Allotments 4 All

Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: sawfish on October 24, 2008, 21:01:12

Title: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: sawfish on October 24, 2008, 21:01:12
I really want to try those after seeing them in GW. Do you reckon they'd grow in Glasgow?
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: saddad on October 24, 2008, 21:02:30
I do Beauregard here in Derby but have to grow in a cold greenhouse to get a worthwhile crop Stan.  :-\
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: Suzanne on October 24, 2008, 21:27:28
They looked scrummy I would give them a go. Do you think they get a proper name or do you buy them under the trial name?
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: manicscousers on October 24, 2008, 21:58:58
we got t65 from thompson and morgan last year, very disappointing slips  :-\
got some beauregard from somewhere else, green something, maybe somebody can remember, my brain's like scrambled eggs at the moment..anyway, they did lots better, we grow them in a polytunnel  :)
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: cambourne7 on October 24, 2008, 23:13:00
they looked great i would love to grow my own slips as there expensive when you buy them from the shops. But i cant get them to root.

Maybe there should be an experiament next year for us all to do it at the same time??
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: ceres on October 24, 2008, 23:32:37
Cam what method are you using to grow your slips?  I've had success doing it this way - choose a big. firm sweet potato with lots of 'eyes'.  Stick 3 cocktail sticks in half way down the potato and suspend it in a glass of water (the right way up - stem end at the top).  Put it on a bright windowsill and keep the water topped up.  Initially it will put roots down into the water, then shoots will appear above the water.  When each shoot gets to around 4-5", carefully ease it off the potato with a little piece of the skin attached.  Put the shoot into a jar of water and when it has a good root system, pot it up (I think some methods skip the this rooting in water stage and just pot the slip up right away).  It takes quite a long time - I start mine in January.
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: cambourne7 on October 25, 2008, 01:01:01
I did the same but the slips never got bigger than 1 inch and then died :(
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: saddad on October 25, 2008, 08:14:04
Someone else suggested taking tip cuttings from this years plants and rooting in water... they root easily, whether I can keep them alive over winter is another matter!  :-X
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: manicscousers on October 25, 2008, 08:35:37
I've got 16 on the go at the minute, cuttings from our plants, hopefully, I 'll get 2 or 3 to stay alive  ;D
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: artichoke on October 25, 2008, 10:21:54
I suggested taking cuttings, as I did it last year and got about 10 through the winter. Maybe others also suggested it.

The other thing I did, when disappointed at the lack of growth of the slips on the sprouting potato, was to pull them off and prop them in a sherry glass of water - they started to leaf up and grow roots very quickly.

Have to admit I did not get a very good harvest this autumn, after the damp cool summer. I think they might have fattened up a bit if we had not had a sharp frost in early October. Fortunately I had already taken cuttings.
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: cambourne7 on October 25, 2008, 14:08:26
can someone post a photo so i can copy the cutting method ??
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: manicscousers on October 25, 2008, 14:12:17
is this what you mean, cam
hope you can make it out  :)
Title: Re: Those T65 Sweet Potatoes
Post by: Barnowl on October 25, 2008, 15:06:30
I got lots of good slips from two NZ organic sweet potatoes from Sainsburys, but didn't take them any further -too many other projects and not enough room.