Fall Harvest continues…. Just entering the beginning of what I call our Andean Marin time of year… this maritime climate zone on coastal Northern California mimics the high elevation Andean plateau of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador… all the ancient pre-Incan tubers propagating here begin to tuberize on the Fall Equinox and will be harvested throughout the Fall and Winter as they gain size and weight. Presently we are forking open the ground for this years abundance of Peruvian Ground Apples…best known as Yacon (Yah-cone) - a member of the Sunflower Family…originally from the Andean Highlands….now making its home in our poly-culture gardens at BoTierra in Bolinas, CA. We will store these tubers in cool damp darkness for several weeks to sweeten them up, and then either slice them for fresh salads or juice and boil down for a delicious diabetic-safe inulin pancake syrup ( the leaves are also used for a diabetic tea)…the syrup tastes much like its maple counterpart with a touch of complex molasses/chocolate. The fruit is a pre-biotic meaning it sets up favorable conditions for intestinal flora. This year we will have enough growing crowns to be able to offer them to interested farmers and gardeners who make like to trial this amazing plant in their own gardens (Message me or comment/contact) We are also harvesting our Ruby Sunchokes…aka Jerusalem Artichokes…actually Native American...originally found growing by Champlain in Cape Cod in the 1600s… they too are a Sunflower…hugely productive...and their roots bake up to the most nutritious and sumptuously sweet potato-like tuber you have ever had… ...that is of course if you havent had some of the other earth gems we will soon be unearthing….seven varieties of Oca…four types of Ullucos….Salsify (yet another sunflower…this time from Europe…with parsnip-like roots that have become my favorite tap-root vegetable… More soon…..
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:09:44 +0000
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