sweet potatoes info

[jojo54]

Here's a couple of articles on sweet potatoes for people who were asking questions about growing them. I found them interesting and informative. :rainbow-sun


from Canadian Gardening

http://www.canadiangardening.com/ga...gardening/learn-to-grow-a-sweet-potato/a/1264

Greg Wingate of Mapple Farm in New Brunswick has slips and other interesing and unusual plants but doesn't have a website. I contacted him through email: wingate@nbnet.nb.ca.
Certified organic sweet potato slips, Egyptian onions, Jerusalem and Chinese artichokes, chufa nuts, Indian tomatillo. Free catalogue with SASE, also available via e-mail.

from Mother Earth

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2007-04-01/The-Sweetest-Potato.aspx

from Grit enews

http://www.grit.com/A-Long-Time-Coming/Gardeners-Diary-Sweet-Potatoes-101.aspx

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Thanks for posting this. It reminds me that my husband wants to get into growing sweet potatoes at some point. I liked the information on growing slips. I may have to try this this year.

While I was at the Canadian Gardening website, I saw a recipe for parsnip soup that sounded good too!

 

[digitS']

It's fun thinking about growing sweet potatoes and I enjoyed reading thru the 3 articles, JoJo. (Even inspired to make some parsnip soup . . . .)

Johnny's has the Beauregard mentioned in the one article and a "White Yam" - both rated at 90 days by Johnny's. Albion Maine and most of New Brunswick are south of where I live but they just gotta have a shorter growing season than here - right?
I have some of those Asian purple-skinned types mentioned in Mother Earth News. The friend said that they are from Japan but I have no idea if I've got a long enuf growing season, tho'. Interesting that the guy in New Brunswick still sells Georgia Jets but says This was unheard of two decades ago! I'm thinking that he means that no one paid attention to sweet potatoes that far north then but, as I said in that other thread, Dad had Georgia Jets here about 25 years ago.

I'm not sure if that's the variety to go with for northern gardeners. I thought they did fine but Dad never grew them again.

Steve
edited to say: DW has cooked some Japanese and some sweet potatoes from the store. She came home with them and some marshmallows, yesterday. We'll do a taste-test.

 

[jojo54]

DW has cooked some Japanese and some sweet potatoes from the store. She came home with them and some marshmallows, yesterday. We'll do a taste-test.

Sounds like you do the mashed with marshmallows baked on top? I've never tried them that way. I've only BBQued or roasted them with other root vegs. (carrots, turnips,beets) I love them this way!

 

[Greensage45]

I am one of those rare souls who was never introduced to sweet potatoes enough to acquire a flavor for it. I remember something so sweet and caramelized that my teeth nearly screamed! LOL

My mom would fix Yams; she was raised in Boston, so I am not sure if this is why. I am not even sure if a Yam is a Sweet Potato, but if they were I was not too impressed. I did take to slicing them and frying them like french fries! It has been a long time.

According to this article, Yams and Sweet Potatoes are different plants entirely, but the availability of a true Yam may be in question. So likely what has been fixed under the guise of "Yam" was actually a sweet potato. Difference between Yam and SP

Perhaps now that I am all grown up and things aren't so 'alien' to me I might try one again. It is Thanksgiving around the bend and it should not be hard to locate one of these Ipomoea at the Grocery Store. I am just not a sweet and salty kind of guy. When I am diving into salty I don't mind sour, but not sweet. It is an odd taste I have acquired being nearer to the Border.

the lime part makes my mouth water

Ron

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting that the Georgia Jets are shown to be small to medium sized. When I grew them a year ago, my wife did not like them because they grew so large she had trouble slicing them. Might be a difference in my growing conditions and those further north.

I was not overly impressed with the White Yams that Digits mentioned. They grew OK and tasted fine, but they seem to have dark areas on the skin that doesn't look all that appetizing. Nothing wrong with them. It peels off, they taste fine, and they stored as well as the others, they just did not look as attractive as I thought they should. I did grow them twice and had the same thing both times.

I did not see O'Henry on that list of cultivars. This is another 90 to 100 day variety that I would recommend you try if you can get it. Different varieties have different properties and this one had a flavor and size that worked well for me.

I will mention that of all the things in my summer garden, deer seemed to like my sweet potato vines the best. I even cut a bar of Irish Spring into chunks and scattered it on the ground among my sweet potatoes and they revisited the patch two nights later, ignoring corn, beans and everything else.

 

[digitS']

I'm glad you responded to this, Ridgerunner. Nothing substitutes for experience.

I looked around a little for sweet potatoes and came up with George's Plant Farm. Since I've never grown sweet potatoes, I checked his business with the Garden Watchdog and there are 4 positive reviews over the last 12 months. I might even say - very positive. Also checked his website on the WayBackMachine and found that he's had it up since 2007.

This is what he advices for northern gardeners: "black plastic, cover bedded rows 2-3 weeks before plants arrive." Honestly, I'm not sure how much difference black plastic makes for warming the soil but that's what this guy from Tennessee, who must know his sweet potatoes, says.

George's prices are comparable with Johnny's for just a few but get quite a bit better by ordering more. You can even get more variety a good deal cheaper.

He has a dozen varieties including O'Henry.

Steve

 

[digitS']

DW has cooked some Japanese and some sweet potatoes from the store. She came home with them and some marshmallows, yesterday. We'll do a taste-test.

Sounds like you do the mashed with marshmallows baked on top? I've never tried them that way. I've only BBQued or roasted them with other root vegs. (carrots, turnips,beets) I love them this way!

Thanksgiving, we had a BIG baking dish full of sweet potatoes. And, I'll have some leftovers for lunch again today, they will go in the microwave just moments from now !

Before they went back in the oven with all the additions on Thanksgiving morning, I sampled the difference between the store-bought and the Japanese Purple (under the colorful skin they are about the same color as the ones from the store).

The Japanese are soooooo sweet. Yes, the sweet potato casserole was really a dessert, what with the addition of brown sugar and marshmallows !! And, 2 of our guests passed up the Buttercup Squash Pie. Ha! But, they did take a couple slices home.

Steve