Cassava???

[Frankie Stapleton]

Anyone growing cassava here? Where can I obtain some plantings?

[Chuysmom]

Frankie, that's a melon, right? I remember it from the mainland.

Carrie

http://www.sapphiresoap.etsy.com

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR

[Frankie Stapleton]

No, it's a root vegetable, has an attractive bush that looks like marijuana. It's tapioca. The Polynesians growing it in their gardens on Oahu even got green-harvested, with the lady coming home to find cops chopping down her plants. Boy, were they red-faced![^]

[Carey]

Frankie, it is growing in our yard. There are 2 main types.... one has less oxalates ("sweet" cassava) not sure what we have, but we always cook it to oblivion to make sure...

They are easy to annoying in how easy they root from cuttings, wood chips & such.

If you want cuttings or root, stop on by.

[allensylves]

Carrie,
You are thinking of casaba melon.

Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP

[Mitzi M]

Hi Frankie,

I think you mean cassava, or manioc, from Brazil right?
Its a kinda bushy shrub that makes long fleshy, starchy roots which taste like a potato when boiled or fried. I really like it. When ground into flour it's tapioca! It grows on little water in poor soil (although for good, straight roots its good to take out the big rocks.)

Really, if you are trying to live off your land to any extent and you like the taste, this is an awesome easy thing to grow.

Ms. Carey shared some of her stock with me and I gave some to my neighbor who is from Brazil. She told me that cassava is highly variable and some tastes quite bitter - but she raved over this strain and now there may be maybe a quarter acre devoted to this cassava at her place.

You can propagate it by root cuttings or by 6" stem tips.

My plants were in too much shade and didn't make it, but I think I can get some cuttings from my sunnier neighbor. If nobody has established starts, then I'll ask her if you would like.

Aloha,
Mitzi

[Chuysmom]

yes Allen, that's it - Casaba...thanks! [:I]

Carrie

http://www.sapphiresoap.etsy.com

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR

[Frankie Stapleton]

Thnx, Carey, Mitzi, et al. Yes, it has many names, and many uses. And yes, I'd love some cuttings.

Not only is it a gluten-free flour and food alternative, but it is being grown in India for the manufacture of biodegradable plastic bags! The USPS used to use it as glue on postage stamps.

We should use it to make our state more self-sustainable...I wish we would farm it and manufacture it because biodegradable bags on the American mainland are being made from corn and with all the demands on corn for food (human and animal) and biofuel alternatives, the price of corn has gone thru the roof, I'm told.

I'd love to take a field trip to India to see how hard it is to manufacture plastic products from it. They only have enough for the Asian market. I'll bet it wouldn't be hard to adapt part of the old sugar plantations to manufacture products from tapioca!

[Carey]

Frankie, I have some that needs to be trimmed (Isn't this kinda my mantra....) so anytime you are around downtown Keaau give me a call!, or if Seaview is closer, you can pick up some of the cuttings from Mitzi.... guess it is one & the same plant!

[james weatherford]

Cassava, a.k.a, manioc, is, IMHO, a crop with immense potential in Hawaii, for food and for industrial products. Very big tubers, with considerable minerals and high starch content.
We've also got some growing if Frankie or anyone else needs cuttings.


James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park