Cocoyams - grow, propagate and harvest a warm-climate alternative to spuds | Gardening Australia

Jerry shows how to grow, propagate and harvest one of his favourite and most versatile crops, the cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium).
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For him, it’s the perfect warm-climate plant to supply a reliable starch staple; the sub-tropical replacement for potatoes, which needs cooler climates.
Cocoyams are dependable, productive, low maintenance and tasty. Jerry uses the cormlets to make soup and other dishes, although the stems are also edible and the young leaves can be used in the same way as spinach. All parts have to be boiled first.
The plants grow all year round, slowing down in the winter dry season. Late winter to early spring is the perfect time to harvest your crop and replant for next summer.
Jerry is disappointed with this year’s harvest but thinks it is due to having planted them in a shadier position than normal; he planted them under a bamboo frame that supported a climbing yam.
From the corms he did harvest, he will cook up the small ones and wash and dry the larger ones before storing them. He keeps them in sugar cane mulch in a Styrofoam box with no lid in a dry spot under his house. They last for at least a year.
The plants trimmed of their leaves then replanted in compost-rich soil in a warm, sunny spot. They are planted slightly deeper than before to force them into regrowth, then watered and mulched ready for next season. Jerry plans to water them three times a week as they settle in then once a week in dry weather. He will also apply a handful of poultry manure per square metre each month during summer and autumn.
Filmed on Yuggera country
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