SWEETIES UNDER STRAW/LEAVES #1
Ok, ya'll. It's about time to plant SWEETIES, as we begin shifting gears from our Idaho spuds.
This thread will begin the SWEET POTATO discussion.
This message was edited Apr 27, 2010 5:04 PM
SWEETIES UNDER STRAW/LEAVES #1
I like Kelly's idea of using a single store-bought (organically grown?) sweet potato to grow slips. Then again, I might want to try a purple variety or something. I will have to see what's in stock at Lowe's and the Houston Garden Center before looking online.
Also, another possible reason to buy sweet potato seeds would be to find a cultivar that matures < 4 months. Still leaning towards not buying slips...
I have 2 varieties sprouting. One is a red and the other is a purple Korean type. Both from the grocery store. I've never grown them before so it will be an adventure.
John I just bought Texas grown yams @ whole foods market. I did ask for sweet potatoes... Looked for ones With "eyes".
Kelley which end is up on the sweetie?
I thought sweet potatoes grew on a vine.
My 94-year-old Aunt Beatrix told me to cut up my sweeties, put em in a container, cover em with water, put the lid on, and sit em outside in the sun to get em rooted in a hurry. Check em every day so they don't rot....
Cause 'thas how Grampaw did it....
So, I'm gonna.
Thas' her method, and I'm sticking to it!
Linda
I've got 50 plants on order from Steele Plant Co. at Gleason Tennessee. They are $21 for 50 which includes shipping. I like the O'Henry yellow best myself. My, I've tried about a dozen varieties.
I remember the folks carrying out a washtub of starts about 60 some years ago.
If sweeties are grown on top of the ground and covered by leaves or such instead of dirt, expect very, very long skinny dudes!
This message was edited Apr 27, 2010 8:59 PM
The sweet potatoe plant is a vine, but the potatoes are under the ground. People in most of the world eat the greens, too.
Yam is a whole nother thing, like an elephant ear, but again, the "fruit" is under the ground.
This message was edited Apr 27, 2010 8:17 PM
I know they spread out and need space. Do they start running from the starter slip and root where the nodes touch the soil? Do they need pinching to make them branch out in all directions? Would it work for me to mix in a bunch of oak leaves to try to keep the soil loose?
Linda, how are you going to grow your sweeties? I have a bunch of slips already rooted and ready to go. I just can't decide how to plant them or what density. BTW, if you want some to get a jump on things, I have some for ya!
LIFESAVER!
Melissa,
I have an empty 4x8 raised bed waiting for something to go in it. I was concerned because the bed is partially shaded, but I've been encouraged 2 go for it.
Today I bought 3 yams @ Whole Foods and cut them up per Aunt Beatrix's instruction.
Slips here... a pot of them rooted. I had a bunch of excellent sweet taters last fall/winter and saved one to start slips. They've been sprouting and I've been plucking them and rooting in soil.
Y'all educate me on the "how tos"???
twiggy- I bought this organic gardening book recently, and it said that the sweet potato vine will root at various nodes if you let it. So, one will need to exercise some judgement to ensure that the vines do not root at every possible node, otherwise the main crop will not develop fully. I'll double-check but I'm sure that's what I read.
Gymgirl- I'll have to stop by Whole Foods and see what's up. Thanks for the tip from your relatives. Can't argue with what the older generations have to say about gardening/ farming if it works, right?
Sweet potatoes in straw sounds great. I've been wanting to give sweet potatoes a try, but didn't think I had the space. Can someone direct me to some info on how to grow these in straw?
Jo-Ann
Cher,
There's a whole thread call Straw Bale Gardening. Everything you ever wanted to know.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/strawbale/all/
I Googled: "straw bale gardening dave's garden" and the link above appeared...
You can find ANY topic in Dave's garden through Google. Just put "Dave's Garden" behind whatever topic you're searching for...
I set my Vardeman slips last weekend. I hope they are okay, it got real cold here last night :(
This is the second year purchasing them from here:
http://www.newhopeseed.com/
The slips are very healthy looking and 12" long.
I have some Vardeman sweets left from my crop last year that are sprouting in my kitchen. If the ones I purchased succumb to the cold, they'll have to act as a back-up.
I need to do mine in containers. I am thinking a rubbermaid tub, but can't decide what mixture to put in it. Any suggestions? I don't want to spend s ton of $$$ on potting soil. I do have some very well aged horse manure, a little potting soil and some straw.
pod - I start my slips the same way;o)
linda - either way is up - doesn't really make much difference. The slips will sprout all over the tater.
For those of you asking about spacing, I plant one slip/sq ft. The vines will grow all over like wildfire and they will root and thus grow more taters wherever they touch the ground so beware of that. Make sure you give the vines lotsa room. You can grow them vertically on a trellis if need be as the taters grow under the ground, not on the vine. They also like warm temps to grow, so if you have a short warm season it may be to your benefit to find cultivars that will grow in the season you have. Maybe locally grown from a farmer's market?
I have two store bought sweet potatoes in glasses. Took about 2 weeks for them to start sprouting, but now I am getting some vines. We have to do this in CA since it is a pain to buy any slips from out of state.
The last time I grew them they did grow wild. Yet, not wild enough that they took over. There growth habit is similiar to their relative the morning glory. The leaves are edible. This is the primary reason I grow them. There are few greens that can last our summer.
Linda, Thanks so much for the link. And the info on how to search for a topic in Dave's garden through Google. This will make it so much easier for me to search through the forums.
Jo-Ann
I ordered Georgia Jets to plant this year and I'm going to try them in a cut off barrel planting around holes in the sides and on top like a strawberry jar in a mixture of straw and Promix. That's how I've done my potatoes successfully, no soil, just straw,compost, and some Promix. The one difference is I plan to set the drum for sweet potatoes up on a section of log about 20"s or so high to allow the vines to hang and keep them (hopefully) out of reach of the "wascally wabbits". My wife has a thread on starting ornamental sweet potatoes which is pretty much the same thing. Ric
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1078114/
Here's a shot of my potato containers.
HollyAnn - I'm sure the camouflage will fool those "wascally wabbits" (giggle)
I just planted all of my rooted slips in their homes yesterday since their roots were about to outgrow the pots they were started in. The original sweetie is still producing more slips. I am super excited. It was getting dark when I finished yesterday, so no photo, but they are looking good.
There is definitely new growth on my sweet potoato vines - I can quit worrying about them now :)
Melissa, I need some of your sweetie slips!
I ordered Vardamans and Sweet Georgie Jets but they haven't arrived yet...and I'll still need to root them I think...
Keep rooting your sweetie, please and lmk if/when I can come pick some up!
Linda
No prob. Next weekend would be great. 5 of them should be ready. I rooted two on Sunday and there are three or four on the sweetie itself. I'm just waiting on them to get bigger. Then they are all yours
Oh, and a picture.
Linda - it's not necessary to root them. They will root in the dirt when you plant them. I sometimes root mine and sometimes don't. Depends on my mood - lol. I have not noticed a difference in the ones I rooted first and the ones I just snapped off and planted in the dirt. They produce about the same in the same amount of time...
Ok. Thanks you guys!
Thanks Loca. It wasn't any more time or trouble to plop them into starter pots with potting soil since the whole kit and caboodle went into the planters anyway. I didn't have them ready yet either so it bought me some time to root them first.
I got got some SP from gurney's. I would like to do them with straw, they have tops on them already, so do cover them entirely with straw and how much, so i guess that they come up through the straw right.
All this info about straw is very interesting. Approximately, how much is a bale of straw, and where would I buy it? Is a bale heavy?
Bales are usually about $8.50 with tax at my local farm store. You probably will get it cheaper were you are. Everything is inflated in CA. A bale is about 3x2x4. They are not so heavy as awkward. Its best to have two people or a good wheelbarrow to move it around. Most places load for you, so it shouldn't be too big of a problem.
They are very compacted. It may not seem like it but there is a lot of straw in a bale. One is enough to cover a 300 sq ft garden about 4" deep.
I never grew sweet potatoes before but am thinking about doing just that. Curious question, about how many potatoes from each plant? My grandaughter has started loving sweet potatoes so that is just that much more incentive to grow some. But we are the only two in the family so I would not want to grow to many. Thanks
I think it totally depends on the variety and growing conditions. Last year I had to harvest mine earlier than I wanted because I needed the bed space. I would say each plant had 4-5 good sized potatoes. There were also many many more small ones starting to develop so had I been able to let them go I think it would have been several more per plant. Don't worry about having too many since you can cure them and store them for quite a while under the right conditions.
I think it's kind of late, but I'm just getting started with trying to grow slips. This thread gave me the inspiration.However, the LA extension service says sweet potatoes can be planted until July 1.
I started with 2 large jewel sweeties I got at whole food market. I did one with Linda's Grandmother's method. My Hubby was watching me & he chimed in that his father, who was a farmer, would cut his potatoes into chunks, with at least one eye in each piece. So I cut the 2nd potato up this way. After I had cut it up, I asked him, now what did your Dad do with the chunks? Then he tells me that he really didn't remember what he did with the chunks, but he did cut them up!! Thanks, darlin'. So, in an extra large tub, I planted the chunks. Some went under ground about an inch, some went down about 2", and some I left the very top exposed. Since there were about 20 pieces, and the tub is only about 18" x 30", even if only one method grows, I'll have plenty enough slips.
So wish me luck!!
Thanks, dlbailey. I'll have to find a farm store around here, although that might be hard to do in the city. Perhaps Loews or Home Depot carries straw?
Just make sure it's straw and not HAY -- otherwise, you'll be picking seeds forever!