🥦 Ulluco
Ullucus tuberosus
vegetables
perennial tuber (grown as annual)
☀️ Sun
full sun
💧 Water
moderate, consistent
🗺️ Zones
8, 10 (light frost tolerant)
🧪 Soil pH
5.5-6.8
🪴 Soil Type
well-draining, fertile, loose
🚿 Drainage
Well-drained
📏 Spacing
12-18 in. apart, 24-30 in. between rows
⏱️ Maturity
150-210 days (from planting tubers); tubers form during short days of autumn
🍴 Edible Parts
🍽️ Boiled, soups and stews, curries, pickled, edible leaves cooked like spinach
Key:🤝 Grows well together❌ Keep apart☀️ Sun needs💧 Water🗺️ Hardiness zone
🤝 Companions (8)
Nitrogen fixer for ulluco
Corn provides shade for this cool-loving Andean crop
Mashua's pest-repellent compounds protect ulluco from nematodes and insects; this traditional Andean pairing provides mutual protection and efficient land use.
Ulluco and oca are traditional Andean polyculture partners , ulluco's waxy tubers form at different soil depth than oca, maximizing yield per square foot.
Andean companion crops with different harvest windows
Quinoa grows tall above ulluco's low-spreading foliage; ulluco creates living mulch that conserves soil moisture for quinoa's shallow roots.
Broad beans fix nitrogen that feeds ulluco's tuber production; ulluco's groundcover suppresses weeds around bean plants , a productive Andean intercrop.
⚠️ Keep Apart (1)
⚠️ aggressive spreaders that compete
Growth inhibition or competition
📝 Growing Notes
Colorful Andean tuber with waxy, glossy skin. Traditional polyculture with oca and mashua. Edible leaves similar to spinach. Short-day plant for tuberization.
🛒 Buy Seeds & Plants
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Botanical Interests
True Leaf Market
Burpee
Territorial Seed Company
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