How to Grow Taro

October 03, 2025

From Bulb to Table: The Story of Taro

Origins: Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops, believed to have been domesticated over 9,000 years ago in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. It spread widely across Polynesia, India, China, and Africa, becoming a staple root in many traditional cuisines and cultures. Known for its large heart-shaped leaves and starchy corms (underground tubers), taro has played a vital role in food security and cultural identity throughout history.

Propagation: Taro is typically propagated vegetatively, not from seed. Farmers and gardeners use “huli” (the top of the corm with a short leaf stalk) or small corm pieces with growing buds. These are planted directly into moist soil or shallow water. In tropical and subtropical climates, it thrives year-round, but it requires warmth and consistent water to establish.

Growing Tips:

• Water: Taro loves wet feet! It can be grown in flooded paddies like rice, but will also do well in consistently damp garden beds.
• Soil: Rich, loamy soil high in organic matter is best. Adding compost regularly encourages healthy corm development.
• Light: Prefers partial shade to full sun, though strong tropical sun may scorch young plants.
• Spacing: Allow around 60–90 cm between plants for large corms.
• Harvest: Depending on variety, corms mature in 7–12 months. Leaves can also be harvested for cooking once plants are well established.

Uses in a Permaculture System: Taro is a brilliant permaculture ally. Its large leaves provide shade and act as living mulch, helping to suppress weeds and retain soil moisture. It fits perfectly into food forests in the understory layer, where it thrives in the filtered light. In wet zones, taro can stabilize soil along dams, swales, or greywater channels. Since multiple parts of the plant are edible, it offers high yields and nutrient diversity in a relatively small footprint.

Culinary Uses: Taro is beloved across the globe for its earthy, nutty flavor and versatility:

• Corms: Cooked by boiling, steaming, roasting, or frying. They’re the base for traditional dishes like Hawaiian poi, Pacific Island curries, and taro chips.
• Leaves: When properly cooked (boiled to remove calcium oxalate crystals), they become tender and spinach-like. Famous in dishes such as Laing in the Philippines or Lu’au in Polynesia.
• Starch: Taro flour and starch are used in gluten-free baking and desserts, from taro cakes to bubble tea.

Note: Always cook taro thoroughly before eating—raw taro can be irritating to the mouth and throat due to natural oxalates.

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