Today’s article is about how and when to harvest yacon in the garden. Some time ago we saw how plant yacon in the garden, a very interesting Andean culture. It has many nutritional and medicinal properties and, of course, also and above all, endless culinary uses, such as a dish that I love, which is carrot and yacon cream.
Contents
harvest the yacon
We have already talked a lot about yacon in the post that we learn how to plant this tuber which, although reminiscent of the potato, is much more productive, composed of 85% water and very beneficial for health.
Today we are going to focus on when to harvest yacon, the right time and how to do it. For the most clueless, this tuber is also called in other very different ways: yacon without accentuating the o, aricoma, aricona, llacón, lajuash, yacuma, yacon potato, jicama or jiquimilla or by its technical name, Smallanthus sonchifolius. So if the name we use doesn’t sound familiar to you, it may sound like a different one, but we’re still talking about the same culture.
When to Harvest Yacon
Generally, yacon is harvested 8 or 10 months after planting, and the best time to harvest it is when it dries out. Even so, we could start harvesting with the aerial part alive, but it is better to wait until it dries out completely.
In this way we will also obtain the propagules that are in the lower part of the aerial part with our harvest. These propagules, which are just below the plant and above the roots, are the ones we will use to replant this crop the following season.
An indicator that it is ready to harvest are the flowers, which will have already started to dry out, and the leaves. Therefore, it is good to wait for the plant to completely dry out before harvesting it. And as seen in the video, there is a lot of harvest we can get from just one plant.
how to harvest
Harvesting is very simple. We hope that winter is having its effect and that the plant has just dried out. To harvest the yacon crop, we only remove the aerial part of the plant, to make the process easier, and we just throw it away and that’s it. We will separate the propagules, as we have said, to sow again the following season.
These are the propagulesWhy yacon?
Many people may be wondering, if we already have potatoes and sweet potatoes, or parsnips and turnips, why plant that tuber too?
One of the main reasons, as seen in the video crop, is its productivity. From a fairly small space in the bed, we harvested a lot of tubers and only one plant.
Another compelling reason is the health properties and benefits of yacon, as this tuber contains chlorogenic, ferulic, and caffeic acids, as well as flavonoids. These components and nutrients provide numerous health benefits and are used to treat many ailments and to maintain good health.
Without a doubt, one of the crops that you should add to your garden. Don’t you believe it?
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