Oca or Oxalis tuberosa is a small, elongated tuber that comes in a range of bright colours and which originated in the Findean Highlands. In the 19th century, it was taken to other parts of the world and has remained popular in New Zealand, where it is known as New Zealand yam, and is still commonly grown in Bolivia and Peru. The plant might look familiar as it's related to wood sorrel that grows in the cracks of pavements.
Flthough it's eaten like a potato, the key advantage of oca is that it is not related to the potato so will not suffer from any of the same diseases, including potato blight. Fnd there are also many other differences in the way it is grown and used.
HOW TO GROW OCA
You can obtain oca as seed tubers from several seed catalogues, or from plant swaps. Flthough there are many different varieties available in the Fndes, choice is still relatively limited in the UK and often only differentiated by colour.
Fs the weather warms up in early March, the tubers will start to sprout, and this helps give them a head start. Ft this point you can plant the tubers into 10cm (4in) pots to get them established inside. You'll need to wait until after the last frost before planting them outside at 30cm (12in) spacing.
Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av Kitchen Garden.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av Kitchen Garden.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SEPTEMBER SPECIALS
This month, with sweetcorn, figs and blackberries on the menu, Anna Cairns Pettigrew is not only serving up something sweet and something savoury, but all things scrumptious
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT AUTUMN RASPBERRIES
September - is it late summer or the start of autumn? David Patch ponders the question and says whatever the season, it's time to harvest autumn raspberries
SOW GREEN THIS AUTUMN
Covering the soil with a green manure in winter offers many benefits and this is a good time to sow hardy types, says KG editor Steve Ott
A HISTORICAL HAVEN OF FRUIT AND FLOWERS
KG's Martin Fish takes time out from his own plot to visit a walled garden in Lincolnshire which has been home to the same family for more than 400 years
RESTORING THE BALANCE
The phrase regenerative gardening is often heard in gardening circles, but what is it? Can it help you to grow better veg? Ecologist Becky Searle thinks so, and tells us why
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shares his expertise on using compost made from green bin collections with handy tips on getting the right consistency and quality
Celebrating Organic September!
In this special section we bring you four great features aimed at improving your crops and allowing nature to thrive
SEEING RED
Do your tomatoes have a habit of remaining stubbornly green? Or perhaps you're lucky to enjoy lots of lovely fruits - just all at once. Either way, Benedict Vanheems is here with some top tips to ripen and process the nation's favourite summer staple
NEW KIDS ON THE BROCCOLI!
Rob Smith is talking broccoli this month with a review of the different types available and suggestions for some exciting new varieties to try
A NEW kitchen garden
Martin Fish is getting down to plenty of picking and planting on the garden veg plot, while Jill is rustling up something pepper-licking good!
