[FINN THE FORK]

hello, anybody grew this before, I know its not prone to blight, and its from south America, and it needs leaving alone till after the frosts, but I would love to hear if anybody has grew it THANKS

[surbie100]

I think there are a few of us on here who grow it. You can eat the leaves as well as the tubers, and it's a nice easy crop to grow. Though mine are going in bags next year as it's miserable digging them out of claggy wet clay in the middle of January... 

[sunshineband]

Two new suggestions I read about this year...... if you delay planting the tubers until mid-Summer, it does not seem to affect the end crop, and growing them planting into ridges makes them easier to harvest in claggy soil.

Thought I'd share this as space under cover is at a premium in the Spring, so being able to delay planting could be very useful.

[surbie100]

Would definitely agree with Sunny on both points. Planting late doesn't make a difference to harvests.

[FINN THE FORK]

thanks for the advice,

[mjg000]

I've just dug mine up but am wondering how best to store the best tubers until I plant out again.

[surbie100]

Keep them cool in a paper bag. They don't need to go in the fridge unless you want to put them there, and it doeesn't matter for planting if they go a bit wizened. They might start to chit, in which case treat them like potatoes and bring them into the light.  Hope that helps.

[BabbyAnn]

Keep them cool in a paper bag. They don't need to go in the fridge unless you want to put them there, and it doeesn't matter for planting if they go a bit wizened. They might start to chit, in which case treat them like potatoes and bring them into the light.  Hope that helps.

I'd agree with that - treat just like potatoes.

Also, initial costs of tubers can be expensive but you can increase the number of plants by nipping off the shoots in the early stage of growth and planting these.  I accidentally knocked a couple off that were about 2-3 inch tall - I just put them into a jar of water until they produced roots.  Once planted, they grew just as well as the others - probably much on the same lines as:

...... if you delay planting the tubers until mid-Summer, it does not seem to affect the end crop