How to Grow South American Oca

Decide which route is best for your garden beforehand, as oca has a long wait time until harvest, 180-360 days. Plant the seed tubers three to four inches deep at 12 inches apart, and cover. If the soil is not fertile enough already, add compost or manure to fertilize the area. Water the tubers after planting.

How do you grow Oca tubers?
Do you need to chit OCA?
Is OCA a perennial?
How long does OCA take to grow?
How do you propagate OCA?
What does OCA taste like?
What does OCA look like?
Can you eat OCA leaves?
What do you do with an OCA?
Where can I grow OCA?
Where is OCA eaten?

How do you grow Oca tubers?

Alternatively, tubers can be planted directly outdoors in late May. By this time they may well be showing small 'sprouts'. Plant Oca directly into a shallow drill, about 8cm (3") deep, and cover with soil or compost and a layer of fleece. Remove the fleece from early June or as the soil and weather warms.

Do you need to chit OCA?

Like potatoes, you will find oca chits readily in storage, which usually is a paper bag (in a frost-free place). But chitting does not affect the edibility of the tuber, and it is not necessary to growth.

Is OCA a perennial?

In warm climates Oxalis tuberosa (Oxalidaceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant and can overwinter as underground stem tubers known as uqa in Quechua. ... In more temperate northern climates, Oca is frost sensitive and is an annual. It has pretty foliage and looks good in a vegetable garden, is easy to grow and harvest.

How long does OCA take to grow?

How do you propagate OCA?

Oca is propagated from tubers, so it's cloned in a manner similar to potatoes. It prefers sandy soil, partial shade and cool, damp weather. Plant whole tubers in pots in late winter (mid-March is my method), and once they form healthy vines, transfer them to tubs or into the ground after the threat of frost has passed.

What does OCA taste like?

Red-skinned varieties have an orange flesh, similar in color to a sweet potato. Oca is said to taste like potatoes that already have sour cream, with a slightly acidic flavor. Use them as you would other petite potatoes; they can be boiled, roasted, baked, mashed or fried.

What does OCA look like?

Oca has a unique and zingy flavor

It's in the oxalis family, so its leaves look and taste like wood sorrel. Tender, green, and with an oxalic acid tang. You can add them to salads and stir-fries. The flavor of the tubers is unique and can be different depending on type, time of harvest, and cooking method.

Can you eat OCA leaves?

You can also eat oca leaves; they'll have a similar flavour to sorrel, due to the presence of oxalic acid. ... If blight strikes down your potatoes, the oca will be just fine. Traditional cultivation systems intercrop oca with other plants.

What do you do with an OCA?

Unlike potatoes, oca tubers can be eaten both raw and cooked. When they're raw, they have a fresh lemony flavour with a crisp, crunchy texture similar to that of a carrot. The skin is edible too and can be left on when raw. Slice them up into a salad to add some fresh zest.

Where can I grow OCA?

It can be grown successfully east of the Cascades as well, with some shade at the height of summer and frost protection in the fall. It does well in coastal California, in the lower elevations of the Appalachians, and in upland Hawaii.

Where is OCA eaten?

In Mexico, oca is commonly sprinkled with salt, lemon and hot pepper and eaten raw. It is also made into pickles with vinegar. In the Andes, the tubers are placed in the sun for a few days, to sweeten them. The leaves can be eaten as a sorrel substitute.