The Sweet Potato Saga Part I
The sweet potato does well in our hot climate. Or so I’m told. I’ve never actually grown one. I scratched “potatoes” off my list years ago when deciding what to grow in my own kitchen gardens for a couple of reasons. For one, when considering the garden-space-they-take-up-to-cost-to-buy-in-the-store ratio, it didn’t seem worth it. Secondly, I just never got around to it. Seeds are not readily available and buying slips at the nursery is something you have to plan on - they aren’t available at many stores and not for very long. (More on “slips” later.) So this year, in my 9th spring as a gardener, I’ve decided to take the plunge. This is that story (with growing tips and learnings sprinkled in).
First off, a little plant knowledge to start us off. Not all potatoes are the same. White potatoes are in a completely different plant family than sweet potatoes. Also, sweet potatoes are not “yams,” though we often use those names interchangeably. White potatoes are in the solinaceae or nightshade family. This family also includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Nightshades in your diet can have an inflammatory effect and many people with autoimmune disorders, inflammatory diseases or other inflammation problems being managed by a healthcare provider will often reduce or completely cut out nightshades from their diet. Yet another reason French fries aren’t very healthy. Sweet potatoes on the other hand are in another family entirely. They are related to morning glories. They propagate differently, grow differently, and have different companion plants. This was intriguing to me and so, what the heck, this is the year.
Sweet potatoes grow from slips, which are sprouts that grow up from the eye of an existing potato. If someone were to grow white potatoes, they could bury an entire potato, or half or quarter of one into the soil. Scientifically speaking, the white potato acts as a “seed,” while a sweet potato acts as a root, or tuber. While some people may claim they also plant sweet potatoes this way, directly into the soil, it’s not the best approach. The best approach is to first sprout the slips, then cut the slips from the mother sweet potato, let the slips grow roots, then place the rooted sweet potato slips into the soil. Another difference between the two plants is the sweet potato’s need to climb, much like the nature of other morning glory vines. White potatoes grow more like a bush.
Did I mention potatoes like the heat? Even though our warm season begins mid-to-late March or so, potatoes are not happy in anything under about 60 degrees, so they shouldn’t be planted outside until May. This is where the math comes in. Planning backwards, this process takes a while. If you want slips planted in May, you should be starting this process at the end of winter. We started by cutting the potatoes in January. Potato slips planted in May will produce new potatoes 90-100 days or so later. So yes, you read that right. Cut potatoes in January for a harvest somewhere around August or September. That is a long time to wait for most home gardeners (and the reason I have never done this crop). But when it comes to the super hot hot season we have, there is a very short list of culinary crops that are happy during it, and these are one of them. So this is the year for us.
Here’s how it went….
The first thing we did was cut the sweet potatoes. Now, there is varying theories on this, but I was going for maximum production and the set up I have (small jars) I thought would work better with halves. You can and should certainly try this with both cut potatoes and whole if you wish.
The next thing we did was prepare the taters to be suspended into water with toothpicks. Then I noticed these bad boys were way too thick to fit into my jars, so I ended up slicing the sides a bit more so they fit. Of course, every time you do this you lose a place the slips will grow out (the eyes), so that’s one downside.
The next step is to place them in the jars. Here goes nothin’! And we wait….
And there you have it. Part I complete!
