In March 2013, daily tabloid La Teja featured a story about a farmer in Talamanca and the giant yuca (cassava, Manihot esculenta) he unearthed from his backyard. This tuber, which originated from a single stem transplant that grew into a sizable shrub, yielded 17 yucas weighing 09 kilograms. The keys to this massive harvest were: Patience and the ultra-fertile soil of Costa Rica, which means that you can also try your hand at giant tuber harvesting in your own home.

The article published by La Teja last year told the story of Rafael Braadbelth, a 65-year old farmer from Hone Creek in the Caribbean province of Limon, who wanted to see what would happen if he just left a yuca plant grow past the seven to eight months typically allowed before harvest season in Costa Rica. Based on his many years of agricultural experience, he thought he would harvest about 50 kilograms of yuca root after a year.

Mr. Braadbelth significantly underestimated his yuca plant, which he had been trimming. Armed with a machete and a shovel, he clipped the stem, which had grown into a healthy trunk, and started digging and digging. After almost an hour, he could not see the bottom of the root. He enlisted two neighbors to help dig, and after a couple of hours they realized that one of the tubers was actually taller than Mr. Braadbelth, so they brought in a small excavator.

Altogether, the unearthing took four hours. The largest yuca was about two meters long and had a circumference of 60 centimeters. Mr. Braadbelth split the bountiful harvest among many neighbors who enjoyed fried yuca chips, tapioca, cream soup, and bread for weeks.

The amazingly rich soil found in numerous parts of Costa Rica is part of this country’s many agricultural blessings. According to soil analysis studies performed by the Cloudbridge Nature Reserve near Mount Chirripo National Park, the ongoing reforestation efforts in Costa Rica are helping to maintain the richness of her soil.

If you would like to conduct an agricultural experiment like Mr. Braadbelth and grow big tubers in your backyard, simply find out the accepted harvest period of your desired crop. For example, we know that yuca takes eight months to harvest; potatoes are seasonal but usually harvested after plants wither, yams or sweet potatoes take about months.

The key is to wait for an additional quarter of the harvest period: for example, we know that yuca takes eight months to harvest, so waiting for two or three months longer may yield giant tubers thanks to the fertility of the soil in Costa Rica.