Oca, Sawamish

Oca information and growing instructions

This is an OSSI open source variety. Click for more information about open source seeds.

Phytosanitary information

Sawamish is a Cultivariable original variety, introduced in 2020, notable for early tuber formation and high yield.

Culinary Traits

Sawamish is a sweet variety with just a touch of tartness. It has enough sugars to caramelize a bit when fried.  The light yellow color is mostly lost when cooked, becoming white.

Agronomic Traits

Sawamish plants are relatively compact, not sprawling to the same degree as many varieties.  The tubers are formed on very short stolons, so they are shallow and very easy to harvest.  It is usually possible to pull up the plants with all of the tubers, which means a lot less digging around for stragglers.  On the other hand, the shallow tubers are more vulnerable to pests and light freezes.  Tuberization photoperiod is about 13 hours, making it two to three weeks earlier than most of the heirloom varieties and the average yield in test pulls on November 1st was 1 pound, 6 ounces, which is an excellent early yield.  The maximum tuber length is about 4.5 inches and the average length is 2.5 inches.  Average tuber count is 31.

Sawamish is a moderate flowerer with a mid-styled flower.

True Seeds

True seeds were collected in 2020 and were open pollinated. Sawamish is mid-styled and therefore self-compatible, so I expect a portion of the seeds to be self-pollinated, but the majority will probably be crossed.