Ornamental Sweet Potatoes

Hey; thanks guys, for this recipe, I just printed it out and saved it too. When I had so many plants and they were all infected, I took them to the kitchen sink. Sprayed them with a weak mix of Dawn dish detergent and warm water. Then rinsed them off with the sprayer nozzle It was a little harsh on the smaller plants but they all survived. And away went the bugs down the drain.
Russ

My jug of Neem states that it is Not for medicinal purposes and do not take internally. Probably don't want people just drinking it but people in India use it for all kinds of medical reasons.
http://www.neemfoundation.org/neem-articles/using-neem/tips-on-using-neem.html

Holly - that is really surprising. Something tells me though that I don't want it in my eyes.........

I think Holly was pointing out that it won't hurt your cat. I think we would be amazed at the products that we would NEVER take internally but they originally, and probably still are in some areas, were used for many medicinal uses that required oral treatments.

I think it is like anything, if you are uncomfortable with it, don't use it.

Jeanette

Hi all, I am hoping that someone here has some Ornamental Sweet potatoes that they could share? I want to grow my own, just love the looks of the different colors and there are so many to choose from. I tryed to root some from store bought sweet potatoes, as you all know that didnt work.. I don't have much this time of year to trade but can do next month when the snow clears..

Paula

I was just telling someone else that I wished someone would do a coop on ornamental sweet potatoes. Anyone interested???

Jeanette

Yes... Yes... Me I am interested!!! I can't even find a place to purchase them

WalMart sells them here in June for $2. Nice plants in 4" pots. But that is soooooooo late. I want my stuff all planted and growing by then.

Jeanette

Polyacre & Jeanette; I have some Blackies sprouting, I have another but don't remember for sure, I think Sweet Caroline.
I will only have a few. Not sure how many I can get going. I can let you know later.

Russ

I don't have any potatoes to spare this year. That dang ground hog did a pretty good job on demolishing most of my SP plants last spring both the ornamental and the ones I got from Russ, for eating. I am getting some starters from what I do have, but I am hosting a swap at my house and don't expect to have more than I can use this year. Not even sure I will have much to hand out at the swap. Last year I had so many more. As far as a Co-op I think your best bet would be to pick up a few plants, usually they sell them with the annuals at most of the big box stores. Then just remember to pull the potatoes next fall and overwinter them for next year.
Russ, Ric and I were down south a couple of weeks ago and had the best SP dish. Whipped with butter rum and cinnamon. Yummy

Buter Rum, good w?cinnamon even better. I still like some fresh ginger cinnamon and butter. Cover the pan and bake till tender, and yup mash or just leave them in quarters and stir them up a bit. A meal in it's self. I'll have to try the butter rum. Thanks.
BTW yours have a head start over mine. I'm just now trying to force mine some. I put them in a planting flat with the clear dome, w/ bottom heat and a damp paper towel. Have to watch pretty close though.
Russ

I lost all the ones I had to spider mite. Have any of you had that problem? Little buggers, I didn't even realize they were there 'till it was too late.

Jeanette

Yes, I'm fighting that battle, too. I just can not seem to get rid of all of them. I treated with neem oil and then just 2 days ago systemic spray. Keeping knocking those mites down but just can't seem to get rid of them entirely. This just hasn't been my year for producing OSP, first that dang GH and then the spider mites. This one is a bit odd looking, you never know what will be a good producer of starters and this long skinny root is putting out a nice set of starters.

Holly, I just wanted to thank you for all this new information. I knew about saving the tubers, but I just pot them up every March ... which I forgot to do this spring. The tubers increase by 2 or 3 each year, they kind of break apart. I like your way of propagating better. :o)
I did go out and buy 2 blackies, couldn't do without them. But I will experiment with your ideas next Feb/March ... writing it down in my Garden book right now.

I planted by blackies with Diamond Frost, Amethest Heuchera, and pink petunias. I hope this combo ends up working.

Can you explain to me how to tag a thread or a post? I would love to come back to this thread and read through it again next Feb.
Thanks,
sharon

Holly, see how the leaves look bleached out? Some of them? That is the way mine started and the next thing I knew, the plant had succumbed to the mites. Dirty little devils, I just don't know the answer. I had pretty good luck a few years ago with the systemic in the rose 3 way on the brugs. But then I bought the straight systemic because I wanted to control the fertilizer myself and haven't had very good luck with it.

I do have a Margarita going pretty good. WalMart should be getting theirs in in a couple of weeks. Normally $2 for pretty good plants in the 4 incher pots.

They are 40 miles away so I can't just jump in the car and run over there at the drop of a hat. But, I do hope to get over there this week. So will see if they have them yet.

Jeanette

sharon, Good luck next fall with your OSP. Not sure about tagging the threads I just leave them in my watched thread and go there to look for them.
Jeanette, Yes, those nasty spider mites really gave me trouble this year. I have neemed them and used a systemic spray. But I can't seem to get them all. I probably just need to be a little more consistent with my neem spraying. I had put most of my house plants outside last summer and last winter was the worst case of spider mites I have ever had. I put a lot of them back out this summer again as they did so nicely out there, but this year I will be a bit more vigilant and hopefully I won't have the same issues again. I did get enough OSP cleaned up and saved for my boxes and maybe 15 or so plants to share at the swap yesterday. I hosted a DG Swap and we had such a good time. One of the DG Members brought me this OSP as a hostess gift. It's different than my Blackies I think it may be Ace of Spades? But I will look around and find out hopefully it will produce some nice potatoes for me to propagate next year.

Forgot the pic. LOL

Holly, Since I had some time this morning, I went searching Dave's for how to tag a page. Took a while, mostly distracted by other interesting subjects, but I finally found it. Each thread, post, picture has a small yellow envelope in the upper right hand corner. Click on it, put in your title for the tagged page, then save. You can find your tagged pages by going to 'My Tools', which it at the top of all your pages.

You have been TAGGED !

LOL,
sharon

That is a very pretty osp Holly. I had done of them last summer but lost it to SMs over the winter. They and brugs are magnets for SMs and aphids. At least with the aphids you can get rid of them with a hose in the summer but kind of hard to do in the winter.

Have you tried things like the ladybugs, lacewings, or praying mantis? I bought a praying mantis egg case several weeks ago but I don't think it has hatched yet. The weather has been too cold. Will be interesting.

I will try the tagging too Sharon. Thanks, Jeanette

Holly; That looks just like the Ace of Spades I had. I wasn't able to save it though as it just didn't produce any tubers. I didn't have it in full sun. ( My fault ).
I did like the blackies better though, so I wasn't worried much.
But now with our RU over, I think I will get some new ones, as I seem to have lost all of them.
Back to the drawing board.
Russ

Hey Russ, are you back from the RU? How was it? Did it wear you out? How long was the drive? Hope you had a good time.

Jeanette

Ric and I hosted our Mid-Atlantic Round Up yesterday. We had a wonderful time must have been 40 people and hundreds of plants.

The drive was only like an hour and a half. And we did have a great time. I did get worn out, I had to forgo the Friday night festivities. For some reason I wound up getting upset stomach and embarrassing myself. but everybody understood. So Barb and I went to the motel early. and I got some much needed rest. Sat, was much better.
We had a lot of fun. and we just couldn't help it, we brought back a bunch of plants that we didn't have before. Now we just have to figure out how to arrange them in the yard. So it looks sort of planed.
I think one of the things that affected me was the double vision. I didn't get a headache but that may have been cause I took a pain pill so I wouldn't get a bad headache. But I do notice straining to see better. We both took a nap after getting home, I got around 2 hrs, then got up and started unloading plants from the pickup. I still have some things to unload but I am going to wait for a little help. Besides I don't really have a place ready to setup this newer computer yet.
I also think I will be going to bed early tonight.
Russ

Glad you had a good time. Your vision and headaches will work themselves out. I started to say "would get better", but didn't think that would sound good on the headaches. Take it easy, as long as the plants are in the shade and not enclosed in anything they will be fine.

Jeanette

Hi everyone, I just noticed this thread and saw Holly was showing off her new Ace of Spades. I had overwintered the mother plant in the same pot (window box) I had it growing in, this spring I trimmed it up and started the cuttings with rooting hormone and moist potting mix. The mother plant is still growing in the window box and is now outside on the deck railing. I don't know if it has grown a tuber as I don't want to go poking around in a perfectly good looking combo window box.
Note: my other OSP in the basement was hit by SM and I also had an bloom of fungus gnats. They have struggled all winter. I did manage to pull a few through to start fresh this growing season.
Hopeing for a better year.

LadyG, My Ace of Spades is doing just great. I planted it in my deck box and it has weathered all these nasty storms we have been having. As it grows I will take a few cuttings and next fall when I pull it out of the deck box we will see if there are any potatoes to be had.

I wasn't going to say anything but wanted to say hi.
I didn't fare so well. I lost, all my OSPs this last winter. What few tubers looked like they could sprout, only rotted. Then I tried to buy a couple. but all they had were those in a hanging basket with other flowers. I guess I will just be happy with regular sweet potatoes this year. It is a little late to try find any and get them to grow now. Oh they would grow but not produce any potatoes.
I will just have to try next year.

Wishing you Good luck on yours.
Russ

Russ, It seems that it has been a bad year for all of us. Keep your eyes open maybe a friend or neighbor has some that you could get a few cuttings from or even check for potatoes in the fall. I remember someone getting starter potatoes when she had asked a local restaurant if she could go thru their patio boxes when they took them down for the winter.

Holly, she is really looking good.
I wonder if all the SM and other buggies had the instinct that it was going to be a bad winter and moved indoors.
Can't come up with the rotting problem. Hummmm

I thought about checking with a town 10 miles north of here last fall as they had big cement tiles / planters, with assorted plants and of course an OSP in each of them. However the plants were pulled in the fall before I got around to check.
I have to admit I was tempted to take a cutting. But I just couldn't do it. Even though the vines trailed all the way down to the side walk. lol
They don't have any flowers this year.
Russ

Russ that reminds me of a couple of years ago I had some trailing nasturtiums seeds in my pocket when we stopped at the post office to get the mail. I got out of the car and stuck one of the seeds in with the rest of the plants. Several weeks later I was sitting in the car and a young man about 15 or so years old was walking by and he saw the nasturtiums blooming, leaned down and picked one of the flowers. I was so pleased to see that he appreciated them, maybe to take to his mom or girlfriend.

Yes, they were trailing clear down the sidewalk to the side of the building several feet away.

Jeanette

This message was edited May 31, 2009 3:49 PM

Jeanette; just last year I planted three regular sweet potatoes in the half whiskey barrel in front of our little coffee shop. it had been planted by our local garden club. Only one member complained about it but everyone else thought it looked better than the rest of the pots. The SPs stayed; end of story. lol
I have several regular sweet potatoes left, I may just do it again. heh heh heh
Russ

Are you feeling like Johnny Appleseed Russ? LOL, me too.

Jeanette

Jeanette; I guess I should just say, I was just being funny.
Gary liked the SPs there and that was part of the reasoning behind it.
But it did get a few more people interested in Sweet potatoes..
I was out a while this morning pulling weeds from the beets, while watering my sweet potato patch. We aren't getting enough rain to give anything a good start. Last year we had a hard time to get stuff in because of the rain and cold spring.
Oh well resting now, don't want to over do and upset my better half.

Better listen to her Russ!! Jeanette

Boy Russ, we have had nothing but rain. Can't hardly get into the garden to work as everything is constantly wet. We get 2 or 3 days of dry and then torrential downpours for days. Once it stops you have to rush around and try to do everything before it starts again. Ric has been mowing and bagging the yard with the push mower as the grass is growing so fast and the ground is so wet that he doesn't want to use the riding mower.

Gotta say, after it has been so cold here it finally the last couple weeks of May turned nice. Mid 70s to mid 80s. Just right. Finally got past our worry of frost. I think. Just got tomatoes planted. Some already have little toms on them. So, hopefully they aren't too far behind.

I bought a Blackie SP but the price is up to $3 for a 4 inch pot this year. I haven't seen Walmart's. Not sure if they have them in.

Jeanette

Jeanette; earlier I saw some at Lowes. They were $4.96 for the 4" pot.
Wal-Mart didn't seem to have any, whenever I was in town.
Even at nearly $5.00, they didn't last very long. I guess that can be an indication as to what they will charge next year.
I will do everything I can, to get and save some tubers, for next year!!!
Russ

In our area they can go anywhere from $3 to $6 in a 4 inch pot. I just don't understand why something that easy to propagate cost that much to buy. I too am hoping for a more productive year.

Holly; thank you so much, The OSPs came today. We were just coming back from down town and I saw the mail carrier coming down the hill.
So I met her at the mail box an she said is this what you were waiting for.
LOL
I got those little gems unwrapped and checked out. They are looking great.
It is so dry here, I am wondering if I shouldn't put them in a small pot first. That is at least until we get a decent rain.
I have two big livestock mineral tubs to plant them in but I still am camouflaging them. Just trying to make them look fancier. :>)
I would like them to be on the patio, where they can get all the attention I can give them. Many thanks"again"
Russ