Alfie with a freshly dug yacon January 5th.
The polytunnel is quite bare, save a little overwintering spinach and lettuce, a few brave spears of asparagus and lots of overwintering plants in pots.
The harvest from one yacon plant dug up earlier in the month.
The inca name means 'water root' and the taste hasn't won me over yet, but Wendy tells me that they are sweeter after storing them for a while, so I will try that this year and see if they improve. It was certainly no trouble to grow, it was in a shady polytunnel corner and received no more than the odd can of water when I thought of it.
The inca name means 'water root' and the taste hasn't won me over yet, but Wendy tells me that they are sweeter after storing them for a while, so I will try that this year and see if they improve. It was certainly no trouble to grow, it was in a shady polytunnel corner and received no more than the odd can of water when I thought of it.
This is a photo of the propagation roots from which the edible tubers grow. These are stored in a cool shed (like dahilas) until planting them out again next spring.
For an early start to the year we have been busy planting seeds in the warm kitchen, January 7th
I love to see little busy hands and as Alfie wants to plant all the seeds, my hands are free to take photos!
After 3 weeks the sweet peas are strong little plants with their tops pinched off to help them bush out. They will go out to the polytunnel in the next mild spell.