Can I Grow Taro Root in Water?

Description

• Taro has arrow- or heart-shaped leaves that may come to a point or be divided. The leaves are usually deep green, but there are varieties with colored venation and margin edges. The leaves are attached to the stem at the center and have a decidedly tropical look. Taro rise from corms, which develop into tubers that are eaten much like a potato. Taro has been cultivated for more than 6,000 years in tropical Southeast Asia.

Commercial Cultivation

• Taro is a useful food source around tropical and sub-tropical zones. It is grown for poi in Hawaii and is an important protein and flour source in many other areas of the world. Taro may be produced in two ways: dryland or upland taro, which is grown in moist soils, and wetland or paddy taro, which is grown in flooded fields. Dryland taro is called dasheen, and lowland taro grows in slightly acid soil with plenty of moisture. Taro is planted 4 feet apart in flooded fields.

Home Cultivation

• Taro makes an ideal plant for the water garden. It may be grown in aquatic baskets in the shallow area of a pond or submerged in an aquatic container garden. Taro can have continuously wet feet with no ill effects and may be grown in water as deep as 12 inches. Depending on your USDA Hardiness Zone, the plant may have to be lifted in winter. Some taro are hardy in zones 7 to 10, while others are only hardy down to zone 9.

Harvesting Taro

• Wetland or lowland taro provides the largest harvest. The leaves can be eaten when they are small, but the more nutritious part is the root or corm. The part harvested is called eddo, and is a peripheral cormlet, which forms over the course of six to eight months. These side shoots can be removed without damaging the plant, which can produce two to three harvests per year. Taro is often steamed or grated and eaten as a vegetable, or ground and dried for use as a flour.