Thats easy to do. I never was one for exotics and I am getting so old I can't remember my own name half the time. There is a thread over on the Asian forum looking for Chinese Artichokes (Crosnes). I know nothing about the new Zealand Yam (Oca - Oxalis tuberosa )Folks on the asian and the legumes forums grow some strange vegetables. I am still trying to comprehend the concept of groundnuts (Apios Americana)

Hi

I come from a home where the consider exotics where an every day thing :)

Sometimes when I tried to re create some foods that I remember them my conditions are not too favorable in my zone 9b. Like I tried oca last year, it will not work here. It needs the cool Andean nights and sunny days.

It has fallen out of favor in later years due that is a crop that has to be dried up before eaten sort of like a prune, otherwise is not palatable.

And Farmerdilla with the passing years you did not get old, you got better! A lot of people would like your experience and knowledge. I am a beneficiary of your expertise. Thank you for sharing with us.

Silvia

FP

Those names are so "exotic" I thought they were misspellings of "orca" and "crocuses", though I couldn't imagine how a whale and a flower might be related, particularly on a Vegetable Gardening forum.

OK, I've tried those:

Oca didn't work for me last year -- as said in the various things I've read about it, it's a short day plant, and didn't start to form tubers until around October 1st, then, as I figured, frost got it. I did bring some of the pots into storage -- they have little tubers, so will regrow, but nothing big enough to eat. I think this year, I'm going to try throwing black cloth over the plants every night starting in August and see what that yields.

Crosne, on the other hand, is easy. Treat it like the mint family plant that it is, give it rich, moist, loamy soil, and you'll get a good crop. The little tubers taste good, sort of like waterchestnuts, but they look kind of like some kind of big grub! The only problem I've found with it is that voles seem to love the taste of them, too.

YACON -- ok, this one is a great plant, IMO -- gives big, sweet potato like tuberous roots that store really well, are sweet and crispy with a mild carrot flavor. Nice in stir fried dishes, salads, etc. Plant seems to be easy to grow, based on my 2 season with it, productive, easy to store the propagative tubers over the winter in the basement like I store dahlias and glads.

I grew oca when we lived in at 7500' elevation, in a cold rainforest, in Mexico. The stuff grew extremely well there, and was popular with the indigenous population. I used to munch on it raw, but really never had the time to figure it out as a practical crop. I never got a "round 'tuit."

George
Tahlequah, OK

Have any of you adventureous gardeners have tried melloco?
If not you are in for a real treat.

Even they are like the consistency of okra when cooked, it has a flavor all its own.

My favorite way to eat it is cooked, sliced in a salad with radish and lemon juice, or in a soup is good too.

If anybody know where to find the tubers, let me know...

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: melloco