As promised, I am reminding you that this is the time to start your sweet potato slips(plants). Middle of May in North Texas There are some places that sell them, but I find it easy to start them myself. In fact when I was cleaning out my potato/onion basket I found some sweet potatoes sprouting. I love it when I get a head start on Spring planting without doing anything except storing an old potato!
Sweet potatoes are very different from the regular Irish potato. They are actually a tropical plant that is related to the morning glory. While Irish potatoes like it cool, the sweet potato thrives in the hot humid sunshine. So for my friends who have moved here from up North the sweet potato is here to welcome you to Texas! It is one of the few things that will thrive in the intense heat of Summer. The fun thing about this, is that it is NOT just the tuber/root you can eat, but the leaves make a great summer green.
I first started growing sweet potato greens(the viney tops above ground) for my rabbits. I thought to make my homestead more sustainable. Then my sweet friend from Africa stopped by and remarked, “You know the top of the sweet potato makes a very tasty green to cook and eat.” I wish you could hear his accent. I love it when someone from a different part of the world helps me think outside of my American box! Well, except when he introduced me to the bitter plant. No kidding, they call it that! When I tasted it several questions whirled through my mind at once; Do I just spit it out in front of him? Do I swallow? How fast can I get to the hose? And the time he recommended a plant, but then added, ” You have to be careful because if you don’t prepare it right, it can be toxic.” I thought, Really, did I just hear him right? Toxic as in stomach ache or die? Neither one being my preference. Maybe that is a little too far out of the box for me!
Any hoo, I have eaten lots of sweet potato greens and they are fantastic. Saute them in anything. My favorite is in eggs for breakfast with a little coconut milk to add a nutty sweetness. Because nutty sweetness is always good for breakfast. Well, I have breakfast with my hubby for that, but those of you who have a more sane/serious partner can go with coconut milk. I have to say having greens added to my breakfast has given me a steady sustainable energy throughout the afternoon. Try it and skip that afternoon slump.
Now that Goliath(Giant Elm tree, see story here) has been defeated, my boys were nice enough to attack/chop up the mesh of roots in my sweet potato pit. So I am back in business for sweet potatoes! Woo hoo, thank you boys!
One of the new comers to my garden is Egyptian Spinach. This is suppose to be a bushy green that takes the intense summer heat. The plants are very small now so jury is still out on how they taste. I will let you know. Egyptian spinach might be a good go to green of summer also?
Some sprouting sweet potatoes from my basket. The new sprouts are cut off ready to plant. Placed in potting soil to make starts to go into the sweet potato pit.
Make sure if you buy sweet potatoes to sprout, that you buy organic because most potatoes are sprayed with a chemical that retards those little shoots. I started my sweet potatoes by cutting off all those sprouting ends, letting the fresh cuts air dry for a while and then planting them in a oval shallow pot. If your potatoes don’t have sprouts yet, not to worry, plant them shallow in a well drained pot(so they won’t rot before they sprout) and be amazed when the shoots come up. Or you can do like we did as kids and push toothpicks into a piece and rest it in a jar with water in a sunny windowsill. That way you and your kids can watch them grow. Either way you decide to start, plant the little plants in a loose loamy soil(raised bed in Texas) in full sun. Make a sweet potato pit like I did! See here You can harvest greens throughout the Summer and enjoy those sweet potatoes in the Fall. I think that is gardener speak for; you can have your cake and eat it too!
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When you place sweet potato in a glass or jar you need to place it in a dark place for 2 weeks. That will make it sprout sooner. Rain
Thank you, I didn’t know that a dark place would help. I am going to get mine and stick it in the closet. Could you remind me in 2 weeks to go and get it. That would be just like me to find a dead moldy potato sometime around Christmas! hee hee!