How to Grow Jicama Fruit

Choose a suitable site for growing jicama in spring as soon as soil temperatures reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Select a sunny or lightly shaded spot with excellent drainage. Avoid areas with lots of overhanging vegetation.

Work a four-inch thick layer of compost and a five-inch thick layer of medium-grit sand into the planting site using a rotary tiller. Till the soil until it is loose at a depth of 14 to 18 inches.

Sow the jicama seeds four inches apart at a depth of one-quarter inch. Space the rows of jicama seeds two feet apart.

Water the jicama seeds liberally after sowing them. Use a garden hose with a misting nozzle to moisten the soil at a depth of three inches. Maintain moderate moisture in the top inch of soil while the jicama seeds germinate.

Watch for germination in seven days after sowing the jicama seeds. Thin the seedlings to one every eight inches as soon as they grow to one inch in height.

Water the jicama seedlings every other day. Let the surface of the soil dry out before watering the seedlings, but do not let the soil dry out at a depth deeper than half an inch.

Remove the flower buds from the jicama vine as they appear since this will force the plant to put its energy toward producing large, sweet roots.

Harvest the jicama roots five to nine months after sowing the seeds. Use them immediately or store them at room temperature for three to six months.