I lived in the UK for many years and had a small garden, and regret that I never really got into gardening, until we moved to NZ. We moved away from the cities a year ago to a rural area with some land to become self-sufficient. I bought a couple of tubers and rhizomes off a website. The tubers were delicious. I roasted most of them which were super tasty. I then potted the rhizomes and overwintered them, and now they are growing so well in the ground. Can’t wait to harvest them. Such a great treat. My neighbours were not interested when I asked them if they wanted any at first. I’ll try to tempt them with the harvested tubers again. Great video, thanks. I miss the UK.
LOVE reading this!!! I (Laurie) lived in NZ for 7 years and its where I properly got into growing and first experienced/learned about permaculture ... had so many awesome people around me that I learnt from - so grateful for the knowledge and experience - totally shaped my life and helped to created what we do now ... where abouts in NZ are you? ... such awesome growing conditions there 💚✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife Hi Laurie, thanks for the kind reply. We lived in Tauranga for 16 years, then just before the second lockdown moved to Kerikeri. We were very lucky, as the Northland lockdown started two months after we moved. But we utilised that time to start planting fruit trees, and veggie gardens. It rains a lot in Kerikeri, so the soil is always moist. We do have very clayey soil, but we’ve used gypsum and organic matter before planting. So far so good. My mum lives in Islington and we might have to visit her soon, as she’s not too well. Who knows what’s going to happen in the future, so best to seize the day.
@@squange20 aww both beautiful locations! Up north is great for growing I believe… clay soil is prop one of the better things to be stuck with … it’s very nutritious, but can still be amended overtime, whilst keeping its benefits - just claggy if gets dug to much when wet in my experience. We are on clay here and building no dogs beds on top of the clay has worked very well for us … the roots can still work their way down into its goodness and over time all the roots, worms and soil life does the hard work of breaking it all down … win win 💚 I lived in Raglan ✌️🌿 xxx
@@freedomforestlife Yes, both beautiful places, but Tauranga has become very crowded with frustrating traffic jams. Kerikeri is growing. Lots of beautiful beaches in Northland. We drove to Raglan once a few years ago, and the roads were so windy and bumpy. Thanks for the tip about not digging in clay. I got some very useful info from Charles Dowding (in the UK too) about no dig on clay, so now we just place cardboard on the ground and soil on top. You guys are doing a fab job. 😊
@@squange20 🙏🙏🙏 oh yes, Charles D is the KING of no dig - legend, we’ve learnt so much from him too 🙏🙏🙏 yep road to Raglan over the Deviation is pretty mad first few times … I can still remember the first time I arrived and got driven out there! 🤪 then before long, you know it like the back of your hand ☺️ hope to catch you here again soon ✌️🙌
Thanks for the advice, I’m from London and I think I dug mine out too soon, they don’t taste sweet, just mildly sweet. However I ate one tuber raw and omgggggg I farted all night long!!!!!😂😂😂😂😂
🤣 so funny … to sweeten them, bring them into your house/somewhere warm for about 3-5 days before eating .., this is called curing and it brings out the sugars, if you eat fresh, just lovely and crisp but little flavour! The farting will settle down once your gut gets used to them 🤣🤣🤣 ✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife ohh thanks for the advice! I better get them out of the fridge then! I’m going to carry on eating them a few more times and if I keep on farting I’m not growing them no more, it kept me awake all night long😭😭😭😭
Just stumbled upon your channel and have to say love it. how have I not seen you before? Great info on the Yacon. I planted it for the first time this year.
Great to have you with us - Yacon is an AWESOME plant to grow we are still eating some of ours, I hope it grows well for you - let us know. Looks like you do some pretty cool stuff too ✌️🌿
I've just started harvesting mine. If you're growing your own food they're a great filler during the "hungry gap". I tend to use them like I would a cucumber.
First time watching you and I’m definitely subscribing! Not for you, but solely just because of that dog stealing the limelight just as your about to harvest lol
Hi Emma, are you in the UK? if so, we got our original ones from Ebay, we do sometime sell a few some years. We like to wait until late feb though to make sure plants overwinter well in the ground here, as we have found in the past when people store them in small pots during cold weather they turn to mush. Send me an email around mid Feb if you are still after some then and I see if I can do a few orders up all at once. 💚✌️🌿
Hi Nils, yes we did/do have a red skinned variety here somewhere! We had a whole bed of it, but it was a bed we didn’t protect last year and we lost it all in the colder than normal winter that we had last year, I’m sure a plant of it will pop up here at some point though 😁 thanks for watching✌️🌿
Great video, thanks for sharing. This is going to be my first year growing them, really looking forward to seeing how they do, hopefully I will have as good a harvest as you :)
Thanks for that, I just harvested our first yacon, and wasn't sure which bit to eat 😁 My tubers were much smaller than yours, but the replanting bit is huge- i wonder why?🤔
Hi, that’s good to plant a big bit of rhizome back, that will mean bigger tubers next year 👍👍 glad you found the video useful. We’ve made quite a few more about Yacon too, you can find them here: ua-cam.com/play/PLOidPRQofoMO7DbnFE7dT9EQBNsKncF72.html Thanks for watching and commenting ✌️🌿
Hi, We don't directly have any videos talking about this but we will be making a video on this years Yacon very soon, so we will look at including some info on this if we can 👍 stay tuned ✌️🌿
I am very curious. Why do many Europeans do not know what yacon is. They haven't eaten it, but this one was very popular in China before，And it’s delicious, people with diabetes can also eat it？Can you tell me why yacon is not available in supermarkets in many European countries?
Hi Bojian, we feel the same too, its the most amazing crop that should be sold everywhere! Most people here in england still have never heard of it! Hopfully we can help to spread the word about it and inspire others to grow it! Thanks for your comment!
Hey Jack, I would say its more reliable, easier to grow because it can be treated as perennial here and the yeilds are better aswell! But if you only had a small space you could still plant some sweet potatoes to trail around them!
Hey Faith sorry for the slow reply! They begin sprouting from the soil around end of april here, and we havest anytime from the 1st frosts in November/December until Febuary!
They are a beautiful crunchy tuber, that you can eat raw right out of the ground, I mostly just eat them like a piece of fruit... very juicy and crisp when fresh 😋
Hi, thanks for sharing. Would you mind if I ask which part of uk you live please? I just bought a pot of yacon from garden centre yesterday and planted it in the allotment. I wonder if the coming weeks of cold weather would do any damage to the crown at all or should I move it into the polly tunnel to be safe?
Hi Susan, oh great you got some! Were in the south east, hampshire...they are hardy to -5 with a mulch, ive been continuing to harvest ours and replant straight back..if you get a really hard frost as the crown is exposed it can damage it abit, to be safe i would put abit of compost/woodchips or mound a little soil up over it for now...let us know how your harvest goes!
@@freedomforestlife thanks for your reply! The first time I tasted yacon was three years ago in China. I’ve been trying to find this ever since then. I couldn’t believe how nice they tasted. Totally unexpected as they are supposed to be like potato’s. I live in Essex so I hope it should be mild enough to not suffer any frost damage. Will keep you posted the end of this year see how my yacon been doing in my allotment 😀
Hi Morena, no ive never seen it, its still very unknown here, but it should be..maybe try and grow a few plants, you could do it in pots if you dont have a garden!
@@morenaombion we got our initial growing tips from ebay, they are generally not grown from seed...the nice thing is the part you eat and the part you replant are different..so you keep all your harvest
@@freedomforestlife Yes, of course I have an account on both Ebay and on Etsy....NO ONE has them anywhere. I've been looking for months. If you sell them, let me know. Thank you!!
@@ClickyBuzzClick2ConnectBuzz it may be because it is only just getting towards harvest time for them, in another month or so folks should be bringing up the plants, so then will be the time to divide plants/rhizomes to make new plants so keep checking - otherwise sellers may over winter them in pots and sell them on in early spring I would think, but you should be able to find them on eBay ready to get in for next season soon I reckon🤞✌️🌿
Hi Ube, we are in Zone 9a, they are hardy down to about -5oC, but probably would like to be that cold for long periods. We grow them as re-plant perennials, but you could always overwinter the growing tips in pots in a shed or something, depending on your winter conditions ✌️🌿
I tried them roasted with garlic salt like you would roast potatoes, and they are delicious. They are also lovely in salads instead of cucumber. They don’t have starch like potatoes, so very good as a substitute.
I lived in the UK for many years and had a small garden, and regret that I never really got into gardening, until we moved to NZ. We moved away from the cities a year ago to a rural area with some land to become self-sufficient. I bought a couple of tubers and rhizomes off a website. The tubers were delicious. I roasted most of them which were super tasty. I then potted the rhizomes and overwintered them, and now they are growing so well in the ground. Can’t wait to harvest them. Such a great treat. My neighbours were not interested when I asked them if they wanted any at first. I’ll try to tempt them with the harvested tubers again. Great video, thanks. I miss the UK.
LOVE reading this!!! I (Laurie) lived in NZ for 7 years and its where I properly got into growing and first experienced/learned about permaculture ... had so many awesome people around me that I learnt from - so grateful for the knowledge and experience - totally shaped my life and helped to created what we do now ... where abouts in NZ are you? ... such awesome growing conditions there 💚✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife Hi Laurie, thanks for the kind reply. We lived in Tauranga for 16 years, then just before the second lockdown moved to Kerikeri. We were very lucky, as the Northland lockdown started two months after we moved. But we utilised that time to start planting fruit trees, and veggie gardens. It rains a lot in Kerikeri, so the soil is always moist. We do have very clayey soil, but we’ve used gypsum and organic matter before planting. So far so good. My mum lives in Islington and we might have to visit her soon, as she’s not too well. Who knows what’s going to happen in the future, so best to seize the day.
@@squange20 aww both beautiful locations! Up north is great for growing I believe… clay soil is prop one of the better things to be stuck with … it’s very nutritious, but can still be amended overtime, whilst keeping its benefits - just claggy if gets dug to much when wet in my experience. We are on clay here and building no dogs beds on top of the clay has worked very well for us … the roots can still work their way down into its goodness and over time all the roots, worms and soil life does the hard work of breaking it all down … win win 💚 I lived in Raglan ✌️🌿 xxx
@@freedomforestlife Yes, both beautiful places, but Tauranga has become very crowded with frustrating traffic jams. Kerikeri is growing. Lots of beautiful beaches in Northland. We drove to Raglan once a few years ago, and the roads were so windy and bumpy. Thanks for the tip about not digging in clay. I got some very useful info from Charles Dowding (in the UK too) about no dig on clay, so now we just place cardboard on the ground and soil on top. You guys are doing a fab job. 😊
@@squange20 🙏🙏🙏 oh yes, Charles D is the KING of no dig - legend, we’ve learnt so much from him too 🙏🙏🙏 yep road to Raglan over the Deviation is pretty mad first few times … I can still remember the first time I arrived and got driven out there! 🤪 then before long, you know it like the back of your hand ☺️ hope to catch you here again soon ✌️🙌
Thanks for the advice, I’m from London and I think I dug mine out too soon, they don’t taste sweet, just mildly sweet. However I ate one tuber raw and omgggggg I farted all night long!!!!!😂😂😂😂😂
🤣 so funny … to sweeten them, bring them into your house/somewhere warm for about 3-5 days before eating .., this is called curing and it brings out the sugars, if you eat fresh, just lovely and crisp but little flavour! The farting will settle down once your gut gets used to them 🤣🤣🤣 ✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife ohh thanks for the advice! I better get them out of the fridge then! I’m going to carry on eating them a few more times and if I keep on farting I’m not growing them no more, it kept me awake all night long😭😭😭😭
hello friend happy harvesting
Thank you so nice of you, you keep up the good work too!
Just stumbled upon your channel and have to say love it. how have I not seen you before? Great info on the Yacon. I planted it for the first time this year.
Great to have you with us - Yacon is an AWESOME plant to grow we are still eating some of ours, I hope it grows well for you - let us know. Looks like you do some pretty cool stuff too ✌️🌿
Thanks for sharing wonderful video 👍👍👍
Hi monara, thank you so much for your support!
Nice food varietal.
Sure is 👍
I've just started harvesting mine. If you're growing your own food they're a great filler during the "hungry gap". I tend to use them like I would a cucumber.
Exactly Jeff! Great water chestnut replacement in stir fries or grated in colslaw too ✌️🌿
First time watching you and I’m definitely subscribing! Not for you, but solely just because of that dog stealing the limelight just as your about to harvest lol
Ha thanks Jack - This was when our poor Murphy had a bad eye and was in the cone and Millie being as cheeky as ever 🐾 Thanks for subscribing ✌️🌿
Olá, Sou do Brasil
Ola Brasil 🙌🙌🙌
Hi, amazing info/video, wondering where to get starter roots from x
Hi Emma, are you in the UK? if so, we got our original ones from Ebay, we do sometime sell a few some years. We like to wait until late feb though to make sure plants overwinter well in the ground here, as we have found in the past when people store them in small pots during cold weather they turn to mush. Send me an email around mid Feb if you are still after some then and I see if I can do a few orders up all at once. 💚✌️🌿
What about cutting down the stems
Yesterday I did see that there is also a redfleshed Yacon in Bolivia. Do you have it in your region?
Hi Nils, yes we did/do have a red skinned variety here somewhere! We had a whole bed of it, but it was a bed we didn’t protect last year and we lost it all in the colder than normal winter that we had last year, I’m sure a plant of it will pop up here at some point though 😁 thanks for watching✌️🌿
Great video, thanks for sharing. This is going to be my first year growing them, really looking forward to seeing how they do, hopefully I will have as good a harvest as you :)
Yay, good lucky Jodi - happy growing - let us know how you get on ✌️🌿
Looking forward to have that kind of tubers.
I only buy yacon in the market and sometime it's not sweet like fresh harvest in the garden
👍🏾👍🏾❤💖
Thanks for that, I just harvested our first yacon, and wasn't sure which bit to eat 😁 My tubers were much smaller than yours, but the replanting bit is huge- i wonder why?🤔
Hi, that’s good to plant a big bit of rhizome back, that will mean bigger tubers next year 👍👍 glad you found the video useful. We’ve made quite a few more about Yacon too, you can find them here: ua-cam.com/play/PLOidPRQofoMO7DbnFE7dT9EQBNsKncF72.html
Thanks for watching and commenting ✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife thank you for your response, really appreciate it!
Could I ask whether you have a video of what you've planted around the yacon and the distances please?
Hi, We don't directly have any videos talking about this but we will be making a video on this years Yacon very soon, so we will look at including some info on this if we can 👍 stay tuned ✌️🌿
I am very curious. Why do many Europeans do not know what yacon is. They haven't eaten it, but this one was very popular in China before，And it’s delicious, people with diabetes can also eat it？Can you tell me why yacon is not available in supermarkets in many European countries?
Hi Bojian, we feel the same too, its the most amazing crop that should be sold everywhere! Most people here in england still have never heard of it! Hopfully we can help to spread the word about it and inspire others to grow it! Thanks for your comment!
@@freedomforestlife yeah man！hope i can see it in italy not far from the future
Because they don't promote health here
Nice Video. Do you guys make your own Woodchips?
No, we are lucky to have a green waste site near by us where we can get woodchips
Great video! Is this a better cropper than sweet potatoes in uk?
Hey Jack, I would say its more reliable, easier to grow because it can be treated as perennial here and the yeilds are better aswell! But if you only had a small space you could still plant some sweet potatoes to trail around them!
Hi thank you very much for your video, l'm in reading you knowwhere possessionfindyaconto to plant please?
Hi, no problem! We got our orignal's from ebay!
How long did you leave it before harvest?
Hey Faith sorry for the slow reply! They begin sprouting from the soil around end of april here, and we havest anytime from the 1st frosts in November/December until Febuary!
Hello sir, can you grow yacon from tubers? The thing that you eat, not from the root.
Hi jimmy, you cant im afraid!
What is a yacon apple please. Never heard of them before. And what do they taste like
They are a beautiful crunchy tuber, that you can eat raw right out of the ground, I mostly just eat them like a piece of fruit... very juicy and crisp when fresh 😋
Hi, thanks for sharing. Would you mind if I ask which part of uk you live please? I just bought a pot of yacon from garden centre yesterday and planted it in the allotment. I wonder if the coming weeks of cold weather would do any damage to the crown at all or should I move it into the polly tunnel to be safe?
Hi Susan, oh great you got some! Were in the south east, hampshire...they are hardy to -5 with a mulch, ive been continuing to harvest ours and replant straight back..if you get a really hard frost as the crown is exposed it can damage it abit, to be safe i would put abit of compost/woodchips or mound a little soil up over it for now...let us know how your harvest goes!
@@freedomforestlife thanks for your reply! The first time I tasted yacon was three years ago in China. I’ve been trying to find this ever since then. I couldn’t believe how nice they tasted. Totally unexpected as they are supposed to be like potato’s. I live in Essex so I hope it should be mild enough to not suffer any frost damage. Will keep you posted the end of this year see how my yacon been doing in my allotment 😀
Good one
Can I get fresh yacon in supermarkets in UK or Ireland?
Hi Morena, no ive never seen it, its still very unknown here, but it should be..maybe try and grow a few plants, you could do it in pots if you dont have a garden!
@@freedomforestlife thanks
That's a good idea but where can I get seeds to plant? I live in Dublin.
@@morenaombion we got our initial growing tips from ebay, they are generally not grown from seed...the nice thing is the part you eat and the part you replant are different..so you keep all your harvest
Wow! Great harvest.
@@morenaombion Hi there, did you get hold of some yacon? I will have some when it comes to harvest time and happy to share! I’m in Ireland 😊
I can't find ANYWHERE IN THE STATES to buy them from. WHERE do you suggest buying YACON from? PLEASE help with ANY suggestions - THANK YOU!!
Hi, we got our original plants on eBay… do you have that or an equivalent in the states?? If so try there … hope that helps - good luck! ✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife Yes, of course I have an account on both Ebay and on Etsy....NO ONE has them anywhere. I've been looking for months. If you sell them, let me know. Thank you!!
@@ClickyBuzzClick2ConnectBuzz it may be because it is only just getting towards harvest time for them, in another month or so folks should be bringing up the plants, so then will be the time to divide plants/rhizomes to make new plants so keep checking - otherwise sellers may over winter them in pots and sell them on in early spring I would think, but you should be able to find them on eBay ready to get in for next season soon I reckon🤞✌️🌿
what zone are you in? Can I grow these in zone 7?
Hi Ube, we are in Zone 9a, they are hardy down to about -5oC, but probably would like to be that cold for long periods. We grow them as re-plant perennials, but you could always overwinter the growing tips in pots in a shed or something, depending on your winter conditions ✌️🌿
@@freedomforestlife That's exactly what I'll do, thank you!
Are they always eaten raw or can they be cooked ?
hey Ian, laurie cooks in like you would water chesnuts in stirfrys and is amazing!
I tried them roasted with garlic salt like you would roast potatoes, and they are delicious. They are also lovely in salads instead of cucumber. They don’t have starch like potatoes, so very good as a substitute.
how do I get plants or seeds
We got ours originally through Ebay...it can be difficult to find them in some countrys...they are seldom grown from seed, usually the growing tips!