Growing Sweet potatoes

[Digeroo]

What stunning flowers.  You can see they are related to bindweed. 

Now if someone could cross them with the bindweed they might grow like crazy here.  Might try them next year, I have been having a lot of success with delicates with a bale of straw to keep them warm.  They look worth it just for the flowers.

[Digeroo]

[Jayb]

Having read this thread I planted mine in the greenhouse in amongst the tomatoes as not got room for a dedicated spot they are growing nicely and my hopes are getting high. No flowers though. Will you take them off ? so concentrate on the tubour or do you like them? ;)

No, I'll be leaving them on, they are too pretty to miss ;D
Ooh exciting stuff, your making me hopeful now too  ;D Bet yours are loving sharing the toms watering and feeding  :)

Digeroo, sounds like an interesting project for next year. Would you have polythene over the top too?

[plotstoeat]

When do I harvest them? How can you tell if they're ready?

[pumkinlover]

If outside leave till first frost kills off the leaves- then lift or slugs will eat. If undercover I'd have a firtle and see if any ready, such a rubbish year so not sure how well they will have done

[plotstoeat]

Okay, will do Pumpkinlover. I likes a bit of a firtle!

[Kea]

Sainsbury's sold Kumara for awhile. They are superior to other sweet potatoes in flavour and texture.....I won't even eat other sweet potato. I bought Kumara from Sainsbury s and grew them one years but just got 'witchs fingers'. In New Zealand they are grown in the North of the North Island where it is warm and humid the soil is mainly volcanic ash so light and well drained, so you need to replicate those conditions.
Suggest petitioning Sainsburys to import Kumara....I don't think they understood that they had something different from the other sweet potatoes. I think I single handedly purchased their entire stock each week even though it was twice the price of the other sweet potato....on the instruction of my sweet potato hating OH who tasted Kumara on a visit to NZ and loved i.t