Hi people, I'm not an aroidy person, but I thought that you might like to see some photos of taro culture in the Azores. The Azores (Acores in Portuguese) are a group of Portuguese islands in the middle (more or less) of the Atlantic. They have a mild oceanic climate. Taro (Inhame in Portuguese) is grown quite widely on the islands and is often served in meals - sometimes as a replacement for potatoes. The small fields or gardens are often continuously irrigated. The islands are volcanic, and I think that the water running through this particular garden was geothermal and slightly warm. One of the photos shows watercress (Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum) being grown with the taro. Hope you enjoy the photos, Ciao BrianO
In Portugal, watercress is usually cooked as a soup not eaten in a salad. It is one way to avoid any potential problems from bugs and parasites in the water. Certainly it was being grown as a second crop in this garden, but this is quite rare. In most of the gardens/fields the taro is grown on its own. Ciao BrianO
