Taro

Brendan starts with ...
Here's a pic of a taro my brother grew.
It's a good size, but years ago, they would grow twice that size on the Pioneer river banks!
They are yum with lots of butter, salt & pepper, after they're cooked.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

speedy says...
Yum,
I love taro, baked as chips, boiled in coconut milk, boiled pounded to a puree and fermented an couple days (poi) , taro leaves...
too dry to grow it well here :-(
I used to grow beds of it in Nthn NSW.
some Asian varieties and some Hawaiian poi varieties

chop the top off and replant after dinner ;-)

Hey trikus is that an invitation to dinner?
my kinda food! ;-p

Brendan says...
Hi SG,
Not really. They thrive in a very loose soil/compost, with lots of fertilizer and mulch, and being always moist.
In a 1200mm wide garden bed, I used to grow them in a row down the middle, about 500mm to 1m apart, as they grow that big. (up here :-)
You'll get lots of 'pups' too.
My next Taro bed will be at the end of the bath water drain, in raised beds with compost.

Brad says...
sheesh trikus - we've probably had 2.4m in the last 5 years! hope the cleanup and community spirit is going ok

trikus says...
Buckets would be better .. one forum I am in 'taro and ti' a yahoo group .. one member reported on his mini aquaponics system using 20 lt pails with some sludge he cleans out of a large pond and little aerators . you would have to watch for mossies or put in some little fish .. or keep topped up with coarse sand .

snottiegobble says...
Thanks trikus & charles. I have 3 small ponds already but not big enough for taro. When the nursery got in her stock she placed them in one of her goldfish ponds. Not long after the water went oily & you couldnt see the fish. I believe the taro (because they werent planted) were sapping the water of its oxygen.
I once grew water chestnuts in long trenches lined with silage plastic.
I placed compost & well rotted manure in the bottom then covered with sand.
They grew very well, but harvesting was extremely labour intensive & frankly not worth it. I used rosy barbs & zebra fish as mozzie eaters & removed them to indoor tanks for the winter after harvest.

snottiegobble says...
Hi leanne, dont know about taro, but chocolate & xylitol certainly is!

amanda says...
Leanne - are u concerned your dogs will dig up the Taro and eat it?

amanda says...
I hear u Leanne! My Border Collie nicked all my heirloom tomatoes, the apples - etc... Well - it never made him sick as such - but it's a pain and some things are not good for dogs (eg: onions!) My Grandad used to "make available/tempting" the chosen fruit/veg with hot english mustard or tabaso inside. I'd go for the anti-nail biting nail polish myself! It's truly disgusting!? Only happens with smart dogs Leanne :)

Jantina says...
Think this thread's been hijacked ha ha. Had no idea so many things were toxic to dogs.

Leanne says...
lol sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread. Thanks again for all the help - might start another thread later about toxic plants because it is useful to know especially for kids and pets. Maybe I need to get goldfish instead of the dog :)

amanda says...
It would be a good thread! I had no idea about grapes being bad for dogs - thanks for that Phil. While I may not give our dogs those things - there is no telling what my 7yr old might "think" the dogs would like - when I am not watching!?

taro-lover says...
Can someone please tell me where I can find taro plants here in Sydney, would really like to grow some but I have no idea where I can get them from???

Zady says...
Just to help hijack the thread a little more, Oleander is deadly to every animal, including humans. And it doesn't take much, even out camping and using an oleander stick to stir your the sugar in your tea can be enough.