Morado Yacón is a productive beautiful new variety. Tubers are purple/red when they are fresh dug and when cured they develop a deep purple/burgundy skin with pink sweet flesh. Morado also starts flowering early September with one inch yellow flowers and purple/green leaves.

The (Smallanthus sonchifolius, syn.: Polymnia edulis, P. sonchifolia) is a species of perennial daisy traditionally grown in the northern and central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Their texture and flavour are very similar to jicama, mainly differing in that yacón has some slightly sweet, resinous, and floral (similar to violet) undertones to its flavour, probably due to the presence of inulin, which produces the sweet taste of the roots of elecampane, as well. Another name for yacón is Peruvian ground apple, possibly from the French name of potato,pomme de terre (ground apple). The tuber is composed mostly of water and fructooligosaccharide.

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The OG Yacón variety that has been propagated in the Pacific North West for the last couple of decades.  A prolific producer of tubers that cure up deep red skin with red flesh around the edges. Crowns can be grown just like a Dahlia plant. You dig it up before first frost save the edible fleshy tubers and save the crown for the following year. We are offering propagation crowns that can be divided. 1/3 of a pound will grow a 4’x4′ bed and yield 10+ pounds of edible tubers. Crowns approximately double in size each year so you only need to buy Yacon once! Then you can gift the tubers to your friends and neighbors. They make beautiful garden companions as well as being edible.

The OG yacón is a species of perennial daisy traditionally grown in the northern and central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Their texture and flavour are very similar to jicama, mainly differing in that yacón has some slightly sweet, resinous, and floral (similar to violet) undertones to its flavour, probably due to the presence of inulin, which produces the sweet taste of the roots of elecampane, as well. Another name for yacón is Peruvian ground apple, possibly from the French name of potato,pomme de terre (ground apple). The tuber is composed mostly of water and fructooligosaccharide.

Commonly called jicama in Ecuador, yacón is sometimes confused with that unrelated plant, which is a bean. The yacón, in contrast, is a close relative of the sunflower and Jerusalem artichoke. The plant produces a perennial rhizome to which are attached the edible, succulent storage roots, the principal economic product of the plant. The rhizome develops just under the surface of the soil and continuously produces aerial shoots. Dry and/or cold seasons cause the aerial shoots to die back, but the plant re-sprouts from the rhizome under favorable conditions of temperature and moisture. The edible storage tubers are large and typically weigh from a few hundred grams to a kilogram or so.

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Hopin Alba Oca tubers are usually red in color and fade to pink and then white toward the ends of the tubers. The eyes may have the same color as the skin or may be white. There is a lot of color variation with this one. Smaller tubers may be almost entirely white. Most have stems that are green, becoming red at the base. White flesh with a red center. This variety seems to have thicker stolons and bulkier tubers than many varieties, a trait that it shares with Amarillo and White.

An early sprouting and vigorous variety.

Hopin is the most widely available variety among suppliers in the Pacific Northwest. If you are looking to get started with oca in a similar climate, it is a good choice. It forms fewer tubers than Sunset, but they tend to be larger.

Hopin seems to produce more fasciated stems than other varieties – as many as 1 in every 15 plants.

A somewhat acidic variety. After a few days of exposure to sunlight, it sweetens considerably.

Longer than average dormancy.

Oca is sensitive to frost which is why it is recommended to grow in regions with mild winters or more temperate zone (USDA Zone 7-9).

Growing Oca in areas colder than USDA Zone 8 is possible, however the tubers will need to be harvested and stored in cold storage to be planted again for next season.

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Rosy Gems Oca Tubers – Oxalis Tuberosum are a variety of oca made popular by the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in Occidental, California. The color is, unsurprisingly, pink. It gets redder with exposure to light. White flesh with a red/purple center.

This variety doesn’t seem to make particularly big plants, at least in our climate, but yields better than the size of the plant might suggest. Traditionally the tubers are exposed to sun and cold for several days after harvest to increase sweetness. Sun exposure also enriches the vivid colors of the Oca tubers.

Latin Name: Oxalis tuberosum
Site and Soil: Rosy Gems Oca Tubers do well in full sun to partial shade in well drained soil, loose soil pH 5.3-7.8.
Bearing Age: Perennial tubers, can be harvested annually.
Size at Maturity: 2-3 feet tall, sprawling
Ripening Time: November-January
USDA Zone: 5-9

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Tubers yellowish orange with red eyes. Green stems and foliage. Highest yielding variety that we offer; yields over two pounds are not unusual. After exposure, flavor brings to mind carrot, slightly sweet, no tartness.

Sunset Oca Tubers – Oxalis tuberosum

Sunset is an early sprouter and strong grower in the spring. If you can’t get Hopin or Bolivian Red Sunset is probably the next best choice for growing in the Pacific Northwest. Together, they make a good pair for breeding, since they are vigorous, early, long-flowering, and have compatible flower forms.

Sunset is probably the heaviest yielding variety among those available in the US, although Hopin,White, and Bolivian Red come close. Sunset is about two weeks earlier to being forming tubers than most varieties. It probably begins tuberization at a daylength of about 12.5 hours.

Andean Root Crops

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Mashua Tubers – Tropaeolum tuberosum are a vigorous and edible tuberous rooted nasturtium. Mashua produces Tubers in abundance when earthed up.  A species of flowering plant in the family Tropaeolaceae, grown in the Andes, particularly in Peru and Bolivia, and to a lesser extent in Ecuador as well as in Boyacá Department,Colombia, for its edible tubers, which are eaten cooked or roasted as a vegetable. It is a staple food source, especially to native Amerindian populations. Mashua is a herbaceous perennial climber growing to 2–4 m (7–13 ft) in height. It is related to garden nasturtiums, and is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental for its brightly colored tubular flowers that hummingbirds love. Mashua is disease free and is know to reduce plant pathogens like soil nematodes, and other feeding insects. Mashua also prevents weeds and is well suited for poly-culture with other edibles. Masua likes partial shade to half day sun. Mashua thrives in cooler climates and does not do well in hot summer locations.

You will receive 3 mixed tubers:

Colombian (tuberosum v. pilifera)

Colombian Mashua tubers are cream colored, with purple eyes four to eight inches long – a very vigorous and productive plant for the PNW. This is a tuberous rooted nasturtium from Colombia. North of the equator has no day-length problem for tuber production (as we have found with the Bolivian cultivars) Tubers are white with anise fragrance when cooked. Raw they can be grated on sushi or other dishes like you would horseradish.

Puca Anu

The Puca Anu is a Peruvian cultivar and features purple stripes over a yellow tuber, two to six inches long. This vine has edible leaves, flowers and tubers like all Mashua. Grow on a trellis or western facing window to watch hummingbirds feed on the beautiful orange flowers

Sapu Anu

Chilean Red

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An interesting species of nasturtium, Mashua grows as a beautiful twining vine that can reach 8-12 feet tall with a big enough support and displays fiery orange tubular flowers in late summer into fall that hummingbirds flock too. Following the stunning floral and foliage display the plant will die back for the winter in northern climates and you can harvest its uniquely shaped tubers that look like gems from the earth with their various colors and striations. Flavor is similar to a nasturtium flower with its pleasant peppery flavors and earthy notes. A fun and interesting Incan crop that has been grown in the Andes for hundreds of years.

Latin Name: Tropaeolum tuberosum
Site and Soil: Half day to full sun, well draining soil
Hardiness: 30° F. at least
Size at Maturity: 8-12 ft
Flower Color: Bright orange and red
Foliage Color: Green
Bloom Time: Late summer into fall
Pests & Diseases: None that we’ve seen
USDA Zone: 9a to be perennial year round, or harvest tubers and re-plant in spring

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Crystal Yacón is an extremely productive cultivar that produces very large tubers with a reddish skin and beautiful white flesh.

The yacón is a species of perennial daisy traditionally grown in the northern and central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Their texture and flavour are very similar to jicama, mainly differing in that yacón has some slightly sweet, resinous, and floral (similar to violet) undertones to its flavour, probably due to the presence of inulin, which produces the sweet taste of the roots of elecampane, as well. Another name for yacón is Peruvian ground apple, possibly from the French name of potato, pomme de terre (ground apple). The tuber is composed mostly of water and fructooligosaccharide.

Commonly called jicama in Ecuador, yacón is sometimes confused with that unrelated plant, which is in the pea family. The yacón, in contrast, is a relative of the sunflower and Jerusalem artichoke. The plant produces a perennial rhizome to which are attached the edible, succulent storage roots, the principal economic product of the plant. The rhizome develops just under the surface of the soil and continuously produces aerial shoots. Dry and/or cold seasons cause the aerial shoots to die back, but the plant re-sprouts from the rhizome under favorable conditions of temperature and moisture. The edible storage tubers are large and typically weigh from a few hundred grams to a kilogram or so.

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