Please see my post in Plant Trading forum if you are interested in trading for a yacon crown. There were a few members active in this forum (veggies) earlier for whom I was not able to send one.
Yacon crowns available
I have about 20' growing beautiful right now, they need to come up with first frost right? So, I can replant a "crown"? I thought they would put out something like a yam, but not a yam?
Yacon produces eating tubers without eyes and propagation tubers with eyes. On my plants, the eating tubers are tan and smooth. The propagation tubers are attached closely to the stem and tend to be purple. You can see the eyes on the propagation tubers/crown. The crown is divided into multiple plants for the new growing season. The crown can be stored in a cool location, covered with dirt, until the next grow season. Each crown will produce many new plants if properly processed.
The eating tubers do resemble yams or sweet potatos, but are handled differently. The need to cure for a few weeks so that the outer skin slightly softens. That improves the sweetness and flavor.
I've never heard of Yacon, so I looked it up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yac%C3%B3n
You think the crowns would be okay if I stored them mixed with dirt in a container in the fridge - then cut them up (basically a little bit of tuber w/ each eye) and plant them after last frost? It gets in the 70's sometimes here even in Jan. & Feb...
Thanks for the info!
Luzi,
Some refrigerators have cold spots where things can freeze. As long as the tubers do not freeze, and are not stored too damp, your storage solution should work. However, I have had significant crown losses over the years storing them in the fridge. I've tried peat, vermiculite and nothing in the bag. If I get the mix and moisture right, then the crowns store great. If something is off, they rot. I have had no problems just planting them in a pot and sticking the pot in my zone 5 basement, sitting directly on the floor - they has turned out to be the best for me. Considering that you are in a warm climate, you might just want to start some plants inside in small pots, them keep them rootbound but alive until ready to plant. Even if you store, consider doing a couple of plants as insurance during your learning curve.
Regarding cutting them up, that's tricky. There are clearly defined propagation tubers or nodules with eyes (tubers clustered around the stem). If they are large enough (1" or better) and clearly defined, then it is OK to cut them off of the main crown and plant separately. That is what I do. However, I try to keep the pieces larger and start them growing, then cut off growing plants as they get a couple sets of leaves. Once a tuber is growing a plant, it seems to me like it develops more eyes, or smaller eyes get a chance to get large enough to notice and grow assisted by the developing plants. So as I cut off the plants, the tuber pieces get smaller, but there are also more eyes developing into plants.
Sorry to make it sound so complicated. Its easy to work with this plant and they are tolerant of a lot of things. Hope this explanation of what I do helps.