Yacon, meaning “water root” in the Inca language, has been treasured for centuries in the Andes as a refreshing, thirst-quenching food for travellers. This vigorous perennial, related to the daisy family, produces crisp, juicy tubers with a uniquely sweet flavour—often described as a blend of fresh apple, watermelon, and pear.
Traditionally grown from Colombia to northern Argentina, Yacon is prized for its delicious edible roots, which can be eaten fresh or processed into the increasingly popular Yacon syrup. Its sweet juice can be concentrated into syrup, while the crunchy tubers make a refreshing and nutritious addition to the kitchen garden.
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Organically grown at KoruKai Herb Farm, New Zealand, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or other agrochemicals.
Yacon is a vigorous perennial root crop from the daisy family, traditionally cultivated for centuries in the Andes of South America for its sweet, crisp, and refreshing tubers. Its name means “water root” in the Inca language, reflecting the high water content of its juicy underground storage roots, once valued by travellers as a natural source of hydration.
The tubers have a unique flavour often described as a cross between fresh apple, watermelon, and pear, with a crisp texture that makes them delicious eaten fresh. Yacon is both highly productive and easy to grow, producing abundant edible tubers beneath the soil and rhizome crowns for replanting the following season.
As well as being a delicious food crop, Yacon has gained attention for its nutritional benefits. The tubers contain fructooligosaccharides (FOS), natural prebiotic sugars that support gut health and are less readily metabolised by the body than regular sugars. The sweet juice can also be reduced into Yacon syrup, a popular natural sweetener.
After one growing season dig up the yacon in winter once the above ground foliage has died back (June/July) and divide the crown 4-6 times before replanting it again in a fresh bed.
You will receive one dormant yacon crown similar to the image below. Bury it just below the soil surface without any shoots showing. It will push its way up in spring once soil temperatures warm up. It can be harvested in the first winter.
The crown we send may look like any of the below examples.
Yacon tubers are most often eaten fresh, where their crisp, juicy texture and sweet flavour make them a refreshing snack. They can also be sliced into salads, juiced, lightly cooked, or dehydrated.
One of Yacon’s unique qualities is its high content of prebiotic compounds, which support beneficial gut bacteria and digestive health. Unlike many root crops, its sweetness comes largely from FOS rather than starch, making it an interesting crop for those seeking lower-glycaemic food options.
Yacon syrup is made by extracting and reducing the tuber juice into a rich, dark sweetener traditionally used as a natural sugar alternative.
Growing Instructions
Yacon is easy to grow and thrives in full sun with fertile, well-drained soil and regular moisture. It prefers rich soil with plenty of organic matter and will reward good feeding with large, abundant tubers.
When your crown arrives, plant it directly into a pot or garden bed with the growing points facing upward and cover lightly with soil. Keep the soil evenly moist while new shoots establish. In cooler regions, crowns can be started in pots in early spring and transplanted once the weather warms.
Space plants 70–100 cm apart, as they can grow 1.5–2 metres tall and form large leafy clumps through summer. Mulch heavily to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Yacon enjoys warmth during the growing season and benefits from regular watering, especially during dry periods.
The plant will continue growing until frost or cool autumn weather causes the tops to die back. In colder parts of New Zealand, harvest before heavy frost.
Below: The KoruKai Herb Farm yacon patch in the middle of summer just before flowering.
Image below: When scraping away some mulch and soil the yacón plant reveal their orange tubers as well as the pink shoots for next season.
Harvesting
Yacon tubers are ready to harvest in late autumn after the tops have died back or yellowed, usually around May. This is when the tubers have reached their full size and sweetness. Some growers find the flavour improves after a short curing period or after a light frost.
Carefully dig around the plant to lift the entire root system. You will find two distinct parts: the larger edible tubers and the smaller crown rhizomes at the base of the stem. Separate the crowns carefully for replanting next season.
Store edible tubers in a cool, dry place and allow them to sweeten further over a week or two after harvest.
Storage and Propagation
The crowns are the part used for propagation. Store them over winter in slightly damp sawdust, sand, or soil in a cool frost-free place until spring planting.
Yacon is highly productive and easy to multiply, with each mature crown often producing several new planting pieces for the following season.
Kitchen and Herbal Preparations*
Yacon can be eaten raw, juiced, dried, or cooked lightly. Its crisp texture makes it excellent for fresh eating, while its juice can be reduced into syrup for use as a natural sweetener.
Traditionally it has been valued as both a nourishing food and a digestive-supportive plant, making it a unique addition to the edible and medicinal garden.
The top reddish knobs (image above) are the growing shoots for next season and underneath the crown sit the edible tubers for eating. Simply dig up the whole plant, cut off the dried up stalks, twist off the edible tubers, divide the crown and replant.
If your winters are not overly wet, you can dig up only what you can eat in 1-2 weeks and leave the rest of the plants in the ground for later.
You may also want to dig them all up and cure them for long term storage. Please see our blog post about curing them.
*This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The Yacon plant I bought from you a couple of years back is thriving and doing well.
Shanan Pon Oct 12, 2022
Yacons are growing
this is my first time ordering from KoruKai, when I recived my Yacon it looked healthy. it is now in my garden growing rely well. I do find i have to protect it for the slugs, I look forward to getting my first tast of them.
Thank you for the reviews ! Your comment is submitted
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Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
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