Yacon- Peruvian Ground Apple (Smalls)

Not as large as our Premium-Sized tubers, these smaller Yacon pieces are still full of growing potential. They're too big for our supplier to replant for the next season — but far too good to waste! So we’re offering them to our customers at a super special price.

These smaller sized pieces will deliver every bit as much enjoyment and harvest as the larger ones, just at a more modest price. While they may be a little less consistent in their first season, with a bit of patience and care they’ll thrive in their second year — rewarding you with an abundance of sweet, juicy tubers.

Limited stock – once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Also called Sweet Root, Peruvian Ground Apple, Bolivian Sunroot and Pear of the Earth, Yacon is native to the Andean region of South America and has been cultivated in the region for centuries. The Incas referred to it as water root, due to its high moisture content and refreshing, mildly sweet flavour.

A relatively easy-to-grow, high-yielding plant, Yacon thrives in areas with consistent moisture and mild temperatures. It is a hardy herbaceous perennial belonging to the sunflower family (Asteraceae), as evidenced by its broad foliage and small yellow flowers.

The plant is especially known for its crisp, juicy tubers, which are sweet and refreshing—often described as having a flavour and texture somewhere between apple and watermelon.

Yacon produces two types of underground tubers: reddish rhizomes located at the base of the stem; these can be eaten when young but are primarily used for propagation, and larger storage tubers that resemble sweet potatoes; these are the main edible part of the plant and are typically consumed raw or cooked.

The edible tubers can be enjoyed raw, offering a crisp, sweet snack, or they can be cooked, baked, dehydrated, or juiced. Yacon syrup and Yacon chips are also popular for their natural sweetness and health benefits, especially for those monitoring blood sugar.

Yacon root offers a range of health benefits, particularly for individuals who are overweight, have high cholesterol, or experience digestive issues. Thanks to its high content of prebiotic fibres like fructooligosaccharides (FOS), it supports gut health, improves nutrient absorption, and may aid in weight management and cholesterol regulation. Best of all, Yacon has virtually no known adverse side effects, making it a safe and natural addition to a healthy diet for most people, and is being recognised as a gut busting superfood due to the potential benefits of this easy to grow perennial.

Yacon grows well in a variety of soils, but for best results, choose a well-drained, reasonably fertile soil in a full sun to partly shaded location. To plant, place shooting rhizomes about 3 cm below the soil surface and cover lightly with soil. Lightly mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds.

The plants grow rapidly during the warmer months, developing tall, leafy stems and small sunflower-like blooms. As Winter approaches, the foliage will naturally die back. This signals the time to harvest the underground tubers—gently separate the reddish rhizomes for propagation and collect the larger storage tubers for eating or storage.

In cool climates, store the rhizomes in a dry, frost-free place until all risk of frost has passed. Replant once new shoots begin to emerge in Spring, and the cycle begins again.

For further information check out this Garden Gurus story: https://youtu.be/8lKjEPB5JXI