GROWING SWEET POTATOES IN THE NORTH

[ducks4you]

My question is if a sweet potato casserole is a veggie or a dessert?

Mom's way of cooking them was to peel and slice them, then cook them on the stove top, covered, with water and some butter. She'd put sugar on them, so basically cooked and served in a syrup. She would stir them a couple of times so they did not burn.

Just baking them without peeling is a great way to eat them too, maybe with a bit of salt and pepper and a pat of butter.

depends on the time of day...

 

[heirloomgal]

Desert, if served with melted marshmallows on top - or eaten after the main course. DW will slice & steam a pot full, and snack on them cold for several days. Healthier than potato chips, and really kills the craving for junk food. She really likes the purple ones sold at the local Oriental market (as do I).

Those skinny long purple ones are so delicious.

 

[Zeedman]

There are some factors which make growing sweet potatoes in the North different from in the South. The heat levels, for instance. I know Sandhill Preservation Center (located in IA) lays down black plastic mulch to warm the soil, planting through it. They just lay the plastic, weigh down the edges and plant through it. They get good results this way.

I use plastic mulch, here in Oklahoma, but I have to lay drip irrigation on top of my hill and under the mulch. Then, during the growing season I have to deeply water each row of sweet potatoes (ovenight) once a week. With our heat, plastic mulched sweet potatoes will simply dry out and fail to yield anything unless watered, and that, from under the plastic. However, with the drip irrigation they absolutely thrive and produce like crazy during our 6-8 weeks of triple digit heat.

Here's a photo of last year's rows. The drip tape is under the plastic, which was, in turn under the organic mulch. I got a late start planting and by this time the heat under the bare plastic mulch would literally cook my slips as it chimneyed out the holes through which I planted the slips. In order to prevent this I had to mulch the plastic so the sun wouldn't heat it up so much.




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Good to see you here, @Macmex !

 

[catjac1975]

DD grew last year's slips...with a sweet potato in her vegetable bin!
I have my last year's harvest, about a dozen smallish and skinny sweet potatoes. My research has suggested that I should start them THIS WEEK, in soil.
As soon as the sweet peppers move on to pots on top of the fridge, the sweet potatoes will be able to occupy my 4 ft long and 8 inch deep plastic window box, with lots of rotted compost from the Last sweet potato outside potting, and I will let them grow their slips and vine down my growing shelving unit. They won't go out until June, but should do well with the window box on top of a heat mat and the gro light 4 inches above the pot.
Last winter I had to prune them bc they were vining Everywhere!

I always buy my slips. Being in the North I buy 100 day rated sweet potatoes. I always get huge potatoes. The grow day length goes to about 110. A big difference in your harvest. They like heat, and water. The store bought are grown in a hotter climate.

 

[catjac1975]

Sweets are related to morning glories? They do make lush beautiful greens. I have never seen a pest on them.

You can eat the greens?

 

[seedcorn]

I love them fried best.

Nematodes ruin mine.

 

[digitS']

You can eat the greens?

That question is directed, I'm sure, to @Zeedman .

However, yes - the greens are edible. I don't know if it is true with all sweet potatoes.

 

[ducks4you]

Thus the dilemma in the north--Should we, CAN we grow ANYTHING tropical that hasn't been manipulated for a 100 years, like the tomato?!?!?

 

[seedcorn]

Thus the dilemma in the north--Should we, CAN we grow ANYTHING tropical that hasn't been manipulated for a 100 years, like the tomato?!?!?

I’m done with them. Too cheap to just buy what I want from store when I want them. Plus they take up too much room in garden.

 

[catjac1975]

I’m done with them. Too cheap to just buy what I want from store when I want them. Plus they take up too much room in garden.

I am shocked seed corn. You don't want even 1 of your favorites to take a corner of the garden? Store bought are so terrible.