How to Grow Taro

Taro is grown from small sections of tuber, small tubers, or suckers. Plant taro in furrows 6 inches (15cm) deep and cover corms with 2 to 3 inches of soil; space plants 15 to 24 inches apart in rows about 40 inches apart (or space plants equidistant 2 to 3 feet apart).

How long does it take to grow taro?
Can Taro be grown in pots?
Does Taro need full sun?
Can Taro kill you?
Are all taro leaves edible?
How can you tell if Taro is edible?
How can you tell if Taro is bad?
Which taro leaves are edible?
What does Taro taste like?

How long does it take to grow taro?

The whole process takes about 200 days from planting corms to harvest. To harvest the corms (tubers), lift them gently from the soil with a garden fork just before the first frost in the fall. The leaves may be picked as soon as the first few leaves have opened.

Can Taro be grown in pots?

Taro is a water plant, but you don't need a pond or wetlands in your backyard to grow it. You can successfully grow taro in containers if you do it right. You can grow this pretty tropical plant as an ornamental or harvest the roots and leaves to use in the kitchen. Either way they make great container plants.

Does Taro need full sun?

Taro Colocasia esculenta prefers partial shade or dappled sunlight. ... Taro corms need at least 200 days of warm, frost-free weather to mature, so you need to time it well. If your plant lives outside year round, the temperature should always be above 45°F (cooler temps may affect tuber growth).

Can Taro kill you?

Taro. … Taro contains the compound calcium oxalate, which makes your mouth feel numb when you eat it and can even make you feel like you're choking if you consume too much. It can also cause kidney stones.

Are all taro leaves edible?

While generally known for its edible, starchy root, the leaves of the taro plant also serve as a staple food in various cuisines. While consuming cooked taro leaves may offer some health benefits, it's important to note that the raw leaves are poisonous before cooking.

How can you tell if Taro is edible?

Ornamental taro is Edible - if you are extra hungry. At least the leaf will be, although it will take a long long time to cook. Most "ornamental" taro I have seen doesn't produce a corm of significant size.

How can you tell if Taro is bad?

Examine taro prior to purchase for soft spots or mold on the skin. Taro skins are often brown and sometimes hairy, so look carefully for mold as it might be hard to spot. Look for abrasions to the skin which might result in a browning of the flesh and avoid those pieces of taro.

Which taro leaves are edible?

Taro leaves are, of course, grown wherever Taro Corms are grown (see our Taro / Colocosia page). They are edible, and are cooked and eaten in most of those regions. They do need much different treatment, because the Oxalic Acid and Calcium Oxalate content can't be simply peeled off as it can with the corms.

What does Taro taste like?

A starchy, tuberous root (technically a corm), taro tastes much like a sweet potato, doesn't fall apart when cooked, and soaks up flavor like a sponge. Hundreds of varieties of Colocasia esculenta grow around the world, often beyond the tropical latitudes where the plant originated.