OCA - a gardener's notebook
ALSO KNOWN AS NEW ZEALAND YAM
This one comes into the category of "Vegetables I'd never heard of" - which is exactly why I've included it. It has a fascinating story which the "Mother Earth News" item expands on, and was first grown in this country in the 1830s! Difficult to understand why it never caught on while other new veg like toamatoes did.
It is a rather tender (but then so are potatoes) tuber which is widely grown in the Andes, and is a major vegetable there with a lot of culinary uses. Someone in a group I belong to was growing it and I've asked them for their experiences. Meanwhile, here's a couple of links, and you'll find more by googling it.
Growing Oca
Mother Earth News - you can grow Oca
This one comes into the category of "Vegetables I'd never heard of" - which is exactly why I've included it. It has a fascinating story which the "Mother Earth News" item expands on, and was first grown in this country in the 1830s! Difficult to understand why it never caught on while other new veg like toamatoes did.
It is a rather tender (but then so are potatoes) tuber which is widely grown in the Andes, and is a major vegetable there with a lot of culinary uses. Someone in a group I belong to was growing it and I've asked them for their experiences. Meanwhile, here's a couple of links, and you'll find more by googling it.
Growing Oca
Mother Earth News - you can grow Oca
