A humble farmer in rural northern Colombia managed to grow a giant yucca the size of a small adult in his vegetable patch, with only the help of some organic fertilizer, water and a lotta love.
Two years ago Jose Bolaños Flores planted a tiny seed given to him by a friend, in the garden in his home on the Riohacha – Santa Marta road. Over time Bolaños cultivated that tiny seed into the behemoth it is today.
At 1.2 meters long, 60 centimeters thick , the XXXL root vegetable weighs in at 70 kilos.
Bolaños, a town councilor in Riohacha – the capital of the La Guajira department, says he believes the ginormous vegetable grew to the size it did because it was grown in “the promised land.”
“These are virgin lands, and that’s why they produce good crops. This yucca proves that in La Guajira, where there is so much hunger and malnutrition, a lot of food can be cultivated and produced,” Bolaños said.
Bolaños decided to harvest his monunmental root last March 6. With the help of his in-laws, he dug a trench three meters wide and 1.5 meters deep in order to excavate the mammoth vegetable.
As of last Saturday Bolaños placed the yucca at the entrance to his mechanics workshop, where it has been drawing a crowd ever since.
Agriculture expert Jorge Cotes Curvelo reckons the yucca’s size is due to favorable soil conditions and the time permitted to let it grow. Cotes said yuccas are usually given seven to twelve months under the soil, and are usually between 30 to 50 centimeters long and ten centimeters thick
Bolaños says he plans to donate the giant yucca to the local State welfare agency, to be made into smorgasbord of yucca based delicacies for the local population.