed for this first division. Thereafter it is usually possible to forcibly snap the caudices apart along their natural divisions. Be warned; this is not a job for a little old lady with arthritic fingers, or at least not unless she trains regularly by tearing telephone directories in half.<br />
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Each crown should provide between 5 and 15 propagules. Larger caudices can be further divided as long as each piece has at least one viable bud, but I prefer to leave them whole to make really strong plants.<br />
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Check each propagule for local rotting. Either discard, or trim back to healthy material for a fair chance of survival.<br />
Pot immediately, and keep in a greenhouse, perhaps potting on again, before planting outside in May.<br />
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I've noticed that poorer, smaller plants, often provide more propagation material than larger ones. Based on that, and the fact that I got about 15 propagules from each of my plants, you should be able to work out how bad my crop was last year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-45405011450180417102013-03-11T18:16:00.000+00:002013-03-13T11:44:58.113+00:00True Oca Seed — Germination and SelectionLast year I saved a small amount of true oca seed, survivors of the <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/grand-theft-oca.html" target="_blank">mouse incident</a>, painstakingly <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/saving-true-oca-seed-its-in-bag.html" target="_blank">collected</a> from plants in my old allotments before my house move. Despite domestic chaos, in February I set up the heated propagator on a window ledge, and sowed the precious few within.<br />
Then I waited ... and waited. And nothing happened.<br />
After a month I was resigned to the idea that this was just going to be another failure, and so evicted the seed tray from the propagator to make way for more reliable crops.<br />
It was dumped in the greenhouse for another few weeks before it started to get in the way there too, and was ruthlessly removed to the 'slow death table', an outdoor surface reserved for horticultural failures which should really be flung, ... usually the last stop before the compost bins.<br />
But in early July, I noticed some characteristic greenery in the tray (right of centre below)....<br />
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... yup. Oca seedlings fully five months after sowing! I can only speculate that the seed requires high light levels, and/or has a long dormancy period. Anyway, I swiftly potted them up, and resumed their basic care.<br />
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In the search for day-length neutral varieties of oca, some sort of early selection is needed to cull the no-hopers, and my chosen method is simply to examine roots at the start of October, and discard any plants that show no sign of tubers. This may seem hard, and perhaps risks loosing certain desirable traits (such as floriferousness or taste), but if I don't do it I'm going to end up with massive numbers of plants to manage and record.<br />
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Here are my seedlings undergoing the October test...<br />
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... notice the small tubers on the left plant, which means it will be planted out in the <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/breaking-new-ground-for-tuber-planting.html" target="_blank">lazy beds</a>.<br />
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... and some other varieties grown in Root trainers get the same treatment ...<br />
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So I would now like to introduce what will hopefully be the first of a long line of home-brewed oca varieties...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FSir803ZUBc/UT4NcRQ_sTI/AAAAAAAACLA/yuB906D9qMM/s1600/DSCF3953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FSir803ZUBc/UT4NcRQ_sTI/AAAAAAAACLA/yuB906D9qMM/s400/DSCF3953.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
... to be known for now as IOW 2 (that's Isle of Wight 2, after its birthplace) ... by far the best performer from my seedlings, producing a respectable yield straight from seed in one season. This year I can grow it conventionally from tubers to give a fair comparison with established varieties.<br />
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They'll have to wait a bit though; it's -2°C and snowing outside.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-80067496930082343132013-01-19T18:24:00.000+00:002013-02-05T10:08:17.108+00:00Black Spud Confusion — Back in 2010 I posted <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/whats-that-other-andean-tuber.html" target="_blank">here</a> about the black potato "Négresse" which I grow every year. The article kicked off some speculation about naming confusion between Négresse, the very similar Congo, and a third potato, Vitelotte...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T8j3v9Sie3s/UPBQoPwIqAI/AAAAAAAACIc/JUNj7wpTcc0/s1600/DSCF3127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T8j3v9Sie3s/UPBQoPwIqAI/AAAAAAAACIc/JUNj7wpTcc0/s400/DSCF3127.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Well grown examples (if I do say so myself) of the blue-black fleshed potatoes Congo(left) and Négresse.</span></td></tr>
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Having grown Congo and Négresse together for a couple of years now, I can confidently say that they are not the same variety. Appearance, eating qualities, and resistance to tuber blight are similar, but...<br />
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—Négresse has a squarer shape than Congo (most obvious on fully mature tubers).<br />
—Négresse tuberises slightly earlier (or at least gives more crop by early July when mine were killed by blight last year).<br />
—Their foliage is noticeably different.<br />
—Négresse has a shorter <a href="http://www.kimberly.uidaho.edu/potatoes/Olsen%20Dormancy%202009.pdf" target="_blank">dormancy period</a>.<br />
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I have said previously that I suspected Negresse was truly day-length sensitive (like oca); the plants will continue to grow without naturally dying back, until the first frost. Actually I now realise that very small tubers are formed by mid summer, so the plant is not day length sensitive. But they do need a very long growing season to reach the size of those in the top photo.<br />
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Here are my <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/breaking-new-ground-for-tuber-planting.html" target="_blank">lazy beds</a> in June last year, complete with authentic blight blackened foliage...<br />
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I was expecting to find no tubers at this time of year, but I was pleasantly surprised to find small tubers had already formed.</div>
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And then there is Vitelotte. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitelotte" target="_blank">Wikipedia says</a> this is synonymous with Négresse. So do seed merchants Thompson and Morgan who are selling them as micropropagated mini tubers this year. Others say they are clearly different, so who knows. I certainly get larger tubers than those shown on the T & M site.</div>
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Changing the subject, an annoying problem with all these black potatoes is finding the well camouflaged tubers in the soil at harvest time. Missed tubers result in persistent volunteers which can be real pests amongst a following crop. No such problem with this new (as yet unnamed) variety...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-acfe_x1qH7c/UPBXIi3rX1I/AAAAAAAACI4/fSEKKEzp7iQ/s1600/DSCF3455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-acfe_x1qH7c/UPBXIi3rX1I/AAAAAAAACI4/fSEKKEzp7iQ/s400/DSCF3455.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
...which has spectacularly prominent fluorescent pink skin and flesh!<br />
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Sunglasses not included.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-60003380899521585212012-12-15T00:15:00.001+00:002013-02-06T19:26:01.942+00:00More MashuaLast winter I wrote <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/mashua.html" target="_blank">(here)</a> about the Mashua variety pilifera, and mentioned collecting its true seed. For whatever reason, that seed didn't germinated, but my post did result in a generous offer from Mybighair; wildling tubers seeded from his Ken Aslet, a day-length neutral form, arrived in the mail. Back in April I got tired of waiting for Spring, so between downpours, I planted the tubers in the cold, nutrient depleted mud, then retired indoors for the rest of the year, leaving the mashua to sink or swim. Literally.<br />
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Here is the resulting crop from "Son of Ken 1" lifted yesterday:<br />
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The four plants have all demonstrated fairly early tuberisation, acceptable flavour (to me), and exhibit varying degrees of the characteristic stripes of the parent. Diversity is good.<br />
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The fact they survived this year's hellish weather and waterlogged soil is not just good, it's amazing.<br />
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Some tubers are faciated, a condition which can result in larger, albeit strangely shaped tubers, and the genetic disturbance may sometimes be passed to the next generation, so I will replant next year. I don't pretend to understand what's going on with the genetics - I simply plant, observe, and select.<br />
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I grew "Son of Ken 1, 2, 3, & 4" right next to the Pilfera, hoping to collect seed from crossing, and I did see some flowers forming in early autumn, but if they survived long enough to be pollinated before being battered to the ground by rain or hail, they were probably ripped away by the regular gales we've suffered this year. So no seed.<br />
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Anyway, Pilifera cropped well again, though several young plants vanished during the so called spring, probably raided by desperate rabbits. Here are some of the best tubers from the surviving plants:<br />
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Mashua is said to be pest-free, but there is one significant exception; the plants suffered a massive attack from cabbage white caterpillars in August.<br />
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I picked about half a bucketful by hand, but the foliage was already badly stripped. Notwithstanding this, the plants made a good recovery. Perhaps Mashua would be a useful decoy crop alongside (or amongst) brassicas.<br />
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I've also noticed that many of the harvested tubers are spoiled by these strange brown fringed splits forming round the eyes. I'm guessing this could be caused by over-rapid swelling from high soil moisture levels i.e. growing in mud.<br />
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Possibly the staining is the concentration of chemical defences migrating to the vulnerable exposed surfaces.<br />
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Another observation is that the underground tubers are ignored, or perhaps more accurately avoided, by voles. There are voles aplenty here, and the oca are taking a bashing, but not a nibble on the Mashua. Maybe the voles are spoiled for choice with all the oca about, or perhaps they agree with a proportion folk who find the taste of mashua to be repulsive. I am not one of them, and when other crops fail, it seems there is mashua to eat.<br />
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Love it or loathe it, if you have tasted mashua, you can contribute to an <a href="http://radix4roots.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-taste-of-tropaeolum-mashua-is-like.html" target="_blank">edibility survey</a> over at Radix.<br />
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Damn climate change! Next year: build windbreaks, dig drains, collect mashua seed. Wish I hadn't burnt those hydrocarbons now!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-12896324105574246072012-04-09T11:35:00.000+01:002013-01-13T13:56:00.775+00:00Breaking New Ground for Tuber Planting — The Celtic 'Lazy Bed' AdaptedSince the move, I have access to ample land, but none of it has seen recent cultivation. In fact the soil is compacted, stoney, and seems to contain very little organic matter below the top four inches. It would be heavy work for a spade, and the area too great. Other methods are urgently needed if I'm to catch the planting season.<br />
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The 'lazy bed' method was used historically in Ireland and the West Highlands to grow potatoes on unpromising land. Its advantages include minimal disturbance to soil fauna, conservation of soil humus, and most importantly, economy of effort.<br />
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I started by mowing the area to be used for the bed. This is not absolutely essential, but the resulting short vegetation will be more reliably killed off by the lazy bed technique. My <a href="http://www.thescytheshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Simon Fairlie</a> Austrian scythe did the job in a couple of minutes...<br />
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Next, mark out the bed with lines. I'm opting for three foot wide.<br />
Rake the grass cuttings onto the bed area, and simply drop the seed tubers in place...<br />
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Add any available organic matter (traditionally seaweed, but in this case rotted hay) evenly over the bed area...<br />
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Now, make a vertical cut in the turf one foot out from the bed-edge. I used a wooden batten as a straight-edge.<br />
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Then the one-foot strip is is turned over onto the bed to bury the tubers. This involves a lot of bending if you use a spade, but is very quick and painless with a <a href="http://www.get-digging.co.uk/tools.htm" target="_blank">digging hoe (Azada)</a>...<br />
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Two chops with a digging hoe to undercut the turf...<br />
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... and follow through with a deft upward hoik...<br />
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... assisting the turf into place with the boot.<br />
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It's important to maintain a hinge of turf at the fold point, otherwise weeds will not be smothered.<br />
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Repeat the turf-folding on the other side of the bed...<br />
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...and finally, add loose soil from the bottom of the trenches to the centre of the bed. A long-handled Irish shovel makes easy work of this...<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TKIUQkyqIqE/T2uE-L7mKrI/AAAAAAAACFM/eshYlPFGpy4/s1600/DSCF3111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TKIUQkyqIqE/T2uE-L7mKrI/AAAAAAAACFM/eshYlPFGpy4/s400/DSCF3111.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a><br />
Whew. All done in two hours.<br />
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The second bed is quicker since one edge is already cut.<br />
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Some weeds will inevitably grow through, so this technique is most suited to crops with vigorous foliage giving good smother characteristics — main-crop potatoes, oca, yacon ... I'll see what else I can get away with. Anything to avoid digging. Any surviving perennial weeds will be forked out at harvest time, leaving clear ground for overwinter crops.<br />
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There's more on the use of authentic lazy beds (including demonstrating their advantages in poorly drained soil) over at <a href="http://connemaracroft.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/potato-planting-lazy-beds.html" target="_blank">Connemara croft</a>.<br />
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Update (Above) Oca plants in early summer. Extra mowings have been added to the surface of the beds to suppress weeds until the crop canopy closes over.<br />
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By late June, blight has finished the potatoes, so I'm lifting some. Turf incorporated in the bed has not fully decayed yet, making it difficult to dig, or prepare for a following crop.<br />
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The Oca crop in the shot is now giving full weed suppression...<br />
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...and once winter frost has killed back the oca foliage, the few remaining perennial weeds are visible.<br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">When the crops are lifted in early January, the soil is clean and friable with just a few weed roots to pick out, and I'm glad to say, lots of earthworms. </span></div>
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A quick rake over and this will be ready for planting garlic or early spring crops.<br />
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Really, this ground should be double dug at some point, but the lazybed method is very effective as an initial sod breaking technique to get the space productive with a minimum amount of labour.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-87108218114409907462012-04-08T19:35:00.000+01:002012-04-09T17:41:30.488+01:00I've Moved! New Start, New LandWell, I've said goodbye to the big smoke, and moved to a small farm on the Isle of Wight.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oWPOwRnLYYo/T29qKr7quRI/AAAAAAAACFU/o1S34TvJDmg/s1600/DSCF2882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oWPOwRnLYYo/T29qKr7quRI/AAAAAAAACFU/o1S34TvJDmg/s400/DSCF2882.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The place has been neglected for many years...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwvMt5HPV7w/T29qo1EpjQI/AAAAAAAACFc/rgPxVQ83BSI/s1600/DSCF2929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwvMt5HPV7w/T29qo1EpjQI/AAAAAAAACFc/rgPxVQ83BSI/s400/DSCF2929.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
...but it's a glorious location, and there's seven acres of land. Some is fair quality (here's the view from the front door)...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TloE-DYmwSk/T29sq7BGs2I/AAAAAAAACF0/m6LUnRr7SHw/s1600/DSCF3040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TloE-DYmwSk/T29sq7BGs2I/AAAAAAAACF0/m6LUnRr7SHw/s400/DSCF3040.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
... while some is wetland. What do you think of my ditch-digging?<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YAfmqPGf3MQ/T29rtzSqVbI/AAAAAAAACFk/kAllIgrXxOs/s1600/DSCF3060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YAfmqPGf3MQ/T29rtzSqVbI/AAAAAAAACFk/kAllIgrXxOs/s400/DSCF3060.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I promise myself generously wide paths, and a few new tools to suit the more extensive cultural methods than I can now luxuriate in.<br />
<br />
There's just the little problem of voles, rats, rabbits, pigeons, moles... ... to deal with before crops are safe.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wSTd7GL1cV8/T4HX2evRocI/AAAAAAAACF8/T3nEL5OtDP8/s1600/DSCF3025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wSTd7GL1cV8/T4HX2evRocI/AAAAAAAACF8/T3nEL5OtDP8/s400/DSCF3025.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Work in progress!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-90697369935830673902012-01-15T19:27:00.000+00:002012-01-15T19:27:46.284+00:00Yacon 'Fiorella' Goes to MarketFor the last couple of years I've been lucky enough to obtain pre-release samples of "Fiorella", a recently bred fast-maturing variety of yacon from Paul at <a href="http://Yakon.co.uk/">Yakon.co.uk</a><br />
It's the variety that I've used in the <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/08/all-tuber-polyculture-mound.html" target="_blank">'All-tuber-mound'</a>, and <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/06/not-three-sisters.html" target="_blank">'Not the Three Sisters'</a> planting schemes, and such is the superiority of Fiorella that I've now abandoned the white variety that I grew previously.<br />
<br />
Here are a few of the edible tubers...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J9GbhSc2tq0/TxLHGLP3inI/AAAAAAAACDU/dBWeppUqAx4/s1600/DSCF1864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J9GbhSc2tq0/TxLHGLP3inI/AAAAAAAACDU/dBWeppUqAx4/s400/DSCF1864.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>... and a shot of a typical root crown...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oKxeSHUbwIU/TxKzI6TZL-I/AAAAAAAACDM/3tDkaEXS4Vw/s1600/DSCF1860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oKxeSHUbwIU/TxKzI6TZL-I/AAAAAAAACDM/3tDkaEXS4Vw/s400/DSCF1860.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>If your garden is prone to early frost, this variety could still work for you; it's said to be able to crop in 160 days. Certainly I've seen it tuberise by early September.<br />
<br />
And it makes a very handsome border plant...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XrWv5VqSg20/TxMY9c961HI/AAAAAAAACDc/xVXRiFaQcdQ/s1600/DSCF1372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XrWv5VqSg20/TxMY9c961HI/AAAAAAAACDc/xVXRiFaQcdQ/s400/DSCF1372.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Anyway, the good news is that Paul has multiplied up his stock to the point that he can now make propagules available for sale. And if you just want the edible tubers, he sells those too.<br />
<br />
This link will take you directly to the on-line ordering:<br />
<a href="http://www.yakon.co.uk/shop.php">http://www.yakon.co.uk/shop.php</a><br />
(not to be confused with yacon.co.uk which is a yacon syrup importer).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-20278190633413438772012-01-15T10:35:00.000+00:002012-02-05T19:08:01.904+00:00Oca on the Show-BenchPlant breeding and crop research may have their place in developing more productive edibles, but if you want to see some really big vegetables, what you need is a vegetable show.<br />
Now, it's well known that these peculiarly British events can sometimes lead to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1044634/Thick-end-veg-The-world-giant-vegetable-growing-revealed-hotbed-poisonous-rivalries-paranoia-sabotage.html" target="_blank">'poisonous rivalries, paranoia and sabotage'</a> amongst participants, but there's no denying that they get results, whether it's by skulduggery, good husbandry, or top-secret fertiliser recipes of superphosphate and goat urine.<br />
The problem is that these events are always held in the Summer; no use to growers of alternative tuber crops.<br />
<br />
Never mind, I'll just hold my own show.<br />
<br />
Here's my entry for the blue riband class: "Oca, (5 tubers of a single variety)"...<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNKxP2s-MME/TxByTxSjJZI/AAAAAAAACC8/hbsk9n2VuUs/s1600/DSCF2845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNKxP2s-MME/TxByTxSjJZI/AAAAAAAACC8/hbsk9n2VuUs/s400/DSCF2845.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I'm the only entry in the class, so I should have a good chance of a 'First' on this one. Unless you can upstage me that is.<br />
<br />
Feel free to invent another competition class. How about"Biggest Oca", or "Oca, artistic arrangement".<br />
Send in your jpegs and I'll post them here. We don't need the RHS to have a good time!<br />
<br />
Oh, and no paranoia, sabotage, Photoshopping, or image morphing please. That just wouldn't be British.<br />
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5/2/12. And here is another entry. Again grown in West London, this time from Michael Willcocks, who's entering the 'Oca, Medley' section. Very respectable.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-90989143342124810072012-01-05T17:56:00.003+00:002012-01-07T16:42:06.042+00:00MashuaMashua 'Pilifera' has given me a very encouraging crop this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5_f_g48G1c4/TwSkCtdh4MI/AAAAAAAACCQ/jJgyFCLs8WU/s1600/DSCF2790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5_f_g48G1c4/TwSkCtdh4MI/AAAAAAAACCQ/jJgyFCLs8WU/s400/DSCF2790.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
... unlike last year when I grew them 'properly' i.e. on their own. They struggled, probably because they were too exposed to strong sun, and weren't watered enough, but I did get some small tubers before the frost finished things.<br />
<br />
This year I bi-cropped them with tall peas. 'Relay-cropping' is probably a more accurate term, as the crops overlapped rather than coincided in time.<br />
My logic was to make shared use of the 7ft high pea supports, and for the Mashua to benefit from the shading and summer watering associated with the peas. After the pea crop was harvested, I just left the Mashua to climb through the dying stems for the remainder of the season, until killed by the frost.<br />
<br />
This worked so well that I think I feel a few other Mashua-based polyculture schemes coming on...<br />
<br />
Meanwhile here are some of the cleaned up tubers...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4MxjTBQE00E/TwSjvIAtkFI/AAAAAAAACCE/uYAtV20ykHc/s1600/DSCF2791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4MxjTBQE00E/TwSjvIAtkFI/AAAAAAAACCE/uYAtV20ykHc/s400/DSCF2791.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Notice that one tuber has resprouted — indicative of the recent mild weather, and demonstrating the plant's perennial intentions.<br />
My single specimen of an unknown gold-coloured variety failed to survive the Summer, and has left no tubers. It's a pity, because I grew the two varieties through each other with the specific aim of facilitating cross-fertilisation.<br />
That didn't work, but as at least the Pilifera has set some seed on its own.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tkEnj9dgWLg/TwSkk44XWSI/AAAAAAAACCc/gUO9Of6n8pY/s1600/DSCF2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tkEnj9dgWLg/TwSkk44XWSI/AAAAAAAACCc/gUO9Of6n8pY/s400/DSCF2688.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Like Oca most Mashua clones are day-length sensitive, so growing from seed is potentially valuable in creating variation that may include earlier tuberisation.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCv7bJ5y3y0/TwSk2MO8LKI/AAAAAAAACCo/WSyFsjcU6o8/s1600/DSCF2691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCv7bJ5y3y0/TwSk2MO8LKI/AAAAAAAACCo/WSyFsjcU6o8/s400/DSCF2691.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>What I would like is to obtain the variety 'Ken Aslet' which flowers and crops earlier, and grow the two together with a view to crossing. Anyone got a couple of surplus KA tubers?<br />
<br />
Well, if you don't ask, you don't get!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-32803681417831364252012-01-03T13:10:00.001+00:002012-01-03T13:10:54.592+00:00Ulluco — It's How You Sell ItManaging people's expectations can make a big difference when they are introduced to a new crop. If you say to someone "Ulluco, a tuber a bit like a potato", then straight away you are setting up a mismatch between their mental image and the diminutive reality.<br />
Here are the tubers I lifted last week...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kbTMOxe0wqI/TwICR_dWiwI/AAAAAAAACBM/CNnhoYFUaTc/s1600/DSCF2781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kbTMOxe0wqI/TwICR_dWiwI/AAAAAAAACBM/CNnhoYFUaTc/s400/DSCF2781.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>... not exactly huge, but better than <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/12/unimpressive-ulluco-harvest.html" target="_blank">last year's lot</a> which were hit by early frost.<br />
On the other hand if you say it's a low-growing plant with really nice succulent edible leaves, which can be grown under taller crops (so don't take up space), and which give a bonus harvest of beautiful little brightly-coloured bean-like tubers, then no-one is going to be disappointed.<br />
Well, not unless the plants are frosted before they can tuberise, that is.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KG6LdMI_vqY/TwICo1FPaYI/AAAAAAAACBY/oY5TG6BGQG0/s1600/DSCF2785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KG6LdMI_vqY/TwICo1FPaYI/AAAAAAAACBY/oY5TG6BGQG0/s400/DSCF2785.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>So with my expectations well and truly managed, this year I grew them along with fellow 'minor' root crop Chinese artichokes along with garlic and climbing beans <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/05/minor-root-crops-as-ground-cover-in.html" target="_blank">(have a look)</a> and I think they benefited from all the extra watering that was lavished on the primary crop. What they definitely did not benefit from was the smothering effect of various volunteer Oca plants that came up amongst them.<br />
<br />
However, they survived, and they did it without any real care or attention during the whole growing season.<br />
<br />
Something for nothing—the type of crop I have space for.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-46747658636641410292011-12-31T10:28:00.003+00:002011-12-31T10:31:29.081+00:00Oca Harvest? Wait for It, Wait for It...These are my main 'eating crop' of Oca...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SHLNhg4YH9g/Tv4Nj5R9tHI/AAAAAAAACBA/KRMNiEc58i0/s1600/DSCF2796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SHLNhg4YH9g/Tv4Nj5R9tHI/AAAAAAAACBA/KRMNiEc58i0/s400/DSCF2796.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>It's more than two weeks since frost killed off the top growth, and received wisdom says now is the best time to harvest for maximum yield.<br />
They certainly look as if they've completely snuffed it — until, that is, the top layer of dead foliage is pulled back...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bOjUrfREI04/Tv4M7tg5yUI/AAAAAAAACAs/oCwdPrkzVAY/s1600/DSCF2797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bOjUrfREI04/Tv4M7tg5yUI/AAAAAAAACAs/oCwdPrkzVAY/s400/DSCF2797.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The stems underneath are still green and succulent.<br />
And below ground, roots and subterranean stems are also alive and well, continuing to build tubers...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ozg-wD_cKNI/Tv4NDS5j1jI/AAAAAAAACA0/uJGcqxhY6bQ/s1600/DSCF2806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ozg-wD_cKNI/Tv4NDS5j1jI/AAAAAAAACA0/uJGcqxhY6bQ/s400/DSCF2806.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>An interesting approach would be to try to enhance this self-protecting effect by using closer plant spacing. The resulting denser foliage might provide sacrificial protection against significant frost in much the same way as a covering of horticultural fleece.<br />
Using raised beds, earthing up, and planting under suitable taller crops are also cultural methods that may give partial frost protection.<br />
<br />
It's a gamble to wait too long, <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/01/2009-crop-harvest-results.html" target="_blank">as I found to my cost in 2009</a>, but the weather has been mild and as a result vermin have not been digging up the tubers much. The ten-day forecast shows no imminent frost that would spoil tubers close to the surface, so on balance, I think it's worth waiting to give those tubers the maximum time to bulk up.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-66559032373070737602011-12-30T17:30:00.003+00:002012-01-13T15:58:47.490+00:00Oca Breeder-Packs Up for Grabs!I'd been planning to be able to send out small packs of true Oca seed (TOS) to any interested growers, but it turns out that TOS was the preferred high-protein snack of a particular <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/12/grand-theft-oca.html" target="_blank">ex-mouse</a>, and my bountiful stock has been decimated (in the modern, not the relatively trivial Roman army sense).<br />
<br />
So I'm doing the next best thing by offering packs of tubers suitable for breeding.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qtTViXX-ewA/TvyxYUHKKyI/AAAAAAAACAY/piLl7-3j324/s1600/DSCF2022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qtTViXX-ewA/TvyxYUHKKyI/AAAAAAAACAY/piLl7-3j324/s400/DSCF2022.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>These consist of a range of tuber varieties that I can guarantee from previous experience contain the necessary potential flower power and variance to allow successful pollination. You will notice my careful use of the word 'potential'; any grower will still have to provide suitable conditions, have a climate that favours flowering, spend time and care pollinating, and additionally have fair luck to obtain simultaneous flowering of dissimilar flower forms. There are more full details of the process <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/11/saving-true-oca-seed-its-in-bag.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I'm offering these free (postage costs appreciated), or for swaps. Stake your claim as a comment below (first come first served), and send me an email (obtainable from my Blogger profile) with your postal details.<br />
<br />
By the way, if you want tubers just to grow a crop, these are not necessarily the most productive varieties, and you will do better by obtaining tried-and-tested stock from <a href="http://www.realseeds.co.uk/unusualtubers.html" target="_blank">Real Seeds</a>.<br />
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Update 13/1/12. I've just sent out the packs. Here are the tubers sorted and ready to bag...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-24xufMPPwtc/TxBSH02mJFI/AAAAAAAACC0/--7BHQ9V018/s1600/DSCF2840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-24xufMPPwtc/TxBSH02mJFI/AAAAAAAACC0/--7BHQ9V018/s400/DSCF2840.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Everybody gets about nineteen varieties, one tuber of each. I've selected them from productive healthy plants, and have chosen the cleanest, best-shaped, unbranched tubers. They are not necessarily the largest, but there are no tiddlers either. Mid styled flowerers are in the majority, but there are definitely some of the other flower types in there.<br />
Some of you are getting other seeds etc thrown in by arrangement. They are labeled separately.<br />
<br />
The offer is now closed. Good luck for this year Oca breeders!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-21003671816945670742011-12-13T19:34:00.002+00:002012-01-06T18:26:45.004+00:00Assessing Some New Oca VarietiesBack in spring <a href="http://www.thevegetablegarden.be/start_E.html" target="_blank">Frank Van Keirsbilck</a> sent me a package of tubers to supplement my usual planting. These were grown from true seed, and thus relatively untested as productive varieties. Last week the weather was still holding frost-free and perfect for continued tuberisation, but I decided that lifting them early would be a good idea. They are going to be used solely for propagation material, so hanging on for maximum tuber size would be no advantage. In fact, lifting early would be better for identifying any less day-length-sensitive individuals. Also I was impatient.<br />
<br />
This is "NZ003", his reference variety, which he also sent me, already showing a good yield...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XWyJ0eov5I/Tt5rM7R10AI/AAAAAAAAB-w/N_3bxa2g5Sc/s1600/DSCF2740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XWyJ0eov5I/Tt5rM7R10AI/AAAAAAAAB-w/N_3bxa2g5Sc/s400/DSCF2740.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The plants have been rigorously neglected all season as part of their selection process. They were planted in newly cleared ground, then left unweeded, unwatered and unattended.<br />
By the way, if anyone doubts Oca's ability to outcompete weeds, have a look at this...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhINfh8E1B4/TueY3PI7cwI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/kKqevfeTMC0/s1600/DSCF2741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhINfh8E1B4/TueY3PI7cwI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/kKqevfeTMC0/s400/DSCF2741.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>... Folding back the mass of foliage reveals completely clean soil.<br />
<br />
Anyway, as would be expected there was a lot of variation in tuber appearance...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ESCJdQrPFA8/Tt5rnUVf49I/AAAAAAAAB_A/9UzKhteK_hQ/s1600/DSCF2748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ESCJdQrPFA8/Tt5rnUVf49I/AAAAAAAAB_A/9UzKhteK_hQ/s400/DSCF2748.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
and also in productivity. A couple of plants expired during the growing season, some produced feeble crops, while others challenged the reference variety on productivity. I've listed all the varieties, with their crop weight on <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai_Gv3_uNO_6dHBGN2tIVFlHVDI3TXBtLTF0eWdDSHc" target="_blank">this</a> Google doc if you want to have a look at the details.<br />
<br />
Of note would be 026 which produced this fasciated tuber...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TvLIyrTCy9g/Tuecpi8H8-I/AAAAAAAAB_g/4M8vCDRQpY8/s1600/DSCF2761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TvLIyrTCy9g/Tuecpi8H8-I/AAAAAAAAB_g/4M8vCDRQpY8/s320/DSCF2761.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
...and 023, very productive, and many of whos tubers are characteristically elongated and possibly fasciated. This seems very interesting, and could be a route to increased tuber size.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-07Rszlxv24M/TuedleGTd4I/AAAAAAAAB_w/UyKiSWHC7zE/s1600/DSCF2764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-07Rszlxv24M/TuedleGTd4I/AAAAAAAAB_w/UyKiSWHC7zE/s400/DSCF2764.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
014 and 008 yielded beautiful clean tubers...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiRkrLuTd4k/TuedyTdTDDI/AAAAAAAAB_4/IFSg9Mwznjw/s1600/DSCF2768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiRkrLuTd4k/TuedyTdTDDI/AAAAAAAAB_4/IFSg9Mwznjw/s400/DSCF2768.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This last one is not one of Frank's. It's grown from slips taken from the <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/09/inky-oca-lands-in-london.html" target="_blank">pink striped tuber </a>that I got from Joel Carbonnel. Strangely the tubers are neither striped nor pink, but show varied colouration, and tiny flecks of purple at the ends of some eyes. It seems as if there is some instability going on, so this could be one for development. In any case it's a good cropper.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YW5wZ_Tfddk/Tuec2WDM1LI/AAAAAAAAB_o/foO3jGKIgq4/s1600/DSCF2762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YW5wZ_Tfddk/Tuec2WDM1LI/AAAAAAAAB_o/foO3jGKIgq4/s400/DSCF2762.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Meanwhile my <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/06/main-oca-bed-2011-if-it-aint-broke.html" target="_blank">main bed</a> of 'eating' varieties was frosted back the other night, so they'll be ready to lift in time for Christmas.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-63306115708700440562011-12-12T19:27:00.005+00:002011-12-13T09:21:02.735+00:00Grand Theft Oca !Yesterday this tray contained about 700 true Oca seeds, ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHGH5Ep7nPU/TuZHLvr42QI/AAAAAAAAB_I/QgKBcfou_Uw/s1600/DSCF2759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHGH5Ep7nPU/TuZHLvr42QI/AAAAAAAAB_I/QgKBcfou_Uw/s400/DSCF2759.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>... the culmination of a <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/11/saving-true-oca-seed-its-in-bag.html" target="_blank">season's painstaking hand-pollination and collection</a>. Today it contains two seeds and a few shriveled seed capsules.<br />
They were undergoing their final drying, sitting 'safely' on a table in my work room. I was planning to offer most of them for distribution or swapping.<br />
Given that there were no signs of breaking and entry, and that no-one in the house has a history of sleepwalking, I was left with the possibility of... ...Hmmm, there had been rumours of a mouse in the house for a while now. It didn't seem very likely that it could have climbed the stairs, then the smooth painted steel table, ignored rows of farinaceous delicacies such as dried heritage peas and assorted tubers without giving them a nibble, then polishing off all those seeds in one sitting.<br />
But there was no other possibility, so it's a job for Little Nipper and a tahini-smeared raisin. The penalty for this crime is death!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m-_gQHcys1k/TuZHXKsR1cI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/nBDQLJrXm60/s1600/DSCF2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m-_gQHcys1k/TuZHXKsR1cI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/nBDQLJrXm60/s400/DSCF2756.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Bingo. One rather well-fed mouse! I did seriously consider an autopsy to recover the stolen goods, but I think they would already be mouse droppings by now.<br />
<br />
He did leave two seeds, and there are a few more from a final batch of pods yet to ripen, so I'm not quite wiped out, but this is still a massively disappointing setback,<br />
<br />
...and another lesson learned.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-24680866978332898772011-11-13T20:17:00.002+00:002011-11-14T16:15:48.952+00:00November is Tuber TimeMost conventional vegetable crops are on the wane by now, but the short days mean only one thing for Oca...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rcnIH4GsAf8/Tr_9B-ORsBI/AAAAAAAAB9w/_U1K6_xKWTw/s1600/DSCF2698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rcnIH4GsAf8/Tr_9B-ORsBI/AAAAAAAAB9w/_U1K6_xKWTw/s400/DSCF2698.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>...make tubers, and make 'em fast! These stem-borne Oca tubers are getting noticeably bigger every day, and I've no doubt that those underground are similarly ascendant. In fact, in places I can see the soil surface starting to heave upwards from the pressure of the swelling crop.<br />
<br />
A hands-and-knees survey of the plot discovers plenty more underground action. This is the Ulluco doing its best to tuberise...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bk3oJDThK2s/Tr_9i8I0RdI/AAAAAAAAB94/o1pO4J46re4/s1600/DSCF2696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bk3oJDThK2s/Tr_9i8I0RdI/AAAAAAAAB94/o1pO4J46re4/s400/DSCF2696.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>...and doing better than <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/12/unimpressive-ulluco-harvest.html" target="_blank">last year</a>, when they were already frosted by now.<br />
<br />
Chinese artichokes tubers are also bulking up. These are from the plants used as ground cover under climbing beans in the <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/05/minor-root-crops-as-ground-cover-in.html" target="_blank">'root crops as ground cover trial'</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ybv0gefG1Wg/Tr_99kX3tbI/AAAAAAAAB-A/dglcGkK2IUE/s1600/DSCF2702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ybv0gefG1Wg/Tr_99kX3tbI/AAAAAAAAB-A/dglcGkK2IUE/s400/DSCF2702.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
And scraping around the base of a Yacon in the <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/06/not-three-sisters.html" target="_blank">'Not the Three Sisters'</a> bed reveals sizable storage tubers.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RrVsicntb4k/Tr_-dsN6tpI/AAAAAAAAB-I/xi9jQciEFs4/s1600/DSCF2704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RrVsicntb4k/Tr_-dsN6tpI/AAAAAAAAB-I/xi9jQciEFs4/s400/DSCF2704.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>All this bodes well for bumper crops. But of course, a frost could easily put a damper on that.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately someone else has noticed all this underground fodder. This is a large excavation on one side of the <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/06/all-tuber-polyculture-mound-part-2-room.html" target="_blank">'All-Tuber Polyculture Mound'</a>...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8BS6fdk3dvU/TsAV636BozI/AAAAAAAAB-Q/-6QVNmCRw9c/s1600/DSCF2711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8BS6fdk3dvU/TsAV636BozI/AAAAAAAAB-Q/-6QVNmCRw9c/s400/DSCF2711.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Oca, Chi-chokes, and bits of Yacon are scattered around. Rats could be the culprits, although a lot of the uncovered tubers have not been eaten. Then again maybe it's a fox. Anyway, the damage has put a halt to a lot of the plants in the mound.<br />
<br />
Grrrrr!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-4824206148250909122011-11-01T19:41:00.004+00:002011-11-17T09:52:01.316+00:00Saving True Oca Seed — It's in the Bag!My <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/04/oca-crossing-giving-it-stab.html" target="_blank">previous attempts</a> at collecting Oca seed have been frustrated by circumstances, but I've finally made the vital step in oca one-upmanship. And here's the proof...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VGaeKsHKz2k/Tq2j4sxEHzI/AAAAAAAAB74/G0nQHstIpnM/s1600/DSCF2687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VGaeKsHKz2k/Tq2j4sxEHzI/AAAAAAAAB74/G0nQHstIpnM/s400/DSCF2687.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>... several tiny seeds safely retained in their capture-bag, along with their spent seed pods. So why it it so tricky?<br />
<br />
Well, firstly Oca is an outbreeder; you will need to have multiple varieties (the more the better) for a good chance of compatible flower-types occurring simultaneously (flowering is sporadic). Grow them mixed closely together to improve chances of natural pollination.<br />
<br />
Wait for (or perhaps try to induce) flowering. This can happen anytime during the growing season, but seems to be linked to available moisture or (my theory) high air humidity, as I've noticed that flowering reliably occurs whenever there is dew in the mornings. It would be interesting to confirm this using a misting system, but anyway, flowering seems far more common in wetter parts of the world, and definitely does not happen during hot dry weather.<br />
<br />
Next, you need to be able to identify the three flower types, and understand the legitimate pollination combinations. There is a <a href="http://radix4roots.blogspot.com/2009/09/ocasional-update-1-to-bee-or-not-to-bee.html" target="_blank">good explanation of this from Rhizowen</a>, but here it is in very simple terms.<br />
It's all about the pointy bits in the middle of the flower (I did say it would be simple!).<br />
<br />
In this Oca flower, the longest pointy bits are pale yellow, while the shorter ones are dark yellow...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bWur1rnUlJI/Tpx7i38kBuI/AAAAAAAAB7U/q3PWdpL_da8/s1600/DSCF2572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bWur1rnUlJI/Tpx7i38kBuI/AAAAAAAAB7U/q3PWdpL_da8/s400/DSCF2572.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">...so this is 'long-styled'. The pale yellow parts are female, while the darker yellow are male, producing pollen.</div><br />
So what would you call this one where the pale yellow parts are shorter than the others?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yA-Q8kGjEEA/Tpx6iZwpevI/AAAAAAAAB7E/aptPNz8tpDM/s1600/DSCF2570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yA-Q8kGjEEA/Tpx6iZwpevI/AAAAAAAAB7E/aptPNz8tpDM/s400/DSCF2570.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>...yup, short-styled.<br />
<br />
And to make the full set, here is the mid-styled model...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sfENGDe5B-8/Tpx7MFS8DrI/AAAAAAAAB7M/tt8kRYAGzXo/s1600/DSCF2575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sfENGDe5B-8/Tpx7MFS8DrI/AAAAAAAAB7M/tt8kRYAGzXo/s400/DSCF2575.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Now comes the tricky bit. Flowers of the same type cannot pollinate each other, and even if you have two different types of flower, the pollen must come from the specific length of male pointy bit that matches the length of the female pointy bit being pollinated. Phew, that's the end of the technical bit.<br />
<br />
Actually it's not strictly necessary to know all that, unless you plan to do the pollination manually. If you have bees, hoverflies, or other natural pollinators, you can just sit back and wait for the next stage. However, I have obtained higher levels of success from manual pollination (5 to 7 seeds from each flower compared with 1 to 3 when leaving it to nature).<br />
<br />
If you take the route of manual pollination, you will need to attend to your plants during the early afternoon when the flowers are most likely to be open.<br />
<br />
This year I have marked all of the manually pollinated flowers with brightly coloured electrical tape so that they don't get lost in the still-expanding mass of foliage.<br />
After a week or two, it's possible to differentiate between fertilised and unfertilised pods. The photo below shows one of each; the top one is swollen, and looks like it has a full compliment of seed inside. The lower one is limp, and will soon drop from the plant, confirming that it has not been fertilised.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHvdCPWvoVg/TrA1stKPzcI/AAAAAAAAB8A/QHptp4PvB9k/s1600/DSCF2662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHvdCPWvoVg/TrA1stKPzcI/AAAAAAAAB8A/QHptp4PvB9k/s400/DSCF2662.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>At this stage it's okay to leave fertile pods, safely highlighted with coloured tape, on the plant to mature. But this is not the time to go on holiday to Marbella for a fortnight. It's necessary to check every couple of days for a change in appearance in the pods; they take on a more muscular appearance, sometimes puckering up their nose ready to explosively discharge their seed. This one is ready to pop at any time...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WZTgmrEn-7w/TrA6GlNuYrI/AAAAAAAAB8I/GOle8govaoM/s1600/DSCF2668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WZTgmrEn-7w/TrA6GlNuYrI/AAAAAAAAB8I/GOle8govaoM/s400/DSCF2668.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
At this point I add polythene catch bags...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pyyNhWltYQA/TrA6oGU9TXI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/7SffpZgiDjk/s1600/DSCF2682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pyyNhWltYQA/TrA6oGU9TXI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/7SffpZgiDjk/s400/DSCF2682.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>...and with luck, after a day or two the pods will have blown apart, shooting their tiny brown seeds into the corners of the bags...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R9QnZkWnvnM/TrA8LqsBqZI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/sMriWZBWF1I/s1600/DSCF2677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R9QnZkWnvnM/TrA8LqsBqZI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/sMriWZBWF1I/s400/DSCF2677.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I'm getting a few more every day, so if the weather holds I should be well provided with seed for a mass sowing and selection next year.<br />
<br />
Out of interest, not all Oca flowers conform to one of the three regulation patterns; here's a double flower that's never going to get pollinated naturally...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P7WVTMI19KQ/Tpx9na39P1I/AAAAAAAAB7k/ghxsBPQK4mk/s1600/DSCF2611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P7WVTMI19KQ/Tpx9na39P1I/AAAAAAAAB7k/ghxsBPQK4mk/s400/DSCF2611.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-54310583927844321212011-08-05T19:02:00.001+01:002011-08-06T08:42:43.705+01:00Wildlife in the Oca, Friend or Foe?I was initially alarmed by this chap...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VqIrn6qiOu8/Tjrq0-B1SjI/AAAAAAAABz0/UjKWWlQ8PNE/s1600/DSCF2353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VqIrn6qiOu8/Tjrq0-B1SjI/AAAAAAAABz0/UjKWWlQ8PNE/s400/DSCF2353.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>...(and several of his mates) browsing amongst my Oca. I watched for a few minutes, and noted that they left the Oca plants untouched, but laid waste to surrounding weeds - a situation that suited me fine. Obviously they qualified as good-guys, and there would be no need for a messy manual squashing session.<br />
It seems it's the caterpillar of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnabar_moth">Cinnabar moth</a>. Some research revealed that they are used as a biological control of their favorite food plants, ragwort and groundsel. Apparently after consuming all available ragwort and groundsel in the area, they may become cannibalistic. I do appreciate workmen that tidy up afterwards!<br />
<br />
With some Oca <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/09/flowering-of-oca.html">flowering</a>, I've been scrutinising stylar arrangements...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mGd3tIVTB60/TjrrmAbxQXI/AAAAAAAABz8/PZNAygbL4Uw/s1600/DSCF2351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mGd3tIVTB60/TjrrmAbxQXI/AAAAAAAABz8/PZNAygbL4Uw/s400/DSCF2351.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>... and have noticed a lot of these tiny <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrips">thrips</a> or thunderbugs in the flowers. They suck sap from plant cells, and are considered a pest. It's possible that they could spread viruses, but on the other hand they may provide some pollination even though they seem disinclined to fly much between flowers. On balance I prefer to leave them be.<br />
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These hoverflies are much more energetic pollen stirrers ...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HB7Zvh6LF2I/TjrqO9fm2LI/AAAAAAAABzw/vtMVmMv9qPU/s1600/DSCF1702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HB7Zvh6LF2I/TjrqO9fm2LI/AAAAAAAABzw/vtMVmMv9qPU/s400/DSCF1702.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>... and given the compatible flower types available at the moment, I'd better start keeping my eyes peeled for fertile seed pods.<br />
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Surely this will be the year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14999959164086250161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5877603171717741431.post-10442261782642414832011-06-27T19:01:00.011+01:002013-02-03T13:46:31.848+00:00Main Oca Bed 2011 — If It Ain't Broke...<a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2010/04/oca-crossing-giving-it-stab.html">Last year's growing arrangement</a> of Oca with cordon tomatoes was hard to fault, so I've just tweaked it slightly to optimise spacing and make it easier to manage this time round. Oh, and it's beetroot instead of lettuce for the quick-growing edge crop.<br />
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Here is Oca 'Dark pink', not yet at the sprawling stage, growing strongly between tomato 'OSU Blue', despite being subject to a medley of drought, high wind, downpours and hailstorms since planting out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">26/6/11</td></tr>
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Observant readers might notice that there is incomplete fruit set on the tomato. I'm pretty sure this is due to the very dry conditions earlier in the season rather than any affect from the oca foliage covering the lower trusses.<br />
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The bed's timetable in detail:-<br />
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13th April. Cleared the preceding green manure crop (grazing rye). Tops hoed off with an <a href="http://www.get-digging.co.uk/tools.htm">azada</a>, and removed, roots left in situ. Not dug.<br />
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14th April. Beetroot (plugs, sown 15th March) were planted out.<br />
The tiny plants are just visible in rows 9" from the bed edge (centre foreground bed)...<br />
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I could have planted out the Oca at the same time, but last year they got a bit of frost damage around now, so no need to rush things as they are happily <a href="http://oca-testbed.blogspot.com/2011/04/oca-sprouting-and-ready-to-go.html">growing away in Root trainers</a> at this point.<br />
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9th May. Oca and tomatoes finally get planted out. The Root trainer method seems like a success, and I'm sure this will give them a better start than using pots.<br />
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Tomatoes planted, Oca laid ready to plant, beetroot doing well...<br />
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That's <a href="http://www.alanromans.com/p-1784-beetroot-cheltenham-greentop.aspx">Cheltenham Greentop</a> on the left, and <a href="http://www.realseeds.co.uk/beetroot.html">'White'</a> on the right.<br />
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The tomato supports are on 16" spacing, with 24" between the staggered rows. Incidentally this assumes using the UK conventional cordon growing method (side-shooting, and deleafing lower part of stem). If you use the <a href="http://mr-tomato-king.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-make-usa-style-tomato-cages.html">American cage method</a> I'd go for much wider spacing.<br />
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5th June. Full ground cover from the Oca between the tomatoes, and beet down the edges (beetroot now being harvested).<br />
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10th June. Tomatoes are starting to crop. (Below) This is Katja, a Siberian variety, surprisingly the first to ripen. Thanks to Søren of <a href="http://toads.wordpress.com/">Toad's Garden</a> for the seed.<br />
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31st June. Oca stems over-reach themselves and collapse down at this time of year. This, along with deleafing the lower part of the tomato cordons improves ventilation and light access. The dappled shade from the tomatoes is enjoyed by the Oca, reducing stress in hot weather.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">8th August. Tomatoes in full production.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1st October. Tomatoes on the wane, Oca ascendance.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4th December, tomatoes removed after the first light frost.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tubers are swelling!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Harvest still to come!</span></div>
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