🥕 Mashua
Tropaeolum tuberosum
vegetables perennial climbing vine (grown as annual for tubers)
☀️ Sun
full sun to partial shade
💧 Water
moderate
🗺️ Zones
7, 10
🪴 Soil Type
well-draining, tolerates poor soils
🧪 Soil pH
5.5-7.0
💧 Drainage
Well-drained
📏 Spacing
12-18 in. apart, 30-36 in. between rows (vine; trellis or ground)
📅 Days to Maturity
180-220 days (from planting tubers); harvest after first frost for reduced pungency
🍴 Edible Parts
🍽️ ["Boiled or roasted tubers🍽️ traditional Andean dishes🍽️ edible flowers and leaves in salads"]
🤝 Companions (5)
Mashua and oca are traditional Andean companions — mashua's natural pest-repellent compounds protect oca from nematodes and insects while both tuber at similar depths.
Mashua deters pests from ulluco with its natural insecticidal compounds; both are traditional Andean polyculture partners with complementary harvest times.
🤝 potatoes
Mashua repels nematodes and some potato pests, acting as a natural barrier crop; traditional Andean farmers interplant them for mutual protection.
🤝 corn (as support)
Corn provides trellising support for mashua's climbing vines; mashua repels corn pests with its pungent compounds — a beneficial New World pairing.
🤝 broad beans
Broad beans fix nitrogen that mashua's tuber development needs; mashua deters bean pests in return — a mutually beneficial intercropping pair.
⚠️ Keep Apart (1)
⚠️ plants easily smothered by vigorous vines
Growth inhibition or competition
💊 Medicinal Uses
Contains glucosinolates (isothiocyanates) with antimicrobial and potential anti-cancer properties. Traditional Andean medicine for kidney and liver ailments, urinary tract infections, and as a diuretic. Also used as an anaphrodisiac (reduces libido) traditionally fed to Inca soldiers. High in vitamin C and antioxidants.
📝 Notes
Vigorous nasturtium relative. Tubers have peppery flavor. Traditional Andean polyculture member. Natural pest repellent—contains compounds deterring nematodes and insects. Used as living trellis interplanting with corn.