The Sweet Potato Saga Part III

Things are getting wild, now! With the winter storm Uri behind us, we now have many days warm enough outside to set the potatoes out for some direct sunlight and fresh air. This is really helping them take off. Nothing beats the effects of nature. My rain barrels (that froze solid and miraculously didn’t explode) are thawed now so I’m able to refresh them using rainwater. I don’t know if it’s the UV light or the rainwater, but they aren’t getting nearly as molded now, almost not at all. But this brings me to my new cell phone alarm, notifying me to check nightly temps before I go to bed, because if anything is predicted under 60 degrees then they need the indoors!

Speaking of mold, I did find a few potatoes getting very mushy. They were turning more mushy than they were sprouting slips, so I tossed those in the compost.

And it’s a good thing we can warm them up outside because these slips are now too tall for the tray cover! Check them out!

And like a true crazy garden lady, I was wandering down the potato aisle in H-E-B and noticed purple sweet potatoes and thought… “What if….” So yes, I had to add them to the mix. And yes, this is their true color, no internet filters here…

While we’re on the topic of purple sweet potatoes, let’s take a moment to discuss the antioxidants in our food. Did you know there are different types of antioxidants that bring different benefits to our body’s health? That’s right! The orange found in sweet potatoes and other orange/yellow produce indicates high levels of beta-carotene, which of course converts into vitamin A through our digestion, which benefits your eyes and immune system. Foods that have a blue/purple color are high in anthocyanin, which boosts the immune system in a different way and reduces cancer risk. So, as they say, eat the rainbow!

And now that I’ve added the purple potatoes, I need to get creative on storage. So we’ve graduated to Tupperware. I think my husband is starting to notice something is up.

We want to wait until the slips are at least 6 inches before cutting them off. These are about ready. It’s almost as if there’s more coming to this story. ;-)

Check out these roots! Taking them out of the water every few days to freshen them up really allows you to appreciate how they grow. Nature is amazing, innit?

And there they are, happy as little peas in a pod…. or… potatoes by the window.

Until the next update….