Oca
Oca: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Oca, Oxalis tuberosa, is an Andean tuber-producing plant in the Oxalidaceae family. Its name is associated with a region where this vegetable belongs to traditional cropping systems. It forms edible tubers but belongs to a different plant family from the potato. Similar uses in the kitchen therefore do not imply a close botanical relationship. Oca brings another kind of underground vegetable to the garden, accompanied by particularly recognisable foliage.Its leaves consist of three leaflets, giving them a clover-like appearance. They are carried on fleshy stems, and the foliage gradually develops a spreading outline. Leaves may show green or purplish shades depending on the selection. Small yellow flowers can appear, although flowers are not the main part grown for food. The plant’s above-ground appearance contrasts with its tubers: a mass of delicate-looking leaves conceals the fleshy organs developing beneath the soil.Botanically a perennial, oca is often grown as a seasonal crop…
