Oca (Oxalis tuberosa)
Oca (Oxalis
tuberosa)
Tubers available in the autumn and young plants grown in 7 cm pots in the spring.
Order form
Unusual veg
Sold out
£6.00
Oca has been and still is a very popular crop in parts of South America where it has been grown for thousands of years.
Similar in use to a potato oca
have a firm waxy texture when cooked making them good for salads, a pleasant crunchy munch raw as well.
Grown pretty much like a spud but you don't need to earth up as they do not go green and toxic if exposed to the sun. Give them about 30 cm and protect from frost, but your oca needs to be left in the ground as long as possible into the autumn for the tubers to form so fork them up only when the foliage has finally died away completely. They are easy to spot in the soil as they are a lovely bright pinky red, let them dry off for a day or two then store as you would your potatoes.
As they do not suffer from viruses you can save some tubers to plant for your next crop, that's if you have not eaten them all...