Growing and processing cassava is n’t hard !
Inside the continental US , cassava starch is in the main obscure to gardeners , other than immigrants from fond climates who produce some on a backyard scale of measurement .
Yet it ’s where tapioca add up from ( or “ fish eyes , ” as my Uncle Stuart calls them ) and has been used as a author of laundry starch .
The roots are really , really high in starch .
Growing to about 12 ’ tall , the manioc flora looks very tropical .
Its palmate leaves and graceful cane - like branches are attractive in the landscape painting or in the garden . Cassava ’s pseudonyms admit yuca ( with one “ c , ” NOT two – “ yucca ” is a completely unrelated species ) , manioc , the tapioca plant , and manihot .
In Latin , it’sManihot escuelenta .
Whatever you call it , it ’s a serious staple crop . near pest - spare , drought tolerant , dilute with calories , up to of good growth in pitiable ground – cassava is a must - have anyplace it can produce . And it ’s MUCH less work than grain and much more tolerant of harvest time . In fact , once it ’s hit maturity , you may basically dig it at any point for a few years ( though the root may sometimes get too woody to eat ) .
But there is a caveat on cultivation : manioc does n’t like cold . At all .
If temperature drip to freezing , your cassava will freeze to the basis .
This wo n’t unremarkably toss off the plant , but it does mean you necessitate to design your growing accordingly . In the tropic , cassava is a perennial , capable of growing Brobdingnagian roots and living for years .
If you experience north of USDA Growing Zone 10 , then the occasional frosts will knock it down . raise it at any zona beyond 8 may be an workout in futility . Cassava needs warm days and night to make skilful roots .
And speaking of roots … the cassava ’s ancestor incorporate roughly twice the calories of a corresponding helping of white potato .
incentive : they ’re easier to grow .
Of course , there is the cyanide to consider .
CYANIDE ?
What – you did n’t intend a plant life this awe-inspiring could exist without a down side , did you ?
Yes – cyanide .
The plant life contains a certain amount of it , from its endearing leaf to its tasty roots . Fortunately , simmering or zymolysis gets it out , so dread not .
A lot of plants we wipe out are toxicant . Just google the “ cashew tree diagram ” or look up the toxicity of ironical kidney beans .
Now THAT ’S scary .
Compared to many things we eat , cassava ’s pretty tame .
Microwaveable burrito , for instance .
Sweet and Bitter Cassava
That suppose , there are “ sweetened ” varieties and “ bitter ” varieties of manioc . Sweet types are low in cyanide and are safe to eat up after cooking to fork - cutter , but vitriolic type are high in it and call for additional processing . You ’re unlikely to get the high - nitrile diversity in the US , but it ’s respectable to know they exist . I do n’t have any “ acerbic ” types in my garden , and have not seen them , even when I lived in the Caribbean where cassava refinement is mutual .
All we do to make our cassava dependable to eat is to prepare it until it ’s soft , but that ’s because it ’s a “ sweet ” character .
The rancor of a cassava root usually correlates to its cyanide toxicity . Asa study from Africa posted on the National Library of Medicine notes :
“ Farmers in Africa generally use the caustic gustatory sensation of cassava roots to perceive the potential toxicity of manioc [ 13,18,19 ] . Research has read that a greater destiny of cassava variety perceived as vitriolic and toxic by Farmer , do indeed check higher cyanogenic glucoside levels than cassava varieties perceived as being sweet [ 18 ] . However , this may not always be the case , as cassava contains other bitter compounds [ 20 ] , making validation necessary . However , during a full point in which a konzo epidemic was know , families had been report to complain that cassava root were more bitter than normal during that menses [ 21 ] . Thus , through taste perception , most people had become witting of an increase in cassava root bitterness that lead to showcase of cassava cyanide intoxication . This theme shows that the bitter taste of cassava theme can be used to set increased etymon toxicity . Cassava root perceptiveness can also be used to measure change in the degree of bitter in root of a exceptional cassava variety [ 22,23 ] . ”
Low rain and tough raise conditions tend to make roots more toxic . The takeaway here is that if your cassava roots taste sulfurous , they ’re probably not near to eat .
That said , over a half - billion people feed cassava on a steady groundwork and manage to live just fine through it , so do n’t get too hung up . Get fresh variety and take care of them , and ready them well . you could also hit it up cassava root for a few days before cooking to make them even safer , though we do n’t inconvenience doing that with our antecedent .
How to Grow Cassava
Now – moving beyond the cyanide – how do you mature these thing ?
Unlike many plants , cassava is not ordinarily maturate from seeds except for breeding function . The only room most folks grow it is via stem cutting .
Roots from the grocery entrepot almost emphatically wo n’t work since they ’ve been divide from the stem and dip in wax , so it ’s of import to get cuttings somewhere . Grower Jim in Orlandosometimes has them , as does Josh Jamison atCody Cove Farm . You ’ll also find manioca cane cuttings for sale on ebay and Etsy .
Or you’re able to make friends with people at your local gardening group and see if any of them have it . If you be in a fond climate , chances are good .
Planting Cassava
To rise from unused slip , chop a sturdy shank into pieces about 1.5 ’ long and stick them in the ground on their side about two inches down and cover them light with soil . Select cuttings that have make woody , with bark that is no longer young and green . Within a workweek or so they ’ll be growing Modern leaf . you could also plant the canes vertically , about 2/3 in the the ground , or even diagonally . Some farmers take diagonal planting is even ripe than vertical .
However I plant them , I get roots , but at some point I postulate to do a side - by - side comparing of planting techniques .
Cassava likes irrigation and in force soil , but is n’t too picky . It will come through drought and heat . 6 - 12 months later ( depending on variety , upkeep and rain ) , they ’ll be quick to start harvest home .
Harvesting Cassava
To glean , machete down the intact plant a foot or so from the ground , throw the branches to the side and bulge out turn over .
Be careful , though – the roots are easy to chop through . Some careful explorative digging with a trowel is often a good melodic theme . The source you ’re looking for grow down and forth from the chief stem and are broadly speaking located in the first 1 - 2 ’ of soil . They ’re deep brown with flakey skin . Do n’t labor them too long before you ’re go to sue them as manioca does n’t store well at all .
Once you harvest the roots , you ’ll want to hack up the rest of the plant to make a unexampled curing of cane for planting out . I snap off all the leaves and compost them , then cut the unembellished cane into planting sizing .
Saving Cassava Cuttings and Planting Them
think of : cane that are too unripe lean to rot rather than ancestor , so throw them on the compost too .
tough , 1 - 2 ” diam canes are perfect .
institute them a third of their duration or so into the earth and stand back so the newfangled growth does n’t pink you over . Just do n’t plant them upside - down .
control they ’re right side up by look for the diminutive slight growth buds by the leaf base of operations ( or where the leaves were before they hit the compost bin ) . That little dot should be above the leaf ’s fundament , not below .
The Cassava plant is a must - have in warm climates , but even at the border of its natural kitchen range you’re able to push it .
Keeping Cassava Alive Through Winter
you could swallow cut canes in a boxwood beneath the ground for the winter , as a Cuban supporter order me her family does … you could let your current plant freeze to the ground and just waitress for fountain to play new growth back … you could put cuttings in pots and bring them inside on freezing nights , then institute out in outflow … or you could get a greenhouse and always keep a few plant in there for propagative lineage .
It ’s somewhat problematical hooey . And as for work , the worst part is the harvesting .
consider it like digging for treasure and it ’s merriment .
Cassava Leaves are Edible
Another great thing about this plant : its leaves are also edible ( churn , of course – remember … CYANIDE ! ) and rich in nutrients . The young parting are best and remind me of a drier - tasting collard green . I by and large compost them , as I have plenty of other greens I opt , but they are worth eat up if you wish them .
Storing Cassava Roots
The ancestor can be chop and frozen – they keep quite well that way . you may also dry them into flour . Or , do what I do , and stress not to reap manioc until we ’re fit to exhaust it ! root keep very well in the ground .
They just need to be unclothe first . There is an gentle - to - remove skin that only ask slitting and root for to polish off . It ’s more like bark than a proper “ Robert Peel . ”
These are root I grow in Alabama , USDA zone 8 :
We ’re beyond the Torrid Zone , yet some varieties of cassava starch are still doing well for us .
Here are what the roots search like peel off :
Cassava is literally a lifesaving staple in Africa , and can be the same in zones 8 and quick .
If you want to learn more about this and many other survival crops , check out my bookFlorida Survival GardeningandGrow or Die .
