Sweet Potato Harvest

We harvested our sweet potatoes a couple of  weekends ago, right before it turned cold. For gardeners like you and I, it was just like digging for treasure. Of course we weren't sure what we were going to find, but there they were, sweet potatoes in a variety of shapes and sizes. We used our garden fork to unearth the tubers and then realized we were putting holes in our precious potatoes. So, we gladly hand dug the remaining potatoes, digging about 10 inches deep. We found enough potatoes to keep us in fried, mashed, and sweet potato pies for the next couple of months. My family is happy about that, we love sweet potatoes, they are highly nutritious and delicious! As new potato farmers, I thought I'd better do a little research. Here's what I found.

• Planting times for sweet potato slips are from March 1st to June 1st. Sweet potatoes like warm to hot temperatures, they don't really take off until it warms up. (we planted our potatoes in May, and waited until after the Arcadia Edible Garden Tour to harvest). They can be harvested in 120 to 150 days from time of planting. When the weather cools and the foliage turns yellow is a good indication that the potatoes are ready. Check out our post on sprouting your own slips.
• Sweet potatoes should be planted in well-drained, sandy to loamy soil. We planted our potatoes in our 4x8 raised bed and added a little extra sand to the usual mixture of compost, mulch and planting soil. Don't over fertilize with nitrogen. Root crops need potassium and phosphorus, so you might want to add bone meal to your soil.
• Plant slips 12" apart, and water well until established. Then reduce water to 1" or so a week. Don't over water.  

• Make sure you provide adequate space for your potatoes, the vines are very vigorous growers.
• The leaves and young shoots of the sweet potato vines are edible. They can be added to a stir fry recipe or a mixed salad (haven't tried this yet).
• Once harvested, let them air dry, out of the sun for a couple of hours. Then move them to a basket or box, lined with newspaper. Store in a cool, well ventilated area. Allow to cure for 7 to 10 days, this allows the skins to toughen and ensures a longer shelf life. They usually keep for a couple of months.
• Sweet potatoes are considered one of the "super foods" of the decade. Here's more detailed information on the nutritional value of this easy to grow root vegetable.  This year we'll try planting   our potatoes in grow bags to free up some much needed garden space. I'd like to try a few different varieties too, maybe some red and purple potatoes. We will let you know how that goes.

Some Like it Hot!

I was up early this morning before the heat of the day set in. It's not easy gardening in this Arizona heat. There are however, certain plants that are loving these long, hot, humid summers days. As long as your plants are getting a good deep watering every few days, (don't drown the roots, they need oxygen to breath), they seem happy to just be left to grow. Straw and extra mulch will help keep soil cool and moist. First on the list, okra. I planted ours from seed in- between the peppers. Once the temps reached 100 degrees this plant went crazy! The pods are very fast-growing and need to be harvested daily when they are 2 to 3 inches long. I love okra. You can throw it in soups and stews as a thickener, or just fry it up in some olive oil with garlic and other summer vegetables. I like mine crispy. Okra can take over and this one is five feet tall. It does shade the peppers nicely though. Which brings me to my next heat loving plant. Peppers.

These hearty plants belong to my husband. They are his number one favorite garden crop. He usually buys transplants in every variety that he can find, and hogs all of the garden space! He does however, keep us stocked with delicious salsa for many weeks. He usually plants in the spring (March) and keeps them covered when frosts arrive. Most of the pepper plants make it through the winter months here in Phoenix.

Our varieties include: Sweet Banana, Anaheim, Habanero, Jalapeno, Serrano and Cheyenne.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has a great variety to choose from. Next up, herbs. Warm weather herbs easily make our garden green and lush throughout the summer. Many of our herbs are planted in pots to keep them from getting out of control. We enjoy rosemary, thyme, tarragon, oregano, mints, lavender and of course basil loves a spot in full sun.

If you want spectacular color and texture in your garden, plant sunflowers and zinnias. Always a cheery addition, my zinnias re-seed themselves each year and fill in all the empty spaces where nothing else will grow.

Lastly, sweet potatoes. Make sure you pick out a large, sunny spot for these vigorous vines. They would do well in a corner of the yard as a ground cover. This is only our second year as potato farmers, so we are excited to see what we will find beneath this mass of vines in a couple of months!

My, Oh, My, Sweet Potato Pie

I know I'm getting way ahead of myself, mentioning the word pie already, but, this is after all, the time to plant sweet potatoes. Isn't the anticipation part of what gardening is all about! I was able to attend a clinic a few Saturdays ago with master gardener veteran, John Chapman. He talked about a new method of gardening ( I will post more about that when I get more information). He also brought a along a sweet potato growing in a jar, just like the one your mother used to grow on the windowsill. John wanted to remind all of us just how easy it is to grow sweet potatoes. Since I have a great love for this highly nutritious tuber but have only tried growing it once, I thought it might be time to try again. It's all very simple. You just place the tuber in a jar of water, pointy end down. Wait a few days for the shoots or slips to appear. When the slips are about 4 or 5 inches long, pull them off and put them in another little jar of water. Wait for a few more days, little roots will appear. That's it, they're ready to plant. I'm planting mine in a raised bed. They are a very fast growing vine and can easily take over. Give yourself plenty of room for this vegetation to spread. John mentioned that he grows his potatoes in old tires (as shown in the photo above). Make sure you plant where your potatoes will get plenty of sun. Plant 1o to 12 inches apart. Sweet potatoes like sandy, loamy soil, that's not too high in nitrogen. When plants start growing, pile more soil up around the stem to provide more soil space for the tubers to form. Once roots are established, don't over water. Sweet potatoes love the heat and will thrive throughout the hot summer months. Days to harvest, 90 to 120, just in time for Thanksgiving. When leaves turn yellow its time to harvest, carefully uproot potatoes. Let potatoes dry or cure for a week or so out of the sun, in a cool place. You can plant sweet potatoes until the end of June, so get them growing now. Sweet potatoes are considered one of the top ten "super foods", they are a powerhouse of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. They are easily grown in your own backyard and they provide a high calorie content per pound and high yield per area as taught in the biodynamic gardening method. Meet me back here in October, we'll see how our potatoes come up. Besides, my South Carolinian mother-in-law has a great recipe for sweet potato pie.