Today I dug up two of my oka plants to see what the harvest was like, the tops have been dead for a few weeks now after some heavy snow and frost.
There seem to be a few decent sized ones, although I have no idea of how big they really should be, and I presume I should keep a number of the biggest ones for planting next year. None of them seem to be rotten so I presume I could leave the other plants for a few weeks more, although I presume again that they will not get any bigger.
There are few tiny ones, and few funny shaped once with quite a long tuber.
Hi Steve, I'd say you did okay there, given the late start they got.
ReplyDeleteMedium-sized tubers seem to be just as good for next year's seed as the biggest, but it's maybe worth selecting them from any plants that have a noticeably bigger yield. Even though the tubers are theoretically clones, there can be the odd spontaneous variation.
Ian
So when should I be planting them Ian.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that critical, and I don't think starting them off super early results in an increased crop. I usually stick them in a 4" pot once they start to sprout, then plant out once the soil is warm - perhaps late April. Some people direct-plant, and get perfectly good results, but the plants get off to a slightly slower start. Certainly, volunteer plants from tubers missed at harvest are often 6 weeks behind pot-grown ones in my experience.
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