Is anybody growing Ipomoea batatas aka sweet potato and yam in these northern climes? I'm thinking specifically of the orange sweet/moist variant, for food use. I know it's way outside it's normal range, but what else is new? Perhaps with inside starts and row covers or greenhouse? Ralph
I would be interested, but I can never find the seed sprouts. Last year my wife grew a 'flowering' sweet potato, and when emptying the pot there were two large tubulars. We cooked them and they were excellent, but they were white not orange or yellow. They tasted exactly like the store bought common orange variety. I made a half hearted effort to sprout the store bought sweet potatoes last year, but all they did was rot.
I know that the thread is about a year old, but I just wanted to comment that you'll be interested to read tomorrow's Photo of the Day on sweet potato trials at UBC Farm.
Howdy Durgan, This is how I managed to sprout store bought tubers. The process is long and I don't know if it's a bit late for your area. Tubers in the major grocery chains are too big. I find small tubers in Oriental grocery. I placed the tuber in a plastic bag together with a ripening banana. Check every other day as water condensation can be high, and to replace rotting banana. The ethylene gas helps to offset or neutralize the sprout inhibitor sprayed on the tubers. It took more than a month before I got any sprouts showing. Although I got very good growth and lots of tubers (around 20/per bush) quite a few over a foot long, but none were thicker than the size of my thumb - most were just as thick as my index finger. I'm not sure why. I did tried eating them. What can I say. They had to be good, right, since I grew them. There is a seed company in Eastern Canada that specializes in supplying sweet potato slips. But I cannot remember the company's name. Dominion Seeds do carry two varieties. Peace Thean
K Baron, which "photo of the day" are you referring to in your last post? I noticed that you live in the Metro Vancouver area (me too!)... do you know where I can purchase such sweet potato tubers?
Mollee Oh soo long ago, It must be on the March 14th date? I used a grocer's produce sweet potatoes for this purpose, but now it is too late in the season to start them here.....