Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Smallanthus sonchifolius
Order is for 1 crown (see sample images below).
"Yacon" means "water root" in the Inca language and its tubers were historically highly valued as a wild source of thirst-quenching refreshment for travellers. It taste like a sweet cross between early apples and watermelon with a touch of pear.
The liquid can also be drawn off and concentrated to produce yacon syrup. The yacon is a species of perennial daisy traditionally grown in the northern and central Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots.
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Yacon grown at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
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.
Read here about the Health Benefits of Yacon
Read here about Growing, Harvesting and Curing of Yacon
GROWING INSTRUCTIONS
Either plant the crown in a pot or plant it straight in the ground as soon as you receive it.
Choose a sunny, warm spot that has aerated, free draining soil. They don’t like the soil waterlogged and they do not like it dry. Add a generous amount of compost. They love our homemade compost. If you do not have good quality compost add what you have and also add well rotted manure like sheep manure and vermicast.
We plant the crowns at the end of July/early August on Banks Peninsula. Space them 40cm apart in a diamond pattern. Plant the crown just below soil level and add a generous amount of organic mulch. Twigs, autumn leaves, straw, hay, grass clippings, some seaweed are all good choices. Here are more ideas for mulches in your garden.
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
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.
The Yacon plant I bought from you a couple of years back is thriving and doing well.
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.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Family: Lamiaceae
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
You will get 3 dormant root pieces. Please find growing information and photos below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Rosmarinus officinalis
Native to the Mediterrannean, rosemary prefers a warm, moderately dry climate and a sheltered site. It is an upright woody herb with blue flowers. It flowers in late winter and spring and is loved by bees. It is a culinary herb with many medicinal uses (see below).
Order is for 1 bare rooted seedling.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
Lovage has long been cultivated in Europe, the leaves being used as a herb and soup ingredient, the roots as a vegetable, and the seeds as a spice, especially in southern European cuisine.
Dormant crown with growing bud/s. Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Rumex acetosa
Family: Polygonaceae
Common names: Sorrel, Garden Sorrel, Lemon Sorrel
You will receive a dormant root cutting with no or very little leaves (plant is dormant in winter, see example photo below). It will emerge in spring and grow into a lush plant. Harvest leaves sparingly in the first season so it can establish itself and pinch out any flower stalks. After one year you can dig it up and divide it into several plants.
Growing instructions are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Order is for one dormant, bare-rooted horseradish plant with a growing tip similar to the examples in the below image.
Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
They have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Meadow Arnica (Arnica chamissonis)
Common names: arnica, meadow arnica
Creeping alpine herbaceous perennial.
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
You will get 3 dormant root pieces. Please find growing information and a picture below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Evergreen Comfrey (Symphytum grandiflorum)
Order is for 1 plant, bare rooted.
Growing tips are below.
This plant is very valuable in a food forest and organic garden system. Can be grown throughout New Zealand. Frost tolerant.
Due to its smaller size and more compact growth than regular comfrey it is ideal for smaller gardens, urban environments and small food forests. It makes an excellent border plant and ground cover and does well planted around fruit trees.
Please sign up below to get an email once they are available again (July 2026).
Echinacea (echinacea purpurea) is a highly effective and safe immune herb that helps to jump-start the immune response in the body.*
These crowns are in their 2nd and 3rd year.
Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
This is a beautiful peppermint with a very "pepperminty" flavour. It is the one we grow commercially and not available in many shops. When we wander through the garden section of hardware stores the pots say "peppermint" on the label, but is more like a garden mint and not the true peppermint that we grow.
We ship it nationwide in their winter dormancy.
Frost tolerant.
They come bare rooted with some growing tips in place.
Small: enough for a 20cm wide planter/pot
Large: enough to fill 1 m2 of garden bed.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Earth Chestnut (Bunium bulbocastanum)
Common names: Earth chestnut, pignut, great pignut and earthnut
The edible parts of the earth chestnut are its tubers, leaves and seeds. The tubers are small, nutty, and taste like chestnuts and can be eaten raw or cooked like potatoes. The leaves are edible and have a parsley-like flavor, while the seeds are also edible and can be used as a cumin substitute.
You will receive a seedling with roots and young shoots (see image further below). Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Elecampane (Inula helenium)
Healthy crown with growing tip/s (see image below). Simply plant into your garden and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips and uses are below.
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
It can be dug up and divided in the following winter. This one plant may grow into 3-6 plants within one year if conditions are right.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Stachys affinis
The tubers have a distinct shape and look a bit like a grub. When eaten raw they are crisp and sweet like a water chestnut. When fried they are more starchy, soft and sweet, resembling a slightly nutty potato or kumara. In France they are known as crosnes and are typically served braised in herbs and butter, which is our preferred way to eat them. They are a great brain food.
Order is for a starter bag of about 5 tubers.
Growing instructions can be found below. Frost tolerant as they go dormant over winter.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum)
This plant is very valuable in a food forest and organic garden system.
The roots and leaves have many medicinal uses. It contains high levels of allantoin, making it a powerful cell proliferant internally and externally. It is used to knit wounds and damaged tissue.*
Order is for 1 plant. It will be a strong crown cutting with a growing tip.
Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch them emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Hedychium coronarium
Family: Zingiberaceae
Commonly known as White Ginger, Butterfly Ginger, Himalayan Ginger. In New Zealand it is often sold as Galangal (especially on Trademe) as they are very hard to tell apart. But galangal is a different plant in the ginger family.
Emitting the scent of Gardenias, the flowers resemble a butterfly in flight. Rhizomes develop into large ginger roots that are good in cooking. It tastes like mild yellow ginger. Plant prefers moist or boggy soils and full sun.
Order is for 1 plant (see sample image below).
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Skirret (Sium sisarum)
Skirret was a reasonably well known plant in Europe from the middle ages into the 19th century. It has names in many different European languages and most of them appear to translate into some variation of “sugar root”. It can be prepared similarly to carrots. We love it simply fried in some butter. It is sweeter than carrots and beautifully creamy and soft when cooked.
You will receive a seedling with some storage roots and shoots (see image further below). Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
Valerian is most commonly used for sleep disorders, especially the inability to sleep (insomnia).*
Order is for 1 plant. It will be a healthy crown cutting with a growing tip. Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
