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Sweet potatoes |
Everyone ought to grow sweet potatoes. The most nutritious (per
unit eaten) of the vegetables we eat, they convert sunlight,
moisture and a few minerals into one of nature’s near perfect
foods. And what other plant can lose up to 70 percent of its
leaves with no effect on the yield?
Here’s how to grow them.
Go to the grocery store. Buy 8 to 10 nice sweet potatoes. Most of
what you’ll find will be “Beauregard,” a cultivar that
originated in Louisiana.
When you get them home, wash three of them and place them in an
unheated oven. Heat it to 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then
turn the temperature down to 375 for about 45 minutes or until
the sweet potatoes are soft.
Cook ’em, Taste ’em, Plant
’em
Take them out, cut them open and slather them with butter. If
they taste good, set aside the remaining unbaked potatoes for
making slips.
Let me explain.
Sweet potatoes aren’t just planted. They produce shoots called
“slips” that you plant to create the sweet potato vines, which
ultimately produce the sweet potatoes themselves.
To grow your slips, take the remaining five roots and find the
proximal and distal ends. That’s not as hard as it sounds.
A Botany Lesson
The proximal end actually produces the slips. It’s the narrow,
pointed end where the sweet potato was attached to the mother
plant.
The distal end is the growing point that produces the roots and
is usually a little larger. It’s sometimes called the bulbous
end. See? You can still get through a botany lesson.
Fill glass tumblers or glass jars one-half full with water. Put
the distal end of each sweet potato in the water and set each
glass in a sunny window. The water should come up and cover the
bottom third of the root (you may need to insert toothpicks in
the sweet potato, extending over the edge of the glass, to keep
the sweet potato at the proper depth).
Wait … Watch
Then wait. And watch.
In a few weeks, roots will begin to appear. And shortly after
that, little sprouts — the slips — will break forth from the
proximal end.
When the sprouts get 6 to 8 inches long, cut them from the sweet
potato. Cut just above the surface of the sweet potato, leaving
green stubs.
Put the slips in another glass of water. Leave the roots in
place, and more plants can be harvested in a few weeks. You can
add about 1/8 teaspoon of liquid fertilizer (per 8 oz) if you
wish to encourage growth, though this isn’t necessary.
How to Plant
Plant out the slips after the soil has warmed up. This will be
about mid-May in middle Georgia, earlier in south Georgia, later
in north Georgia.
Plant the slips 1 foot apart in rows spaced 3 feet apart, and let
them grow. Don’t plant sweet potatoes in soil that contains
significant organic matter, which encourages diseases of sweet
potatoes. Sandy or clay soils are best.
What other vegetables can you “taste test” before you grow them?
Don’t you wish it was that easy with tomatoes?
