Comments on: Yacon and on, and on.. http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/ Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:17:00 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: MissFuggles http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/#comment-64 MissFuggles Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:20:37 +0000 http://fuggles.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-64 Patrick - thanks for your tips, I'm looking forward to trying it even more. I have heard good things about it dried, too..but better not count my chickens before they've tuberised (hmmm). Seahorse - I think we have pushed ours a little, because the tubers looked so vulnerable that we wanted to give them every chance possible. We're ferrying them in and out of the greenhouse every day and they seem happy enough - I know the Simon Hickmott book warns against giving them too much warmth and not enough light so I think you may do better than ours in the end! Kate - thanks very much for your tips, I'm going to double check the growing notes the supplier provided, books and other bloggers that have grown it (Bifurcated Carrots and In the Toad's Garden) before we get around to planting it out - there seems to be quite a few different strains around, do you know where yours came from? The tip about the snails is welcome, especially - I will be out there with a sharp stick and scissors! Patrick – thanks for your tips, I’m looking forward to trying it even more. I have heard good things about it dried, too..but better not count my chickens before they’ve tuberised (hmmm).

Seahorse – I think we have pushed ours a little, because the tubers looked so vulnerable that we wanted to give them every chance possible. We’re ferrying them in and out of the greenhouse every day and they seem happy enough – I know the Simon Hickmott book warns against giving them too much warmth and not enough light so I think you may do better than ours in the end!

Kate – thanks very much for your tips, I’m going to double check the growing notes the supplier provided, books and other bloggers that have grown it (Bifurcated Carrots and In the Toad’s Garden) before we get around to planting it out – there seems to be quite a few different strains around, do you know where yours came from? The tip about the snails is welcome, especially – I will be out there with a sharp stick and scissors!

]]> By: Kate http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/#comment-63 Kate Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:34:25 +0000 http://fuggles.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-63 ps Mine have round, white corms,about the size of a tennis ball or a bit smaller, not the long, pink ones in the Toad's garden's photos! Interesting. ps Mine have round, white corms,about the size of a tennis ball or a bit smaller, not the long, pink ones in the Toad’s garden’s photos! Interesting.

]]> By: Kate http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/#comment-62 Kate Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:31:05 +0000 http://fuggles.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-62 I have some in my garden too. They are tall but not particularly wide. In fact they are better grown close together to support each other. I don't bother with peeling - just dig up , wash off and eat raw. Very much like a nashi (a crunchy japanese pear) and the skin is like a thin pear skin - insignificant. Good luck. Soon I will dig some up and put something about them on my blog. Mine have been attacked several times by snails (I think) and completely decimated before I noticed. Each time they have bounced back before almost dying of heat exhaustion, again before I noticed! (They are in a distant corner of the garden). Still, now they look as good as gold. Very hardy, it seems. I have some in my garden too. They are tall but not particularly wide. In fact they are better grown close together to support each other. I don’t bother with peeling – just dig up , wash off and eat raw. Very much like a nashi (a crunchy japanese pear) and the skin is like a thin pear skin – insignificant. Good luck. Soon I will dig some up and put something about them on my blog. Mine have been attacked several times by snails (I think) and completely decimated before I noticed. Each time they have bounced back before almost dying of heat exhaustion, again before I noticed! (They are in a distant corner of the garden). Still, now they look as good as gold. Very hardy, it seems.

]]> By: Seahorse http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/#comment-60 Seahorse Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:19:25 +0000 http://fuggles.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-60 You're ahead of me! :) Good to see someone else having success with it though - mine are in my 'greenhouse within a greenhouse', so I hope they're warm enough. You’re ahead of me! :) Good to see someone else having success with it though – mine are in my ‘greenhouse within a greenhouse’, so I hope they’re warm enough.

]]> By: Patrick http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/#comment-53 Patrick Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:54:42 +0000 http://fuggles.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-53 The taste is really nice, sweet juicy and crunchy. It's best eaten raw, only peeled. It does take a lot of space in the garden. I don't know what Real Seeds suggests, but I'm told it need 90cm in all directions. The taste is really nice, sweet juicy and crunchy. It’s best eaten raw, only peeled.

It does take a lot of space in the garden. I don’t know what Real Seeds suggests, but I’m told it need 90cm in all directions.

]]> By: MissFuggles http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/#comment-49 MissFuggles Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:50:36 +0000 http://fuggles.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-49 Hi Karen - thanks for visiting - "Err...interesting" is definitely one way to put it! We are slightly worried about the fact that the plant gets its sweetness from inulin, which is also found in quantity in Jerusalem artichokes. Being a lady (I am, honest) (sometimes) I won't go in to why that might not be a good thing. However asking around I heard lots of good things about the taste and a few weeks ago on the BBC programme Gardeners' World there was a feature about unusual edibles which described it as like a particularly pleasant pear (hence one of its pseudonyms, poire de terre, I assume). There's some really good information on Bifurcated Carrots and In The Toad's Garden if you'd like to know more: <a href="http://toads.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/yacon-crown-in-january" rel="nofollow">http://toads.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/yacon-crown-in-january</a> <a href="http://www.patnsteph.net/weblog/?p=304" rel="nofollow">http://www.patnsteph.net/weblog/?p=304</a> <a href="http://toads.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/yacon-sweet-treat-from-the-andes/" rel="nofollow">http://toads.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/yacon-sweet-treat-from-the-andes/</a> (Especially good photos on the last one) Hi Karen – thanks for visiting – “Err…interesting” is definitely one way to put it! We are slightly worried about the fact that the plant gets its sweetness from inulin, which is also found in quantity in Jerusalem artichokes. Being a lady (I am, honest) (sometimes) I won’t go in to why that might not be a good thing. However asking around I heard lots of good things about the taste and a few weeks ago on the BBC programme Gardeners’ World there was a feature about unusual edibles which described it as like a particularly pleasant pear (hence one of its pseudonyms, poire de terre, I assume).

There’s some really good information on Bifurcated Carrots and In The Toad’s Garden if you’d like to know more:

http://toads.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/yacon-crown-in-january
http://www.patnsteph.net/weblog/?p=304
http://toads.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/yacon-sweet-treat-from-the-andes/

(Especially good photos on the last one)

]]> By: Karen http://fuggles.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/yacon-and-on-and-on/#comment-47 Karen Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:59:12 +0000 http://fuggles.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-47 Crikey - I had to go and Google Yacon - never heard of it before. Looks very err ... interesting. Regards Karen Crikey – I had to go and Google Yacon – never heard of it before.
Looks very err … interesting.
Regards
Karen

]]>