Tropaeolum tuberosum
Mashua
Common names: tuberous nasturtium, Ysaño
At a glance
- Spacing
- 40 cm, rows 80 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Planting
- Apr–May
- Harvest
- Oct–Nov
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −1 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Håkan Svensson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Mashua originates from the Andes and is a climbing relative of the nasturtium. Tropaeolum tuberosum produces long stems with attractive yellow‑orange flowers and yields edible tubers underground in late autumn. The plant is short‑day dependent, meaning it only starts to develop properly with the shorter autumn days and then quickly forms tubers. In a small garden it therefore needs a long frost‑free season and a trellis to climb on. Raw tubers taste sharp like nasturtium; cooked they become milder and slightly sweet.
Care instructions
Plant the tubers in mid‑May (week 20) once late frosts are no longer a threat, in loose, humus‑rich soil. Provide a trellis or fence immediately, as the stems can reach 2 to 4 m and will otherwise find their own way. Keep the soil evenly moist, especially during dry summer weeks, and mulch the root zone to prevent drying out. Slightly mound the soil in late summer, which promotes tuber formation. Harvest only after the first light frosts at the end of October or early November, when the foliage has died back; the tubers themselves tolerate light frost in the soil well and become even milder in flavor.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
PlantingApr–May
HarvestOct–Nov
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, humus-rich, nutrient-rich, sandy
Mashua likes loose, humus-rich soil that avoids waterlogging at the tubers. A sandy-humus site with good drainage does it good, because the tuber tolerates wet feet in winter badly. It thanks you for a nutrient-rich soil with strong growth and dense foliage.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
May–Jul
Work ripe compost into the soil before planting; that is usually enough for mashua for the whole season. During the main growth in early summer it appreciates a helping of nettle liquid feed or a thin mulch layer of compost. Too much nitrogen makes the vines grow lushly, but often comes at the expense of the tuber yield in autumn.
Overwintering
Mashua is frost-tender and the tubers must come out of the ground before the first hard frost. Dig them up carefully after the first light night frosts, as soon as the foliage wilts, and store them cool and dark in dry sand or soil. In mild locations with a thick mulch layer, individual tubers also survive the winter in the ground, but storage in the cellar is safer.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- Offsets
The easiest way to propagate mashua is via the tubers themselves: divide larger tubers into pieces with at least one eye, similar to potatoes. Small daughter tubers that form around the mother tuber you can separate in spring directly as seed tubers and plant individually. From mid-May · week 20, when there is no more risk of late frosts, plant about 10 cm deep in humus-rich, loose soil. The vines need a trellis or fence to climb from the start.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
Nasturtium serves as a trap plant for you. Aphids and cabbage whiteflies prefer it over the brassicaceae next to it.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: Trap plant practice in organic horticulture
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Mashua yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
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