My neighbour called me over last week to ask me to identify the attractive vine that was growing out of her raised garden bed, over (and under) the fence and across the footpath.

I had a feeling it was kumara – which turned out to be correct. Thing is, she hadn’t planted any!

If you can accidently grow them this easily, why not give them a crack?

How to grow Kumara

• Kumaras need heat and are frost tender - choose a warm sunny spot, and mound up lots of rich soil, compost and manure. Make sure there’s a firm-ish base so the kumaras form.
• Plant sprouted kumara in spring – Sept/October through to December. You can buy cuttings from the garden centre, or just cut bits of shooted kumara from the pantry and plant them about 10cm deep, with their bottom half in the soil. Plant around half a metre apart.
• Mulch the soil – grass clippings are fine. Keep them watered for the first couple of weeks. 
• The shoots will form runners and creep over the ground – every now and then you need to lift these runners to stop them from rooting.
• Your kumara will be ready to harvest in around 4-5 months, usually March – May.
• Once you’ve lifted them, leave them on top of the soil for 3 days to to cure, so they develop dry firm skin.