Tapioca Harvest
By Vasanth, Grade 10 D
August 20, 2019
Today we harvested the root vegetable tapioca also called cassava. The key to harvesting this root vegetable is to loosen the soil around it so it is easier to pull out. We used a long, heavy iron rod like stick called the crowbar / ‘gadaparai’ in Tamil to perform this task. After loosening the soil, we pulled the entire plant out and should be careful or some tapiocas will be stuck in the soil. It mostly comes as a bunch of medium sized tapiocas or a pair of two big tapiocas. This activity was very fun as it required us to use our strength!
Tapioca is a rich source of carbohydrates. In India it is eaten after boiling as a mash, in place of rice, especially in Kerala where they call it Kappa. It is paired with fish curry or chick pea curry called Kadalai curry.
It is a perennial for us. It can be regrown throughout the year through the long tall stem cuttings that can be cut into many pieces and planted again.
