Oca — Sprouting and Ready to Go

If these tubers could talk, they'd shout "plant us!"

Usually I have them starting in pots in the greenhouse by this time of year, but I've been busy, and as a result they've been sitting in storage, in an orderly but impatient manner in their egg boxes...
 

That's a lot of varieties to fit in to my available growing space.  I had a rough planting plan in my head, and felt it would all be fine at a squeeze, but then last week I received a package from Frank Van Keirsblick containing a further seventeen new varieties, all neatly bagged and labeled, from his breeding programme.
This was good because I now have greatly improved crossing potential with so many varieties increasing the chances of compatible flower forms, but I'm going to have to rethink the grand plan to accommodate all of these extra plants.

With Frank's, plus four each of my existing varieties totaling about 70 plants, there are going to have to be some logistical cut-backs too; greenhouse-space, pots, compost, are all in short supply. I'd like to plant out direct, but the ground is not prepared yet, so I'll try a method less extravagant than individual 4" pots.
I've packed 64 tubers into two root-trainer trays. They should be fine for a couple of weeks, and take up very little space in the mean time.

One set of venetian blinds later, Frank's varieties are labeled up...

... and order is maintained - so far.

Overwintering Arracacha — Mustering the Survivors

Back in the Autumn I described (here) how I obtained Arracacha cuttings from Brazil, and was faced with the tricky problem of keeping them alive through a winter when they had just been plucked from Brazilian spring. Well, despite the particularly miserable winter, I think I am now in a position to confidently declare the survivors safe, seasonally syncronised, and ready for the growing season. Here they are...

Overwintered Arracacha, 2nd March

But it has been far from straightforward. The rooting and initial growing-on went easily enough. In fact, it seems that rooting can be successful even in relatively unfavourable conditions. Fellow gardener Ale Abrao, by way of illustration, placed cuttings outdoors in rubbly soil, with just an open-ended polythene cloche to keep off the worst of the winter.

Cuttings outdoors, 21st November

Four weeks after their October planting, they are growing away well despite some pretty grim weather conditions — near freezing, and grey cloud cover. These plants seemed reassuringly tough, and were doing almost as well as my mollycoddled indoor-grown specimens...

Rooted cutting, 7th December

But then the days got shorter, the light levels dropped, and the coldest winter for many years set in. Ale's 'outdoors' were finished off by -10°C temperatures. My plants stopped growing (apart from a few that bolted) and began to look yellow and sick. Here they are in mid January...

16th January

Many died, wilting back and rotting at the roots despite my efforts to give them light, warmth and dry feet.  By early February less than a third of the original plants remained.

But then a few cuttings which had apparently died, but not actually rotted, started to show signs of regrowth...

Apparently dead plant showing regrowth,  2nd March.

This one looked like a goner, but is reshooting from its central stem, and there is a tiny green bud, just visible, growing from the base.

Ale's plants, including his indoor ones, did not make it.
Back in October I also sent backup cuttings to Rhizowen and Frank van Keirsbilk. Reportedly they have both had the same difficulties as me; the latest news is that between them only one plant has hung on (well done Frank). Admittedly their cuttings were not as fresh as mine, having sat for a while, then suffering additionally in the post.

So, what next?  It's certainly still too early to plant out ( only 3°C  today), so they will staying in the greenhouse for a while yet.

The next target (apart from the obvious one of obtaining an edible crop) is to grow them through to autumn, then lift and store crowns to produce propagation material in late winter. The timings for this are all a big unknown, but are key to adapting this crop for growth in northern latitudes.

Given their noticeable tendency to flower in winter (I think induced by short day-length) I will also attempt to collect some seed for distribution this time next year.

Winter Foraging

Early February, and after such a hard winter, the allotment is an unpromising bleak place to be scratching around looking for a meal. It could make a visit to Sainsbury's seem quite an attractive alternative.    Mmm... naah! It's not quite that bad.

It's always possible to find something to eat — these Oca stragglers dodged the main harvest last month, and are sufficient for the basis of a meal.

Strangely, they were located about two feet away from the original planting position, and I only discovered them by chance when I was forking out a weed. Oca can sneakily put down roots wherever its stems come in to contact with the ground, and form the odd tuber, but this seems to have been a major colonisation.

It's also time to lift the remaining parsnips...

The resulting heap of calorie-packed winter fuel is in stark contrast to Oca's mediocre and chancy productivity. A few of the best specimens will be selected for replanting, and grown on to provide fresh seed.

There's one crop I can always rely on for mid-winter greens, even in sub-zero conditions — the much maligned Three-Cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum). I think it deserves some discussion, so here goes...

The leaves are much more fleshy and substantial than either Chives or Garlic Chives, making it quick and easy to gather a generous bundle. There is a stiffening keel along each leaf, giving the plant its name, and acting as a useful method of identification.


Here it is growing in my autumn raspberry bed, making productive use of the available winter light while the raspberries are still dormant. In late spring, they flower, then die down just as the raspberries are overtopping them; an elegant and efficient bi-crop arrangement.

Early January

Notice the self-sown seedlings. Here lies the cause of much venomous abuse (including here from the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat). It's a very successful seeder, and if left to its own devices, is invasive.

Flowering in mid May

Personally, I find it easy to control by eating its delicious flowers, and knocking out any unwanted seedlings in late autumn before they have formed bulbs, but I could see that they might get away from anyone that doesn't own a hoe.

Plant it if you dare, manage responsibly, and enjoy plentiful mid-winter supplies of fresh oniony greens...  ...or head for the supermarket and pick up a little something flown in from Kenya. The choice is yours.