How to grow yam

Growing yam for the first time

Difficulty: Hard · Sun: full sun · Ready in: about 240 days

1. Choose the spot

Pick a sunny spot (6+ hours of sun). It does best in loam, sandy soil with a pH of 5.5–6.5. Avoid clay soil, or improve it with compost.

2. Sow or plant

Start indoors or under cover in Mar, Apr. Space plants about 90 cm apart.

3. Look after it

• Water roughly every 4 days, more in hot or dry weather. Water the soil, not the leaves.
• Feed every 30 days once it is growing strongly.
• Keep weeds down, and add a daily note and photo to your BeAgric grow diary so you can spot problems early.

4. Watch for problems

Common problems: Leaf spot, Anthracnose. Take a photo with Check a plant if leaves look spotted, yellow or wilted.

5. Organic tip

Plant healthy seed yams on mounds and mulch well to keep the soil cool.

6. Harvest

Expect your first harvest about 240 days after planting. Record it in Harvests and list any spare on the marketplace.