THE most common root crop grown in The Bahamas is probably cassava  (Manihot esculenta). It features in native soups and stews as well as a base for sweet concoctions. Cassava comes in sweet and bitter versions, the bitter cassava giving us cassareep - the essential  (though somewhat poisonous) ingredient in pepperpot.

The starchy roots of cassava are very easily grown in poor or rich soil. A section of a root four to six inches long is planted at an angle  and the top covered by an inch of soil. The foliage grows to about six feet and it is said that if all the leaves are stripped off two weeks before harvesting, the roots will last longer before spoiling.

Eddoes (Cocolasia es ...

By Gardener Jack

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