🥦 Oca
Oxalis tuberosa
vegetables
perennial tuber (grown as annual)
☀️ Sun
full sun
💧 Water
moderate, consistent
🗺️ Zones
7, 10 (needs short days for tuberization)
🧪 Soil pH
5.5-6.5
🪴 Soil Type
well-draining, fertile, slightly acidic
🚿 Drainage
Well-drained
📏 Spacing
12-18 in. apart, 24-30 in. between rows
⏱️ Maturity
150-210 days (from planting tubers); harvest after frost kills foliage for best flavor
🍴 Edible Parts
🍽️ Boiled, baked, roasted, raw in salads (lemony flavor), traditional Andean stews
Key:🤝 Grows well together❌ Keep apart☀️ Sun needs💧 Water🗺️ Hardiness zone
🤝 Companions (9)
Amaranth provides light shade that oca appreciates in strong sun; oca's dense groundcover retains soil moisture that amaranth's shallow roots need.
Nitrogen-fixing companion for oca
Corn provides partial shade in hot climates
Mashua deters nematodes and pests from oca tubers with its natural repellent compounds; traditional Andean farmers always plant them together for protection.
Both Andean tubers; oca matures after potato harvest
Quinoa grows tall above oca's low-spreading foliage; oca's groundcover suppresses weeds while quinoa's deep roots pull up minerals both benefit from.
Oca, mashua, and ulluco form the traditional Andean tuber triad , each occupies slightly different soil depths and has complementary nutrient needs.
🤝 lupines
Lupines fix substantial nitrogen to feed oca's tuber production; both thrive in the well-drained, slightly acidic soils of their native Andes.
⚠️ Keep Apart (1)
⚠️ plants needing long summer days (oca is short-day)
Growth inhibition or competition
📝 Growing Notes
Traditional Andean tuber, second only to potato in importance. Planted with mashua and ulluco in traditional systems. Lupines used as nitrogen-fixing rotation. Forms tubers on short days, harvest after frost.
🛒 Buy Seeds & Plants
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Botanical Interests
True Leaf Market
Burpee
Territorial Seed Company
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