yuca - Survival Gardener | A Garden For the End of the World

YUCA – THE ROOT CROP THAT KEEPS GIVING

WHAT IS YUCA?

This plant is grown here in Costa Rica and throughout Central and South America for its starchy tubers/roots that are used in a similar fashion to potatoes. Around the world Yuca is also commonly known as Cassava. Cassava’s other names include manioc, the tapioca plant, aipim, kappa and manihot.

The scientific name for Yuca. is “Manihot escuelenta“.

In the Americas, Yuca was a pre-Colombian crop, domesticated no more than 10,000 years ago (the origin of human agriculture). It was was introduced into Africa by Portuguese traders from Brazil in the 16th century. It was initially adopted as a famine-reserve crop. In the Congo where the crop was first introduced, millet, banana and yam were the traditional staples but farmers adopted cassava because it provided a more reliable source of food during drought, locust attack and during the rough growing seasons.

In the Americas, it’s important to not get “yuca” mixed up with “yucca”. They’re totally unrelated species. One is a desert plant in the agave family and one is the root crop cassava. See my post on the two for pictures and differences.

According to the United Nations, Yuca ,”(Manihot esculenta) is the third most important source of calories in the tropics, after rice and maize. It’s a pest free, calorie rich starchy staple crop that thrives in hot climates with minimal watering. Yuca root has more than double the carbohydrates per gram compared to potatoes. They’re rich in calcium, potassium and also loaded with Vitamin C — one cup will provide you with over 70 percent of your daily needs. The roots don’t contain a significant amount of protein, however the leaves, if properly prepared do. Yuca leaves are also high in Vitamin K.

YUCA SOUNDS LIKE THE WORLD’S PERFECT CROP….IS THERE A CATCH?

Yes, but it’s a small catch, and people blow it out of proportion. No parts of the yuca plant can be eaten raw due to its high hydrocyanic acid content. North Carolina State University states that the fresh, unprepared yuca contains risky levels of two cyanogenic glycosides named linamarin and lotaustralin. Keep in mind that the common white potato has a similar issue. Raw potatoes contain both solanine and chaconine which cause toxicity through cell disruption, leading to gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. But, who eats raw potatoes anyway? Has potato poisoning been a huge issue? No! We cook them and eat them.

Yuca also needs to be cooked prior to eating. The roots MUST be boiled before consumption. The high protein leaves are also edible and need to be cooked. Most guides recommend changing out the water after cooking. Many impoverished subtropical countries in Africa depend on this for survival. Cassava accounts for a daily caloric intake of 30% in Ghana and is grown by nearly every farming family there. Cassava is cultivated in around 40 African countries, stretching through a wide belt from Madagascar in the Southeast to Senegal and to Cape Verde in the Northwest. Around 70 percent of Africa’s cassava output is harvested in Nigeria, the Congo and Tanzania.”

YUCA IN COSTA RICA

Traditional Costa Rican restaurants often offer yuca as a fried side. In addition, yuca is used in soups and can be mashed. The local mercados stock yuca chipsvfried in palm oil that I prefer over tradition potato chips. We’ve made yuca flour here at the house in Costa Rica and it’s an excellent gluten, grain, and nut free option.

In North America the most famous product from yuca is tapioca; other than that it’s unseen in the super markets.

WHY GROW YUCA?

1. Yuca grows easily from cuttings so you don’t need to worry about collecting saving seeds.
2. Yuca is pest and drought resistant. This plant is tough as nails.
3. (underground calorie storage)

Yuca has very tolerant harvest times which make it a good back up crop. You can even leave it in the ground for a year and harvest when you wish. I like to think of yuca as a free calorie storage device. The tubers have a risk of becoming tough or woody if left in the ground for too long. The Yuca plant is pes resistant. This is advantage, I supposed of having a high hydro-cyanide content. Plant a bunch take as you need, leave some in, and replant using cuttings. You’ll never have a pest problem and you can neglect watering them once they’re started. You can always have yuca on hand if you’re growing it in a warm climate.

Yuca doesn’t have a long shelf life after you pull it out of the ground, but yuca can be frozen for long periods or dried and made into flour. We use yuca flour in egg batters for tilapia and catfish! Yuca is also the main ingredient in tapioca pudding.

HOW TO GROW YUCA

We started growing yuca in Costa Rica when we first moved to our property. We buried cuttings in horrible hard clay soil and they were totally neglected. To our surprise, they still popped up and made tasty yuca roots under the soil. However, one lesson learned was that the roots like sandy looser soil. The hard soils make for smaller roots. In addition, any amount of shade will reduce tuber size. Be sure to plant them in full sun!

Below is a video of Jodi planting yuca cuttings.

/imposibleYuca will grow just about anywhere it’s warm, including indoors as a potted plant. Planting is fairly simple. Use cuttings that are about a foot long, bigger than one cm thick, and woody colored(not green). They don’t need to have sprouts, but they do need to have nodules on them. Some Ticos up in Guanacaste, CR swear by burying two cuttings a few inches deep in a crisscross style with the ends poking out of the soil. Others use one cutting and plant vertically. We have the best luck laying down one cutting horizontally about 3-4 inches under the soil. All methods seem to work. After 7-10 days with a little water, you should see spouts coming up (like in the video). Harvest a year or so after planting and enjoy!

The coolest thing about yuca is its flexible harvest time. You can leave them in for months after they’re ready. You can think of them as nature’s food storage. Just keep in mind, if they start getting around 2 years old, they may become woody and difficult/impossible to eat.