🥕 Cassava / Yuca
Manihot esculenta
vegetables perennial shrub (grown as annual for roots)
☀️ Sun
full sun
💧 Water
low, very drought-tolerant
🗺️ Zones
8, 12 (8, 12 month growing season)
🪴 Soil Type
well-draining, tolerates poor, acidic soils
🧪 Soil pH
5.5-7.0
💧 Drainage
Well-drained
📏 Spacing
36-48 in. apart, 40-48 in. between rows (stem cuttings)
📅 Days to Maturity
8-12 months (from planting cuttings); 240-360 days to harvest mature roots
🍴 Edible Parts
🍽️ ["Boiled🍽️ fried (yuca frita)🍽️ tapioca🍽️ cassava flour🍽️ farofa🍽️ fermented (gari/fufu)"]
🤝 Companions (6)
🤝 beans
Beans fix nitrogen that feeds cassava's heavy-feeding root development; cassava's tall stalks provide light support for bush beans.
🤝 peanuts
Peanuts fix nitrogen and create dense groundcover that suppresses weeds around cassava while cassava's tall growth doesn't shade them out.
🤝 corn
Corn and cassava occupy different vertical and root zones — corn grows tall and shallow-rooted while cassava develops deep tubers with minimal competition.
Pigeon peas fix substantial nitrogen for cassava's tuber development; their deep taproots and cassava's storage roots occupy complementary soil layers.
🤝 sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes create living mulch around cassava, suppressing weeds and retaining moisture while their shallow roots don't compete with cassava's deeper tubers.
🤝 melons
Melons sprawl as groundcover beneath cassava, making efficient use of space — cassava's upright growth and melons' horizontal spread don't compete for light or root space.
⚠️ Keep Apart (0)
No antagonistic relationships recorded yet.
💊 Medicinal Uses
Contains cyanogenic glycosides (linamarin) in raw state – MUST be properly processed (peeled, soaked, cooked) to remove toxins. Rich in resistant starch (Type 4) beneficial for gut microbiome. Traditional Amazonian and African remedy for digestive issues, inflammation (poultice), and as a binding agent. Bitter varieties used medicinally after detoxification. Leaves contain protein but must be thoroughly cooked.
📝 Notes
Drought-tolerant staple for 800+ million people. Intercropped with legumes for nitrogen. Shallow-rooted so pairs well with deep-rooted pigeon peas. Note: must be properly processed to remove cyanogenic compounds.