How to grow Tiger nut

Cyperus esculentus · chufa, earth almond, yellow nutsedge

Tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus) — tiger nut, or chufa, is a grass-like sedge grown for its small, sweet underground tubers with a nutty flavour. They are eaten raw after soaking, roasted, or ground for the Spanish drink horchata de chufa. The cultivated form rarely flowers and keeps its tubers close under the plant, while the wild form, yellow nutsedge, is a stubborn weed. Tiger nut is not frost-hardy, so it is planted after the last frost and dug in autumn.

Checked against sources: October 3, 2026

Quick facts

Type	Vegetable
Family	Cyperaceae
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	5–7.5
Frost	does not tolerate frost
Soil for sowing	from 16 °C
Germination	10 days
Sowing to harvest	110 days
Where it grows	Greenhouse, Open ground

When to plant

Sow straight into the bed after your last spring frost, once the soil has warmed.

In an unheated greenhouse everything moves about three weeks earlier.

The first harvest comes about 110 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Greenhouse

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 3 days	—	nitrogen, 21 days into the stage
Harvest	—	—	—

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 5 days	—	nitrogen, 21 days into the stage
Harvest	—	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Needs full sun; it does not grow in shade.

Soil

Light, moist sandy or loamy soil, slightly acidic to neutral, about pH 5–7.5. It also grows in clay, but there the tubers are hard to dig out and may form far from the plant.

Care

Soak dry tubers in lukewarm water (about 21 °C) until they swell, then plant them 2.5–7.5 cm deep once the soil has warmed to 16 °C and frosts are over; shoots appear in one to two weeks. In a cool climate you can start them in large tubs in a greenhouse and move the tubs outside as it warms up. Keep the soil moist all summer — tiger nut is not drought-tolerant and goes dormant if the soil stays dry. Side-dress with nitrogen when the plants are 20–30 cm tall; feed tubs with a seaweed feed. The tubers mature in about 90–110 frost-free days. Dig them in autumn, when the foliage dies back or after the first frost, then wash and dry them; dried tubers keep well and are softened by soaking before eating. Store the tubers for next year's planting in a cool, frost-free place and protect them from mice. Wild yellow nutsedge is listed as a noxious weed in several US states, so check local rules and do not let the plants spread.

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.