[Wanted] Cassava Butterstick / Butter Stick

Having tasted a local cassava and finding it unpalatable, I want to avoid growing just any variety for fear of wasting time and precious space on something I'm going to dislike. But cassava is a very useful and productive starch crop... I want to grow it! I would get over my moderate dislike of it if all cassava were the same, but I know there are better-tasting varieties out there, which further fuels my search for it. I was tempted to buy "Sweet Jamaican Red" on eBay, but besides not shipping to PR, I'm not sure if it's as good as they say.

I read David the Good's blog on his experiences with cassava, and he seems quite finicky about it... Like me! Apparently, out of the many varieties he's tasted, the only one he found tasty and free of even the slightest bitter aftertaste was "Butterstick" / "Butter Stick" (not sure about the spelling, someone correct me)... That one, and a red-leaved variety (¿Jamaican Red?), but Butter Stick was better.

•Edit: Blog post here: http://www.thesurvivalgardener.com/better-cassava-varieties/

I've asked my local Ag Research Station and have looked all over the net, NO ONE seems to have it! The lack of available information about it online would have me believe it doesn't exist.

¿Does anyone here have it or know where to obtain it? I'd like a few cuttings to grow what I hope is a great Cassava variety.

I also follow David and am hopeful to try some cassava here in 7b. We'll see how it goes! I did go ahead and buy some sweet Jamaican red.
Supposedly there are some varieties that will yield decently after just 6 months. I have been looking for some of those and butterstick as well.

If you find a butterstick supplier, let me know please! :)

It seems to be a variety getting passed around the Caribbean, not the states. We need an islander to send some in. Trying to get cassava inside the US is really a pain. I wish I could get some of the fast-growing red-leafed type I had, as they would give us roots in only 4-6 months, meaning you could grow them in zone 7.

David Good wrote:I wish I could get some of the fast-growing red-leafed type I had, as they would give us roots in only 4-6 months, meaning you could grow them in zone 7.

That would be excellent! My regular ebay and etsy searches have not yielded very much so far. I grew red jamacian cassava last year and am seeing how they handle my ~20f temperatures this winter. Hopefully the 5ft plants will survive and regrow (from roots) this spring!

Excellent, would be interesting to try these out! It sounds like these are around 9 months for maturity. Still keeping eyes out for ~<6 month varieties.

I am testing a few varieties here in Lower Alabama, zone 8b. One type is over 8' tall now. I did some exploratory digging a couple of days ago and was pleasantly surprised to find one already making roots that were 1" in diameter. By fall they should be at a harvestable size. I have no variety name, however. The type was sent to me by a reader. We'll see how they taste. I've had some that are watery and slightly bitter, and others that are sweet, starchy and nutty with a great flavor when roasted.

If you end up selling any of them I’d be interested in trying them in Oregon. The drought tolerance would be really useful here. I just don’t know if we have enough heat to ripen a crop.

I just received Butter Stick cassava from Tfarm in Florida (tfarm is his youtube channel) along with a supposed purple striped flesh variety, cuban white, thai green and PR #1 to test out here in my frostfree mediterranean climate.
How they grow and taste like I wont know till next year.

Anyone here tried the Shan’s yellow variety?

Tanja Eskildsen wrote:Tfarm in Florida (tfarm is his youtube channel)

Do you have a direct link by chance (or an alternative option to get ahold of them)? For some reason I can not find them on YT.

Tanja Eskildsen wrote:I just received Butter Stick cassava from Tfarm in Florida (tfarm is his youtube channel) along with a supposed purple striped flesh variety, cuban white, thai green and PR #1 to test out here in my frostfree mediterranean climate.
How they grow and taste like I wont know till next year.

Anyone here tried the Shan’s yellow variety?

Looks like TFarm channel no longer exists on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ZsodtXbwsY6L5jwvjzn9A/about

If you have another link would appreciate.    Thanks.

"Butterstick" cassava cutting

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126088297397?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3D68064ca03e904061ab57df6643dd21a8%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D126088297397%26itm%3D126088297397%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2351460&_trksid=p2351460.c100667.m2042

Here you go,  expensive, but there it is...