KUMARA NZ

We are honored to hold a very special collection of ancient kumara. Most of this collection has been gifted from the far north, where they have been continuously cultivated since pre-European times. Many of these kumara grow differently to those we commonly know today. The leaf shapes vary a lot, the growth patterns vary, as do the colours of the leaves and stems and the kumara.

We also have kumara which were originally commercial cultivars that have now been grown organically and selected for keeping qualities for many years. These lines are very superior to just using commercial kumara to grow your tupu.

Seed Saving Info

Kumara, are perennial vines that are propagated vegetatively, either by shoots from the tubers or cuttings from the tips of the growing plants. When placed in a warm moist, but very free draining medium, (in August) shoots form along the sides of each tuber and take root, and can then be broken off with their new roots and planted straight into the garden.  We plant our kumara in deep boxes with 8cm of compost below them and 8cm above .

Kumara commonly carry serious viruses and growers who keep their own seed over the years need to develop a system for minimizing this problem. Kumara with very dark patchy skin often have a virus, and it will affect their keeping qualities seriously.

Joseph Land our kumara curator, minimizes the problem by taking cuttings from the first tips that appear from the tubers each spring and rooting them in a seed tray and then planting them out in a separate block. The tubers from this block are the ones to save for growing tupu the following spring This is the traditional method for keeping kumara healthy. It is well known that the strongest growing tips are the healthiest and best places to collect virus free material in all plants.

Our collection contains the following cultivars:

Pumpkin - an old one from the East Coast, pumpkin coloured and very sweet to taste.

Reka Rawa - a large old white skinned kumara that is my favourite tasting one. This is the ultimate kumara,  tastes like roasted chestnuts to me! From an ancient Far-North collection.

Taputini - an ancient cultivar that does not really run. It produces large numbers of long white kumara.

Maikio Red - this is one that Joseph has been growing, originally from commercial stock, and selecting for keeping qualities.

Paraparapara - one of the very special old ones. This is reputed to be the old medicinal kumara, that was used to feed the elderly, the babies and the invalids. It has pink skin, and is a large kumara. Also from the Far-North.

Huti huti - another old kumara that has come to us from the South Island. A white skinned and fleshed variety. Prolific cropper, good taste.

Maikio Gold - developed from the gold commercial lines of 20 years ago this one has been selected by Joseph as a good keeper.

Kumara need light/ sandy soils. (Maori carried sand long distances to improve heavy soils) with a hard pan about a foot under the surface. If your soil is too heavy the beautiful coloured skins will be covered in a patchy brown virus. If there is no hard pan, and you have fertile soil, the tops will go for miles and you’ll get no kumara.

Plant your tupu when the Pipiwharoroa changes his tune in Spring (when his call gets a long tail on it). Bend the roots of the tupu under into a J -shape when planting so the roots face up to the top again under the ridge of soil, facing north.

Traditional additions to the soil were baked ground shell, seaweed, and woodash.

Kumara store well in a cool dark place after having been left in the sun for a few days and then turned and left another couple of days and then wrapped in newspaper or sawdust and stored in boxes.