Topic: Sweet Potato Offer KG

[Jesse]

Is anyone taking the offer in Kitchen Garden for sweet potato slips? I am really pleased to read that the tubers are the white fleshed ones, much tastier than the orange ones that taste too much like pumpkin for me. Also have noticed that the offer says 10 for £9.99 but the ordering box says £10.99  ???

[Bloody Ploughman]

Hi Jesseveve

I haven't recieved my copy of KG yet (didn't realise that my subscription had expired, doh!)  anyway I'll be very interested in the offer, my concern is that we are in Perthshire and I tried the orange slips when we lived in Kendal and it was a total disaster so a bit of investigation is required me thinks.  Have you grown sweet potatoes before? If so was it successful and where in the UK are you?

Have you tried mashed sweet potato with Chilli con Carne instead of rice, mmmmmmmm

Bloody Ploughman

[Jesse]

No, I haven't grown them before but would really like to because I love sweet potato, the orange ones are okay but I particularly like the white/cream ones which don't seem to be available in supermarkets here.

here is a link with some information I found about growing them, it's US based but has given me an idea of how to grow and cure them. http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/parish/calcasieu/calhort/sweet_potatoe.htm

I was planning to grow them in a raised mound of soil covered with a mini polytunnel to give extra warmth. I'm in the South (Sussex) so not sure if you may be too far north. But I did read (maybe on the site i've linked above or somewhere else, can't remember now) that you can grow them in a plastic bag (I guess like a grow bag) in a greenhouse, that way you can extend the season a little but with my polytunnel idea I'm hoping that will extend the season a couple of weeks for me.

[wardy]

I'm going to try that sweet potato mash with chilli.  Sounds luvverly  ;D

[TULIP-23]

Going to try Yams [ Sweet Potatoes] this weekend

Any recommendations for Meat and veggies welcome!!

[dannylewis]

Hi There

Where can i prder the kitchen garden magazine coz i got a booklet last yr and i havent recieved one this year and i would like one to browse through.

Thanks Dannylewis

[Jesse]

I usually have a sweet potato wrapped in foil and baked in the coals of a fire, when cooked through cut open, add a thingy of butter, some black pepper and a little salt. Lovely with a crispy green salad and steak, chop or ribs.

Or use diced added to stews and casseroles or grated added to soup. Or as mash instead of rice with a curry, or as Bloody Ploughman suggested with chilli con carne - sounds tasty must try that.

[wardy]

Did the sweet potato mash for tea tonight - very good it was too  ;D  I had it with stuffed flat mushrooms

[Mothy]

I just love sweet potato  ;D
We use it mashed on top of shepherd's pie and also roast in olive oil with bits of all sorts of veg....luverly!!

[piers]

Instead of spending £10 on the slips, why not just make your own. Cut the sweet pot in half, submerge the bottom of each section in a jam jar and wait for the slips! When they're a good size, cut them off then submerge the slips themselves in the water and you'll get roots. Works a treat!

[Jesse]

I am trying that method...but, they are taking forever to produce slips and I read somewhere else that because the shop bought potatoes are treaded with growth inhibitors (to stop them sprouting in storage) they take a long time to produce slips, sometimes up to six months. This year I'm too late to wait that long, mine have been submereged in damp vermiculite for about 6 weeks now and no sign of slips yet. If I am successful growing the bought potatoes this year then I'll save some tubers and produce my own slips next year. I also want to make sure I have a variety that is quick maturing (essential for the UK climate) and I particularly like the white flesh potato rather than the yellow ones. Have you tried growing them Piers?

[piers]

Yes, I heard that too about growth inhibitors. That's why you've got to go organic! (I'm passionate about organic) I bought a sweet potato from my local health food store and got the beginnings of slips within a matter of days. I'm following the instructions from 'The Vegetable Gardeners Bible' by a Vermont gardener called Edward C Smith. And he recommends starting the process 30-40 days before the last frost. So given that Vermont's quite a bit colder than here I reckon you've got time still. I take your point about a quick maturing variety being important. As far as I know they take 3-4 months to mature so I'm treating them the same as squash and hoping I'll reap the rewards before the first autumn frost!

[wardy]

Interesting stuff  :)  They're so delicious and healthy (and expensive in the shops) that it's worth the trouble trying to grow them.  From what I've read here I'm encouraged to have a go.   I think they are on the list of superfoods  :)

[wardy]

Made sweet potato chips for tea tonight  :)   With cod steaks which I'd made in a crispy crumb which I'd invented

[yulchikita]

Instead of spending £10 on the slips, why not just make your own. Cut the sweet pot in half, submerge the bottom of each section in a jam jar and wait for the slips! When they're a good size, cut them off then submerge the slips themselves in the water and you'll get roots. Works a treat!

You mention submerging them in a jam har - does this mean in water initially or only when the slips appear?

i am really keen to try and grow sweet potatos and want to give myself the best chance of success and I guess it is all in the detail

[piers]

Yes, submerge in water in a jam jar right from the beginning. You'll see small shoots forming at the base of the sweet pot, then working their way up to the top. You may have to add more water as time goes on because of evaporation - but otherwise you just leave it until the slips are big enough to cut off. I'll post a photo when mine are big enough.

[wardy]

Ooh I've got one left so I'm going to have a go.  When you've got roots (presuming you're successful) do you just pot them up in compost as normal and plant them out at the right time or what?  Incidentally, what would be the right time for planting outdoors, and can they be grown outside up north?

[yulchikita]

mmm.

yams are one of my favourite things to eat, and as an anthropologist teaching courses on cultures where yams are hugely symbolic, and the basis of the economy I have an even greater interest in growing tehm - would really like to see pictures of slips as am less than confident but have got some sections now immersed in water as advised - will see how tehy go