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Sender: Craig Smith
Subject: Another Konjac comment and some questions
[Moderator's note: Craig's note was sent to the list when he first posted
it, but for some reason appeared to have come from me (Steve) and was
preceded by several paragraphs of list processor formality. I hope this
was due to the list problems we had during that time, and that this
reposting will come through normally.]
Dear folks,
I also posted this note last weekend but have not seen it on the Aroid
list or received any comments either. Since I had problems with my mail
at about the same time, I checked with someone on the list and they had
not seen it either - so I am reposting it. Sorry if it is a duplicate.
After I wrote a comment on Mr. Fisk’s question, I thought I’d share
another bit of experience and as for comments and suggestions. This last=
year I have been fortunate to discover that 4 of my A. Konjac’s have
started to ‘flower’. I have enjoyed trying to grow them a little bette=
r
and larger each year, with pretty good results compared to my earlier,
rather poor results. The best results so far is by planting one in each
large pot (3X the diameter of the tuber). I use a mix of “All-Grow” (a=
compost of sawdust and the remains of brewing beer), some sterile potting=
soil, and some perlite to lighten it up. Maybe once over the summer I
water it with Rapid-Grow. Otherwise I just water it when the top couple
inches are dry. Usually the rain takes care of it. The tubers that grow=
to 5-600 grams / 3-4 inches don’t get spikes and flowers. When they are=
over 1000 gms / 4-5 inches they do. The largest one so far is 5.5 Kgs
and has a really big spike. The tuber is almost 10 inches across and
over 6 inches high. Each year they get larger unless they stop growing
early, like if the wind gets them. The medium size ones seem to have the=
most offshoots, sometimes 10-15. I have given a bunch to the local civic=
garden center to sell in their fund-raiser with great results.
So here are the questions.
- How big do the tubers, plants and flowers get????
- Mine seem to last about 4-5 months before the plant turns yellow and
falls over. Can I start them earlier somehow and/or keep them growing
longer in the fall so they grow bigger???
- What factor(s) cause them to go dormant???
- I read somewhere that they use the tubers like potatoes in the far
east. Anyone tried to eat one???
Thanks for the information and comments.
Regards,
Craig
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