Over the years I have been told, “don’t put dog poo into the compost because it carries disease”. I sort of just took that advice, and well, since I find dog poo repulsive I just went along with the advice. 

I have been revisiting some old composting books lately and have been revisiting in my mind the idea of turning this copious waste into something better. I mean, I know dog poo will never be as good as chicken poo–which by the way, I have been composting with lately with great success; I probably am making the best compost I have ever made. But is dog poo really THAT bad?

Dog poo does have disease. But wait a minute: ALL POO IS RIDDLED WITH DISEASE. This is why you compost it. Your compost pile, if done correctly, kept aerobic, etc, performs the job of raising microorganisms good for plants. Pathogens don’t like the conditions made by your compost pile. They die. Even if your pile does not heat up to 140 degrees like a really good compost pile should, it still slowly converts the conditions such that favors soil organisms good for plants.

I wouldn’t depend on dog poo solely as your manure source. Dogs are omnivores and it is preferable to have vegetarian animal poo. But as long as you are composting correctly, your dog can be doing some contributing to the soil.

If it really grosses you out, never mind my suggestion. But do realize it is a prejudice. In many countries not only dog poo, but human poo is looked on as gold. When Japan was much more of an isolated country in the 1800s solely sufficient, growing all their own food, westerners were amazed that such a small land mass provided so well for so many people without the soil being ruined like in Europe and the U.S. The reasons are many but one of those reasons was how manure of all sorts were put to use, including human. 

If you are indeed concerned about disease, but want to make something useful of dog waste, compost it separately for your ornamental plants that you don’t eat. And do a good job at composting. Make sure you have enough woody product, green waste, etc. to match up to the manure. But honestly, poop is poop. It’s all gross until you convert it into good stuff for your soil. I know many of my readers know this but I am going to say it: we are obsessed with cleanliness in this country to a degree that hurts us. The USDA, FDA ensure that we will never have decent cheese or butter like in Europe because of the phobias about disease. The same is true about tofu and tempeh. This is because it is the microbiology we fear that makes these types of food so good.

Is our food supply any safer than Europe’s as a result of this madness? I don’t think so.

So anyway, if you can be brave, put those dog turds to use. Also, dog hair is awesome for the compost too. Just sayin’.

Conventionally, the artichoke you know from either the produce section, or pickled in jars, is the innards of an immature flower bud. What you might be less familiar with is how the Europeans (particularly the Greeks and Italians) eat the stems (mostly of cardoon though artichokes are eaten this way too). And like many things in the Mediterranean, they are often eaten with anchovy sauce. If you are not big on anchovy sauce, no worries, there are lots of ways to eat the stems. Think of them almost like celery. The buds on cardoon are also edible, but not bred to have the larger, tastier buds.

Cardoon Stems

Artichoke Flower and Bud

Both plants require full sun and rich garden soil. They will live a long time in Arizona if you take good care of them. Feed often with compost tea, kelp, and/or fish emulsion. Plants will die back after blooming their butts off in summer. When you cut back all the dead stuff, add a rich layer of mulch over them. They will love you for it. The more feeding you put into artichokes, the better the results for eating. In early spring/late winter, buds will be the best. Pick them when they are plump but not yet busting out with flowers. Usually, depending on the variety, there is one main bloom, and many side blooms per section. The middle large bloom will want to go first, so grab the biggest (and best) one first. To harvest stems (especially of cardoon) pick before the plants bloom in the cool season. They taste like artichokes only they look like celery. You can steam or braise them. If you blanch them (deprive the stems of light by tying up the stems together) they will be a LOT tastier. In addition to tying them up, wrap them in newspaper. The roots are also boiled and eaten.

Both artichoke and cardoon like a sunny location. Give them lots of room, they will swamp and shade other plants. Put them on the north end of your garden. They want plenty of water but are amazingly forgiving. Don’t freak out when they go dormant and think they are dead.

Plants are hardy in Tucson. It will take below 14 degrees F. to kill an artichoke. Some cultivars have purple or white buds. Be careful of the little prickles on the stems of these plants, they can be irritating. Some have been bred not to have them. Planting them from seed will yield a lot more variety though plants are often available in nurseries. Sow seed indoors in summer and plant in fall (september or october). Franchi has the best selection of seed.

The flowers of both plants are magnificent. And believe me, you won’t be able to eat them all, so enjoy how amazing and gorgeous they are.

Here are a few videos on preparing cardoon and artichoke:

Bitter Melon

Mormodica charantia

Someone out there has gotta love this besides me. That bitter green flavor of bitter melon is delicious. It is also highly nutritious, stuffed with antioxidants and I am sure lots of other things that agree with anyone trying to live long and healthy. But this is not why I “tolerate” the flavor. I really love the bitterness of this plant.

I know I am not the only one because it is cultivated all over the tropics. Not just in Asia, but in India, the Caribbean, Australia…someone besides me is eating bitter melon.

The strange-looking fruits can vary: some are very warty, some are smoother. Colors range from almost white to almost black and many shades of green. Fruits can be over a foot long, or only about 3 inches long, the average being about 6 inches. They grow on vigorous vines with beautiful lobed leaves and 5-angled stems. Fruits turn yellow to orange when over ripe and eventually slit open in three sections to reveal strange seeds with red arils. You don’t eat them at this point. You eat them with they are young and tender. 

Pick a spot in the garden where you can keep their roots in the shade. If you prepare the soil well with manure and compost and good drainage, bitter melon will need little else throughout the season save an occasional feeding to make you feel important as a gardener. This plant can do ok in part shade if you need something viney in a shady spot. Too much shade, and you won’t get fruits.

Some videos to guide you to exploring bitter melon.

Mâche

Valerianella locusta

The first time I encountered this plant it was introduced to me as corn salad. I gotta say, I hate the name corn salad. Please call it mâche. It sounds less, er, lazy.

I have been amazed to see how popular mâche has been getting. You can purchase bags of mâche much like baby spinach in grocery stores like Trader Joes. That is, if you want to deprive yourself of the joy of growing it yourself. I love growing this, and of course, as with all things home grown, the diversity of varieties available to you are greater once you start growing your own. Also, home-grown mâche is bound to be fresher and more nutritious than factory farmed mâche that have been traveling in bags for who knows how long.

Mâche is amazingly cold hardy. Start planting out from seed in October in full to part sun. Too much shade makes plants lanky but some shade will help plants last a little longer. If it gets hot in the spring plants will bolt.

Plant in average garden soil and feed occasionally with fish emulsion, kelp and/or compost tea. This is not a picky plant. The biggest challenge is that when temperatures get into the mid 80s plants will sometimes want to bolt. But that said, you won’t have to worry about frost. Mâche can take pretty much any cold Tucson will throw at it.

The so-called large-seeded varieties are more heat resistent than the small-seeded varieties. But the small-seeded types are more tasty. So experiment. In the US there are not as many varieties available as there are in Europe. Hopefully this will change sometime soon. Botanical Interests is a cool seed company I haven’t mentioned yet, and they have the large-seeded variety. Gourmet Seeds has the d’Olanda variety which is a Dutch variety with large leaves.

Plants are most delicious raw. Try mixing mâche with slivers of red beets and light dressing. Mâche has a nice, mild nutty flavor and is super nutritious, especially rich in iron, vitamin C, vitamin A and calcium.

This recipe looks pretty amazing:

There are several reasons I avoid nursery-grown starts:

1. Plants directly seeded always do better. Mostly this is because the root system develops a relationship with the biology of the soil immediately and is never moved away. The roots never develop in a small plastic space and get pre-shaped. The go straight down into the ground with little hinderance.

Linaria, Miniature Snapdragon

2. Life in a small container sucks. It’s hotter, drier, and more dead in a small container. There are few beneficial organisms that help plants grow. Your plant doesn’t get to start developing a relationship with the organisms that will eventually feed it (if you are growing organically). If the seedling stays in the container for long, it will need artificial food because organic fertilizers really can’t work in a situation where there is no biology. It’s sort of like living in the front seat of a car. In summer. You can turn on the air conditioning and maybe try to shade yourself, but it’s no way to live.

3. The variety to choose from is greater. With nursery stock you are subject to the choices of the grower, who is mostly selling whatever they can move off the shelves quick. BORING! If you start growing from seed, your world of options is exponentially larger. You will have heirloom crops available to you that many people might not have even heard of. And don’t assume nurseries offer varieties appropriate for our climate. Almost all Arizona nuseries bring in stock from California as well as Northern Arizona, in places where the climate calls for different varieties. And even when they do offer appropriate varieties, it’s usually the same old stand-bys that leave one bored. This isn’t just true about edibles. There are amazing flowering annuals and perennials that are almost never available in nurseries, including old varieties that aren’t convenient as seedlings to have in nurseries like the 3-foot vining petunias, or the miniature snap dragon (Linaria) which is an amazing annual that is never in the nurseries (and often reseeds itself year after year). 

4. Annuals grown from nursery starts bolt sooner than those seeded direct-seeded annuals. This may go back to the first argument, that seedlings live a tougher life in the beginning and get disturbed a bunch of times. If you don’t believe me, buy some cilantro at a nursery and plant it at the same time you seed it in the ground. Watch the difference. Most nurseries even know better, but still offer such plants in 6-packs or 4-inch pots. If you only go with planting a few things from seed there are a few that always do bad from nursery-grown stock. Cilantro and parsley always bolt way sooner. In fact, any winter annual that flowers at the end of the season (and it’s life) usually bolt way sooner if planted from nursery stock.

5. Growing plants from seed puts you that much closer to the plants. You are participating with them more intimately and therefore becoming a more informed, better gardener. You learn what the seed looks like, how long it takes to germinate, and follow through watching the plant’s whole life cycle.

6. Nursery-grown seedlings generate garbage that go to the landfills. If you grow your own seedlings directly in the ground, that is one less source of plastic garbage you are contributing.

7. Browsing seed catalogs is a wonderful experience. Once you start getting catalogs in the mail, or start browsing online seed catalogs, you will wonder why you deprived yourself so long from this experience.

This isn’t to say I don’t love nurseries, or that there are never reasons to go to nurseries. In fact, people don’t go to the nursery enough. I am only encouraging you to become a better horticulturist because more people growing plants from seed means more varieties, more knowledge and more real gardening going on. Then maybe nurseries will have to step up their game and offer stock that is competitive and appropriate.

The one exception to everything I am saying here is when you are trying to get ahead of the season. Sometimes when you are growing a long-season vegetable, you might start them indoors in a container and transplant them when the frost is over or when the summer cools down. This works with some crops, not with others.

Stainless Steel Hori Hori

Some years ago a friend gifted me a tool I have never stopped using. It is called the hori hori. Often people see it in my  sheath and think I have some crazy knife–and that is pretty much what it is: a soil knife. They handle better than trowels and because they are sharp on both sides, are great for doing almost anything you need to do in the garden that you would want to do with your hands (in other words, not with a large tool like a spade or hoe).

Carbon Steel Hori Hori

Blades vary in length and width. Some are serrated on one or both sides, some are totally smooth. It’s all a matter of personal preference which sort you pick out. I have found the serration to be handy at times, especially for dividing perennials or bulbs. Blades are made most often of steel; the carbon steel blades are heafty, when you need heft. The stainless steel blades are lighter to handle, sharper, and don’t rust. Stainless steel hori hori soil knives are only slightly more expensive than the carbon steel versions.

The word “Hori” (ホリ) means “to dig” in Japanese and “hori-hori” is the onomatopoeia for a digging sound. It was originally designed for excavating bonsai plants from the ground. I get mine from Hida Tool (they have other fun toys too).

Chayote

Sechium edule

Native to Mexico this incredible vine produces a green fruit (sometimes prickly and sometimes smooth, depending on the variety) which have a flavor that is nutty and squash like, though closer to having a water chestnut flavor than squash. Chayote is eaten all over the world now, especially in Asia. The fruits are eaten raw, cooked or pickled in many ways. The seeds are also edible, most often after cooking. Also the young shoots are clipped for eating.

Heirloom varieties: grab them if you ever see them.

Prickly Chayote

There are many varieties and wild relatives of chayote but they are difficult to get a hold of because this is a tropical fruit and the seeds don’t store. If you find a gourmet or heirloom variety, SNAG IT and grow it. I will explain how: You usually plant the entire fruit into the ground, about 4 inches deep. Plant it fat end down and at an angle so that the stem end is just level with the soil surface. Start chayote in March with a good amount of compost and manure.

Give them lots of room, like on a fence or trellis.

Chayote loves the heat, so long as it is watered. It is not otherwise picky though you can feed compost tea, fish emulsion or kelp once in a while. Just watch that your feeding is not too nitrogen heavy or your plant will grow like madness and not fruit. Also, too much shade can hinder fruit development, so make sure your plant has lots of full sun to grow in. And they WILL grow.

If you end up with too many, make chayote pickles.

This guy tells you some good information, from a cook’s perspective.

Onions are a big subject. There are many. Since I already posted about garlic that subject is left from this discussion. But suffice it to say that garlic is an onion (Allium sativum). Leeks are onions too (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum). Strangely enough, elephant garlic, also already mentioned in the garlic post, is also a leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. gigante). I will help you sort out the onions so you can have the information you need to purchase and grow the ones you want.

Bulb Onions

Bulb Onions, Dry Storage Onions

Allium cepa

Let’s start off with the  most challenging to grow. And don’t be intimidated. Growing bulb onions (Allium cepa) is not that hard, especially if you select the right varieties and plant them at the right time (we will talk about bunching onions and scallions later).

The easiest way to start bulb onions is to order sets or transplants and plant them in early spring into a full to part sun location–the earlier the better, so if you can protect them from frost, go as early as January. If you don’t protect them from frost, wait until March. Bulb sets look like tiny onion bulbs about the size of a dime if your source is good. The closer to being dime-sized the better. Bigger bulb sets are not better. Transplants are small onion plants with green tops, basically looking like scallions. They are a quick way to get started. When you get your transplants they will come in bundled sets. You will usually plant them and snip off the tops of the leaves. Starting from seed is the most challenging method, but if you master the timing (which means frost protection) you will have more varieties at your disposal to start. There is also something satisfying about starting onions from seed.

Onion Sets

Onions start bulb formation according to how much daylight there is–different varieties of onions require different day lengths to initiate bulbing. Most common varieties belong to one of two sorts: long-day (for northern latitudes) and short-day (for southern latitudes). Short day onions really are best for us in Tucson. After that the variety choices are dependent on what you want.

Onion transplants from mail order. You will snip the tips when you plant these.

Prepare a nice soil bed for onions with some manure, lots of compost and good drainage. After you plant onions, lay a nice layer of mulch down. Onions have very limited root systems so they don’t compete well with other plants. So keep greedy weeds out of the onion bed, but be careful not to damage onion bulbs. Most weeds pull up pretty easy especially if you get them young so avoid using tools that can bruise the bulbs. Other than this, or maybe an occasional feeding of fish emulsion or compost tea or kelp, there really isn’t much you need to do. Onions do best when left alone.

Lettuces and other plants that can protect onions from the brutal warm season sun are good to plant so that bases of onions are shaded. Do NOT plant them with peas, beans, asparagus or sage. For green onions, plant close together. For true bulbs, plant about 6 inches apart (there will be differences in onion sizes so follow the directions of the variety you have chosen which may suggest tighter or looser plantings).

Curing Onions

Onions should be harvested when about two-thirds of the tops have fallen over. They should be left out to dry on a screen or dry, shady location for about a week. Different onions have different storage capacity, so pay attention to what is said about the varieties you have selected. I always try to have some longer storing varieties, but also have some interesting fun but short lasting varieties as well. Plan accordingly how you can preserve your crop (jarring/pickling, drying, etc), or plan on trading with friends.

Another point: scallions are indeed just green onions, or bulb onions that have not made bulbs yet. But there are specific varieties that are true scallions and are much tastier and sweeter than just any old onion. If you want scallions, pick a variety listed as a scallion variety.

Dixondale Farms is one source for transplants. Territorial and Southern Exposure has seed. Gurney’s has onion sets.

Multiplier Onions

Multiplier Onions

Allium cepa

Multiplier onions, or potato onions are related to bulb onions. They have a shallot-like flavor. They are easy to grow and ideal for hot, dry climates. To grow them, separate bulbs, and plant in the fall 1 inch below surface and 12 inches apart. Bulbs will multiply into clumps and can be harvested throughout the cooler months. Tops will die back in the heat of summer and may return with monsoon rains; bulbs can remain in the ground or be harvested and stored in a cool dry place for planting in the fall. The plants rarely flower; propagation is by division. This is an old fashioned variety that should make a comeback.

Territorial has multiplier onions.

Chives

Chives
Allium schoenoprasum

Often found in the herb section of the nursery, chives are onions. But they are a wild type used mostly for their greens as a raw spice. Plant sets or potted plants in fall. Easy to grow, feed occasionally. Divide when they get crowded. Garlic chives are discussed below, and actually a different species. Chives have gorgeous flowers too.

Territorial has chives as plants and sets.

Leeks

Leeks

Allium ampeloprasum var.porrum

Leeks are best started from seed indoors in February or so (about 4 weeks before last frost date). When there is no threat of frost transplant them in full to part sun (they should have the girth of a pencil). Space them 6-7 inches apart. They like a little more food than onions. Fish emulsion is great. Compost tea, kelp, side dressings of compost…you know, what I always say. Short season leeks are harvested usually in summer, late season in the late summer early fall. Don’t plant with peas or beans.

Territorial has seed and plants, including a quick variety called Roxton.

Ramps

Ramps, Wild Leeks

Allium tricoccum, A. burdickii

These plants have the pleasant taste of sweet spring onions with a strong garlic-like aroma. Plant in rich soil with a thick layer of compost.

Ramp Farm is one place to find both bulb and seed.

Shallots

Shallots

Allium cepa var. ascalomicum

Shallots can be confused often with multiplier onions and top setting onions whose bulbs look similar. True shallots have a delicate flavor, especially favored in French cuisine. Grow them as you would garlic, plant in October. There is another species, Allium kurrat, also known as Egyptian Leek. I have not grown this but want to give it a try.

Kitchen Garden Seeds has seed and sets of leeks.

Egyptian Walking Onion

Egyptian Walking Onion

Allium ×proliferum

These are cool plants, easy to grow. They even plant themselves by falling over and leaving their top set onions on the ground to root. Plant them in nice soil in spring and let them do their thing.

Bulblets are available at Territorial.

Chinese Chives

Chinese Chives, or Chinese Leeks

Allium tuberosum

Plant from seed in spring and let multiply. Will live for several years especially if you keep divided. This is an important onion in asian food used in almost all stir frys and even to season woks. They look like flattened chives.

Red Bunching Onion

Asian Bunching Onion

Allium fistulosum

These are gorgeous plants, some with gorgeous coloring (like red Asian bunching onion). Start seeds indoors in late summer and set out with garlic. Protect from hard frosts. “Splitting types” are another very important variety used in asian cuisine. These are more cold-resistent. Asian bunching onions are mostly easy to grow and last a long time. With the exception of protecting some varieties from frost, and occasional feeding, these plants are care-free and delicious.

Kitazawa Seed is a great source for all kinds of asian vegetables and the best I know for asian onions. They separate onions from bunching onions and call chinese chives, chinese leeks.

Rakkyo

Rakkyo

Allium chinense

This is another important Chinese wild bunching-type onion. Plant sets in fall. Plants do not produce seed. I have a hard time finding a source for Rakkyo, if you find one, let me know.

Eventually I will probably address all these onions and more in detail. This article is meant mostly as an overview of the onions. I may have missed some things, let me know.

We are talking about composting of course. If you feel you don’t have the room for a compost, you at least need to know what goes into proper compost so that you can make informed decisions about purchasing a bag of the commercial stuff.

Any kind of composting is probably beneficial. But a good compost is fantastic. The idea is to cultivate the bacteria, fungus and other critters that will, in turn, feed your plants.

To start a compost, you need to first scope out a good spot. If you will be composting in the warm season you should probably pick a shady spot, I will explain later why. Fence off the area with chicken wire to keep your pets out of the compost pile. This is especially important if you have dogs, because what do dogs love more than a pile of rotting garbage and poop? Give yourself lots of room, you should probably have enough room for two piles. You don’t need any sort of bin. These are products people try to sell, but really have no purpose in my opinion.

Collecting your ingredients is the next stage. There are four important parts of a good compost.

Green waste

1. Green waste: this is your kitchen scraps, weeds, garden refuse, coffee grounds, etc. This is the food for bacteria and other critters. No dairy or meat though egg  shells are awesome.

Sawdust

2. Wood or paper: This can be a little tough but not impossible in Tucson. Nitrogen fixing trees are not ideal and this is what we tend to have a lot of in Tucson. However, if you know a carpenter, they often have wood chips and sawdust that is GREAT for compost. Also, paper is good. Newspaper now prints with soy ink and this is fine for the garden. The idea here is to create food for fungus. Fungus is important for your garden.

Chicken Manure, with a bit of hay. The hot temperatures in the compost will cook the weed seeds so don't worry.

3. Manure: you have to have good fresh poop for a good compost. Steer manure from the garden center is ok, but not really ideal. It is mostly already composted (this is awesome for putting directly into garden soil). Find a friend who raises chickens (or raise some chickens yourself). Horse manure is often plentiful. Find a local source for poop and try to find someone close to your house. Get a large garbage can and have them fill it up. Most of the time, they are more than willing to give you their poop. Manure is basically the inoculating factor. It is the source of much bacteria.

4. Water: have a water source ready and convenient.

Next you will mix the manure, wood pulp or paper and green waste in approximately thirds. That is, one third manure, one third green waste, and one third woody/papery material. Mix them up really well, and water the pile down good. Eventually you are aiming at a pile that is not soaking wet, but wet enough to form a ball in your hands. Watch that the center of the pile is not too wet. It will omit oxygen and go anaerobic and literally smell like shit (not the good kind).

The first few days you will wait. With chicken poop the pile will probably start heating up right away. Depending on how old your manure is, your pile make take longer. If you have a long stemmed thermometer, keep it in the pile and if the temperature gets over 140 degrees break the pile up. My pile literally smokes sometimes.

Since I use mostly chicken poop, I need to break my pile up a few times at first. I use my nose to tell me if it is right. Nasty rotten poo smells says there is too much anaerobic activity. Usually if you do things right, the pile will smell more like, well, compost–more fresh with fruity overtones. This means the pile is growing more aerobically and that is what you want. Yes, you will learn to love the smell of compost.

You do want the pile to heat up. The heat is the activity of the microorganisms eating, pooping, converting your waste into food for plants. 120 is a good temperature  goal. But use your nose. And as I said, watch the deep part of the pile. When you break it up, find the stuff that isn’t converting and get it deep into the inside of the pile.

Finished Compost

Eventually, depending on the quality of your poop, the weather and many other elements too long to list in this short article, your pile will cool off and smell great. You don’t really want BLACK compost. This is usually a sign that there has been a lot of anaerobic activity. You want a dark chocolate color. This is perfection.

Ask any questions below about ingredients or other problems or questions you may have and expect more detailed posts later. Composting is a science, but even if you don’t do it exactly right, you will still be doing your garden a service.

Oca Root

Oxalis tuberosa

I have spoken of sweet potatoes and of Jerusalem artichokes. Now it is time for the exotic and strange but delicious oca tuber. Native to the Andes from Venezuela to Argentina, and introduced to Polynesia and New Zealand as an important crop, oca is eaten raw, parboiled or roasted. The 4-6 inch tubers have a tangy flavor with nutty overtones and often sport amazing color (colors range from deep red or even black to boring tannish potato-colored). They are super-delicious with bacon. The foliage is similar to the familiar clover leafed plant so popular on St. Patrick’s Day but more succulent.

In Tucson, most Oxalis species are grown in winter. These guys don’t like temperatures over about 85 degrees. But you will want to cover them on cold, frosty nights. They like cool weather but they don’t necessarily want to get hammered by the frost.

The like nice, loose, rich garden soil, and as with most root crops don’t want a lot of nitrogen.

Wait until the plants go completely dormant, and lift tubers. Store for next year’s crop in sandy soil, in a bag, in a coolest spot in your kitchen. If they start to grow in the bag, plant them in a pot in your house, but don’t put them outside until late september.

‘Slips’ can be taken in a similar way as with sweet potatoes.
Roots start to develop from the Oca tuber itself, but what makes this method so easy is that roots also tend to form spontaneously at the base of the shoots if they are in contact with soil. It’s a simple matter to gently break away the shoot, roots and all, and install it in some sandy compost.

These are best planted alone. Let them do their thing through the season, and when it warms up, lift tubers and store in cool, dry place, in a bag of sand is good. You can leave them in the soil if you can shade it with a lot of mulch and only water when totally dry or when you start to see growing activity. But really, I suggest lifting tubers and storing them.

When harvesting oca roots, let them sit in a cool place for a few days until tender (and for the oxalate crystals to decrease). Only lift the roots you are going to eat.

Territorial sells a generic variety. 

US sources for other varieties are difficult and sporatic at best. The only good source online is from England (The Real Seed Catalog) and they won’t ship to the US. But if you have a good friend in England, you might get some help.

In Polynesia and New Zealand they are hard-headed and call these yams. Here is one way to prepare them.

And here is some German dude showing you his plants and how he cooks them.