🥕 Oca
Oxalis tuberosa
vegetables perennial tuber (grown as annual)
☀️ Sun
full sun
💧 Water
moderate, consistent
🗺️ Zones
7, 10 (needs short days for tuberization)
🪴 Soil Type
well-draining, fertile, slightly acidic
🧪 Soil pH
5.5-6.5
💧 Drainage
Well-drained
📏 Spacing
12-18 in. apart, 24-30 in. between rows
📅 Days to 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"]
🤝 Companions (6)
🤝 potatoes
Oca and potatoes share similar Andean growing conditions and have complementary root depths — planted together they maximize tuber yield per square foot.
Mashua deters nematodes and pests from oca tubers with its natural repellent compounds; traditional Andean farmers always plant them together for protection.
Oca, mashua, and ulluco form the traditional Andean tuber triad — each occupies slightly different soil depths and has complementary nutrient needs.
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.
Amaranth provides light shade that oca appreciates in strong sun; oca's dense groundcover retains soil moisture that amaranth's shallow roots need.
🤝 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
💊 Medicinal Uses
Contains oxalates and vitamin C. Traditional Andean folk remedy for skin inflammation, sunburn, and as a diuretic. High oxalate content limits medicinal use. Leaves and stems contain oxalic acid. Tubers traditionally 'sun-cured' to reduce oxalate content and increase sweetness.
📝 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.