Maca growing with nightly freezes?

[Auxin]

Out of place for an aussie board perhaps but I dont know very many intelligent americans...

Crap that'll probably be quoted back at me a hundred times

I been growing maca all year, it did horrible in my 30-40°C summer but now that the days are cold its looking very healthy and growing and it has survived eight or ten light freezes already. My question is does it have a chance of continuing to grow with four months of nightly freezes ahead of it? Even in the coldest month while staying below 0 some days it usually gets up to +4°C but freezes every night, reaching down to -12° on the coldest week of the year.

Only two plants survived the summer inferno and they are right against eachother, I cant overwinter one indoors without disturbing the other

[Monk]

Out of place for an aussie board perhaps but I dont know very many intelligent americans...

I'd be offended if I were an american rather than a citizen of the Earth Haha! So true.

Sorry, nothing to contribute from my own experience, but found this:

Plants grow in areas where frosts are common throughout the growing season and they are said to tolerate temperatures down to at least -10°, perhaps to -20°c if given a good mulch[196]. The main problem with growing them in the British climate is that they might need the rarefied heights of the Andes with thinner air and more intense solar radiation. It is quite likely that they will be unhappy in the moist and relatively sunless climate of this country[K].

Cultivated as a vegetable in the Andes of S. America[61], this species is probably grown at higher elevations than any other cultivated food crop[196].

(REF)

[Auxin]

lol, I forgot to say present company excluded

The ibiblio clone of pfaf is great for 33.6 modems, with 56K or higher http://www.pfaf.org/ is better tho, I love the little stick figure guys next to stick figure plants they use to show plant size. Theres even a search plugin for the firefox search bar Link Their data is why I wasnt afraid to let the plants be exposed to a few freezes, I cant find much data on how they respond to full winter conditions tho. Thankfully I still have seed (rare seed line) so I'll probably leave them be, maby with a fish tank inverted over them when it snows, and find out what happens.

Torsten, if I remember right you were working on this species. Were you ever able to get the roots to grow fat?

Edited November 2, 2007 by Auxin

[Auxin]

So far, so good. They were buried in snow for a week and the snow melted exposing live plants

Next month is where they will really be tested.

[Ace]

Out of place for an aussie board perhaps but I dont know very many intelligent americans...

Crap that'll probably be quoted back at me a hundred times

For what it's worth, you and FM. aint too bad for a pair of ferkin' yanks Gotta say, I always love your comments Auxin

[Monk]

So how're they doin'?

[Auxin]

Still hanging in there They survived the snow easily but now that its gone they are getting a bit of purpleish scorching from the dry freezing wind and increasing sun intensity. Right about now is where I enter the coldest 4 weeks of the year here, culminating in several nights of 12°F (-11°C) harshness so I think I will bury them in maple leaves and cap that with a plastic pie lid held in place with sticks.

Since they've lasted this far I think they should make it with some help, and if they survive and yield a viable harvest I think I'll breed them for increased performance in my area

[shamelessselfpromotion] (P.S. FM, I updated my trade lists a bit) [/shamelessselfpromotion]

[Teljkon]

asd

Edited December 19, 2021 by Teljkon

[Auxin]

I'm kind of flying blind here on what they do and dont like. I did note that the areal portions didnt grow at all throughout the 85-105+ summer here so if that trend holds and if your climate is like miami ( Link ) then november through april would likely be the best growing time. Pretty big difference with the humidity and all tho so who knows.

[Teljkon]

adad

Edited December 19, 2021 by Teljkon

[Auxin]

Well I'm at least on the right track, they made roots! I let them go to seed so the roots shrunk down some and the first to mature got attacked by bugs and its root was destroyed, but heres the one that survived seeding out- from the wrinkles I'd guess its root was half again bigger at its peak.

[herbologist]

From what I've read about growing maca you were lucky to get it through the hot months, The cold shouldn't have bothered it too much, considering where comes from.

I had thought of growing this but thought it wouldn't have survived our summer, your success has made me think again. Thanks Auxin

[apothecary]

Good work Auxin, hard enough to get roots, let alone something big like this!

[random]

Just bumping this thread, wondering if anyone else on the forum here has grown maca?

Have obtained some seed and would like to at least give it a try.

What would be the best time of year to plant seed in Australia?

I'm nowhere near the altitude of the plants original habitat, but read that its still possible to grow it elsewhere.

Someone please give me some hope!

[tripsis]

I've recently got some seed too. Haven't sown it yet, but I have every intention of doing so. The following is the information I've found and kept on it regarding cultivation.

Sow in autumn/winter either in trays of potting mix or directly sown to their permanent position. Maca germinates quickly in either cold or warm soils. Full sun in well drained soil is preferred, but maca isn't picky.

Maca grows well on poor soils, in harsh cold conditions and is drought tolerant.

Harvest: Dig the roots before the heat of summer.

Although it is a perennial, it is usually grown as an annual, and 7-9 months from planting are required to produce the harvested roots.

Sow the seeds in autumn as this plant likes cool weather and will burn up in hot weather (this depends on your climate).

I've also read that it is adaptable to low elevations.

[WoodDragon]

I also have seed, but I need to build up my friable soil depth before I plant it as I am on clay.

If I can't grow it here, where there's little between me and Antarctica but water (admittedly, it's a LOT of water!), then there's not much I can do except climb the nearest mountain for one last go!

[Gunter]

Out of place for an aussie board perhaps but I dont know very many intelligent americans...

 

if only having testosterone issues made one intelligent then that wouldn't be the case.

[random]

lol@WoodDragon sounds like you're in the right place to grow it !

@tripsis thanks heaps for those growing notes, all my searches yesterday where to no avail and I was left wondering, so cheers now I can plant my maca

[tripsis]

Glad I could help meeka.

[tripsis]

How are people's plants coming along?

I sowed a heap of seed, but they had a very poor germ rate. Got maybe 5 or 6 very small seedlings, which will be transplanted into a bed soon. Sowed another heap of seeds again a few days ago in hopes of getting more seedlings up. The seeds were sowed from SS, apparently from red rooted plants.

[WoodDragon]

I sowed about 100 seeds just over a week or so ago. About half are already up, and more keep germinating every day. It really seems to like the climate here.

[tripsis]

Where'd you source your seeds from?

[WoodDragon]

LotY, although I've had them in the crisper for about a year.

[tripsis]

Great, will get some more from there and see how they perform for me.