Inside the US , cassava is generally obscure except among some ethnic minority .
Yet it ’s where tapioca come from ( or “ fish oculus , ” as my Uncle Stuart calls them ) and has been used as a informant of laundry starch .
The root are really , really high in starch .
grow to about 12 ’ tall , the cassava plant life look very tropical .
Its palm-shaped leave and refined cane - like branch are attractive in the landscape painting or in the garden .
In Romance science - speak , it’sManihot escuelenta . Whatever you call it , it ’s a serious staple craw . Virtually pest - barren , drought resistant , load with calories , subject of skillful growth in poor territory – cassava is a must - have anyplace it can grow . And it ’s MUCH less work than food grain and much more large-minded of harvest time . In fact , once it ’s shoot maturity , you may basically dig it at any point for a few years ( though the etymon may sometimes get too woody to eat ) .
Peeled cassava roots
But there is a caveat on culture : manioca does n’t like cold . At all .
If temperatures drop to freezing , your cassava starch will immobilise to the footing .
This wo n’t ordinarily kill the plant , but it does mean you need to plan your growing accordingly . In the tropical zone , cassava is a perennial , open of growing immense radical and living for years .
Peeled cassava roots
Here in Florida the plant does well until you get north of zone 10 , then the occasional Frost will knock it down . raise it at any geographical zone beyond 8 is likely an physical exercise in futility . Cassava necessitate warm day and nights to make good solution .
And speaking of beginning … the manioca ’s roots hold back roughly twice the gram calorie of a like serving of potatoes .
Bonus : they ’re easier to grow .
Of course , there is the cyanide to consider .
CYANIDE?!?
What – you did n’t think a industrial plant this awesome could live without a down side , did you ?
Yes – cyanide .
The plant is full of it , from its endearing leaf to its tasty roots . Fortunately , boiling or zymosis gets it out , so revere not .
Peeled cassava roots
A lot of plants we corrode are poisonous . Just google the “ cashew tree diagram ” or front up the perniciousness of dry kidney beans .
Now THAT ’S scary .
Compared to many thing we eat , cassava ’s pretty tame .
Microwaveable burritos , for instance .
How to Grow Cassava
Now – make a motion beyond the nitril – how do you grow these things ?
Unlike many plant , casava is not usually grown from seeds except for multiply purposes . The only elbow room most folks grow it is via stem cuttings.(Roots from the grocery entrepot almost definitely wo n’t lick since they ’ve been separated from the base and douse in wax . )
To grow from fresh cuttings , chop a sturdy stalk into part about 1.5 ’ long , cleave them in the ground on their sides about two in downand overlay them gently with soil – or , as I implant them , stick in vertically with the ontogenesis buds pointing up – and within a week or so they ’ll be spring up new leaves .
I demonstrate how to implant casava in this short video :
6 - 12 month by and by ( depending on caution and rain ) , they ’ll be ready to start harvesting .
To glean , machete down the entire plant a foot or so from the ground , throw the branches to the side and startle toil .
Be careful , though – the roots are easy to chop up through . Some heedful explorative digging with a trowel is often a estimable approximation . The stem you ’re looking for grow down and away fromthe main root word and are in the main located in the first 1 - 2 ’ of soil . They ’re inscrutable dark-brown with freaky hide . Do n’t jab them too long before you ’re going to process them as casava does n’t store well at all .
Once you glean the roots , you ’ll need to hack up the rest of the plant to make a new set of canes for planting out . I break down off all the leaves and compost them , then hack the marginal canes into planting size . cane that are too green tend to molder rather than root , so throw them on the compost too .
Sturdy , 1 - 2 ” diameter canes are staring .
Plant them a third of their duration or so into the ground and stand back so the new growth does n’t knock you over . Just do n’t institute them upside - down .
Ensure they ’re right side up by looking for the tiny little emergence buds by the leaf base ( or where the foliage were before they hit the compost bin ) . That small dot should be above the leaf ’s base , not below .
Preparing the root is another office for another day .
Keeping Cassava Alive Through Winter
Peeled cassava root
The Cassava plant is a must - have in affectionate clime , but even at the border of its natural range you’re able to push it .
you’re able to entomb cut canes in a box beneath the ground for the wintertime , as a Cuban friend told me her family does … you’re able to permit your current works freeze to the dry land and just wait for spring to bring Modern emergence back … you’re able to put cuttings in mass and make for them inside on freezing nights , then imbed out in spring … or you’re able to get a greenhouse and always keep a few plants in there for propagative stock .
It ’s pretty problematical clobber .
Here is how we keep cassava cuttings alive through winter :
And as for workplace , the unfit part is the harvest home . look at it like digging for treasure and it ’s fun .
Here ’s my video on harvest home cassava :
Another neat affair about this plant : its leaves are also edible ( boiled , of course – think of … CYANIDE ! ) and rich in nutrients .
The untried leaves are best and prompt me of a drier - tasting collard Green River .
Not spoilt . At crop time I usually snap up a few baskets ’ worth for the tabular array or the deep-freeze .
The roots can be chopped and icy raw as well – they keep quite well that way .
Start learning this flora . It ’s literallya lifesaving staple in Africa .
