Other Year 1 Crops

Introduction

Several other crops can be grown succesfully on new or freshly manured ground. Two that I have grown are Jerusalem artichokes and Oca (New Zealand Yam).

Jerusalem Artichokes

Jerusalem Artichokes (Heliabnthus tuberosum) are robust cousins of the sunflower, grown for their distinctly flaovoured, knobbly, tuberous root . Tubers for cultivation can be obtained readily from waste ground near allotments or vacant plots. Alternatively, anyone who has ever grown them will probably have spare tubers. Plant from April onwards, spaced 45-60cm (18inches to 2 feet) apart. They will grow to over 1.5m (6 feet) tall; consider this when planting other crops nearby. When growing, they will benefit from feeding well. In mid September, cut back to 1.2-1.5m (4-5 feet). Tubers are ready from mid-November onwards. They are useful in soups or stews and can br roasted but seem to cook unevenly using this method.

Oca

This is for me a completely new and experimental crop. Originating from South America, Oca (Oxalis tuberosum) is also known as New Zealand Yam. I obtained tubers from a seed exchange co-operative and have cultivated them much as for potatoes. However, all instructions state that Oca needs a period of shortened day length to produce tubers and hence I do not plan to harvest until November. I picked this crop to experiment with as an alternative to potatoes after losing an entire crop to blight in 2007.