93/ Look everyone! I managed to keep a wasabi root alive outside all summer. (Two days with 100+F heat.) I hid it behind some trees with shade netting. The plant grew two leaves and they are really bug eaten (slugs or millipedes). I’m moving it into part-shade here to see if I can get more growth before winter. 

I don’t recommend this plant. It usually can’t tolerate temps above 80F. I keep it in soil that is 35% perlite and it needs lots of moisture but can’t sit in water. Pest magnet.

https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/111/167/216/995/618/202/original/7e1f055ac9d78425.jpeg 

 @adfbf87b my friend kept wasabi growing for many months in Northern California with a watering system he developed only to have the squirrels finally decide that they were a tasty temptation! A favorite stream on one of my hikes in the mountains of our town in Nagano has wasabi growing naturally in its upper parts. 

 @efeed78f fuzzy jerks! I have the same problem, that’s why mine is in a cage. 

Is it possible to harvest the wild wasabi? 

I’ve never actually had real wasabi root. Just stuff that comes in a tube that is 2% wasabi. 

 @adfbf87b yes, we’ve tried harvesting. The roots have good taste but are a bit too small and fibrous for use as grated wasabi. The leaves, stalks and flowers can be used in pickles, tempura, etc in the early spring before they mature and the bugs go after them. 

 @efeed78f thanks! This gives me ideas if I am able to keep it alive through the winter. ❤️ 

 @adfbf87b fresh wasabi is a charm after the stuff that comes in the tube. S&B makes a version in a tube that is not reconstituted and is 100% Japanese wasabi that you might be able to find at a decent Asian grocery in North America like H Mart. 

 @efeed78f thanks, I will look for it  :blobcatheart: