I got this interesting post from Yami No Matsuei’s Hangout

This is a picture of a Colocasia esculenta i took at our backyard. It grew so big that i have to cut it down and feast on its edible part, its root! We call it “gabi” in our native language and it is hig in carbohydrates. It is an ingredient in what is popularly known here in the Philippines as “nilaga”.

This plant stayed in our backyard for almost 5 months already so it grew this big. As you can see, the place where it is planted is composed of dried leaves and the like. This caused an increase in the Organic Matter content of the soil, thus favoring the growth of the gabi.

Since high Organic Matter in the soil can promote favorable growth for plants, this is likely to happen. Without any addition of inorganic or commercial fertilizers, this plant was able to grow this big. If we are to look at it, it is really possible to grow healthy plants without the addition of inorganic fertilizer.