Taxonomy & History

• Family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
• Pachyrhizus erosus
• Relative to the Sweet Potato
• AKA chop suey potato (Hawaii), yam bean, Mexican Turnip (Mexico)
• Although it originated in North America, it is most popular in China

Physical Description

• Plant:
  • very attractive vine, which can twine up to 14 feet high or more.
• Leaves:
  • Deep green foliage
  • leaves have three leaflets
  • poisonous
• Flowers:
  • upright spikes of sweet pea-shaped purple or violet flowers in summer
• Fruit:
  • Bean pods develop
  • Ripe pods are poisonous
• Root:
  • The edible part is its enlarged taproot, which develops underground like a beet and tastes a little like a sweet water chestnut.
  • ugly, brown swollen taproot
  • heart-shaped

Growth Habits

• climbing annual vine
• grows as a vine; can also be grown as a trailing mound on the ground

Varieties & Cultivars

Categories or Types

Colors Available

Varieties

Growth Requirements

Climate & Temperature Requirements

• If growing jicama for its edible root, it is best grown in Hawaii, zones H1 & H2
• Mainly ornamental in zones:
  • 8
  • 9
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 18-24
• In Southern California it will produce some poor-quality roots
• In Northern California, you will get only foliage & flowers

Seasonality

• Plant in late spring, after last frost
• roots enlarge in fall as days begin to grow shorter, but it still needs warmth to produce a good crop
• Maturity: 150 days

Air Temperature

• Needs a long, hot growing season, maturing at 150 days from transplant
• needs a lot of heat

Soil Temperature

Humidity

Day Length or Light Requirements

Site Conditions Favored

• full sun

Soil Requirements

Soil Texture

pH

Nutrient Requirements

• jicama needs rich soil
• very high nitrogen needs

Propagation

Methods of propagation

Seed

• Preferred method of propagation is by seed:
  • Indoors:
    • sow seeds 8-10 weeks before last frost
    • plant outside after last frost, when the soil has warmed to 50 degrees F
  • Outdoors:
    • sow seeds in late spring, after last frost
    • seeds should be sown 1/2″-3/4″ deep (although one source said to plant them 2″ deep) and 1″ apart
    • thin to final spacing (see Planting Out)

Transplanting or Potting Up

Seed Saving

Planting Out

• plant out after all danger of frost has passed, and the soil has warmed up

Bed Prep & Soil Amendments

Bed Spacing

• each vine needs ample room and full sun
• space plants 6″-8″ apart

Row Spacing

• rows should be 14″-24″ apart

Planting Depth

Alternative Bed Methods

Container Gardening

Routine Cultivation & Maintenance

Water Requirements

Fertilization Recommendations

• apply high-nitrogen fertilizer monthly

Mulching & Weeding

Pinching or Pruning & Dividing

• flowers should be pinched off for maximum root production

Support

• Support with trellis or allow it to trail from a mound

Winterizing

Companion Planting

Helpful Companions

Harmful Companions

Companion to..

Pests, Diseases & Problems

Common Pests

Common Diseases

Symptoms

Whole Plant

Leaves

Stem/Trunk

Flowers

Fruit

Roots

Harvesting & Storage

Edible Parts of the Plant

• edible root is crunchy and mild
• the tap root is a heart-shaped tuber with white flesh and brown skin
• leaves and ripe pods are poisonous

Yield

• each vine yields one edible root from 1 to 6 pounds
• the tap root will get to about 6 inches square

Days to Harvest / Harvest Timing

• plant reaches maturity at about 150 days, so the tubers will be forming after that
• the tuber develops after the vine is done flowering
• roots enlarge in fall as days begin to grow shorter, but it still needs warmth to produce a good crop
• harvest before first frost, or if there’s no frost in your area, you can leave them in the ground until needed

Harvest Methods

• dig up the root

Storage of harvest

Fresh

• stores very well fresh
• if there’s no frost in your area, you can leave the root in the ground
• similar to potatoes; keep cool and don’t peel before storage
• store dry, between 53 and 60 degrees F; do not refrigerate; will keep 30-60 days this way

Canned

Frozen

Pickled

Dried

Cooking & Nutrition or Toxicity

Nutritional Benefits & Values

• crunchy and mild, Jicama is a good substitute for water chestnuts or bamboo shoots in salads or stir-fries
• makes a crisp and delicious low-calorie snack
• texture is like raw potatoes; flavor is sweet and starchy
• high in carbohydrates, dietary fiber.
• 86-90% water
• contains only trace amounts of protein and fat

Toxicity

• ripe pods, leaves and vine are all poisonous
• seeds are poisonous due to the toxin rotenone, which is used in pesticides

Cooking

• Preparation
  • peel off the rough brown skin and eat the white flesh raw or cooked
• Cooking Methods
  • usually eaten fresh
  • eat fresh on salads or vegetable plates
  • marinate and stir-fry
  • add to soups
  • fresh seasonings: salt, lemon or lime juice, chili powder
  • recipes with jicama often include cilantro, chiles, ginger, citrus, soy sauce, sesame

Recipes

(link to …/category/recipes/tag/[plantname])

Sources

Information for this article was taken from these sources:

• Kitazawa Seed Co
• Sunset Western Garden Book
• Wikipedia