Sweet Potatoes?

[erudne]

The grilled sweet potatoes I had a few days back went down quite well. I have 2 extra potatoes, one red and one yellow and I'm thinking of planting them. I have a half-barrel that would work perfect, all I need is the proper soil mix and 8 weeks of good weather!
What is your input?

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[Phrank]

Maybe going against the "preparedness and survival" thread here, but my experience with potatoes of all stripes is "cut em and plant em". Never worried about soils, etc. Honestly for most of my gardening (urban 1k sq ft lots) it's been till as deep as you can, add home grown compost (lawn, garden, leaves, paper, cardboard, food waste), plant starts / seeds, grow, harvest.

Guess the thought is basically don't over-engineer nature, it'll all work out. Your yields may vary.

Happy gardening.

 

[rkoreis]

You might want to try the Ciscoe Morris method for growing potatoes. Gardening with Ciscoe - Gardening - Topics - Potatoes

 

[drew]

You might want to try the Ciscoe Morris method for growing potatoes. Gardening with Ciscoe - Gardening - Topics - Potatoes

That looks like a pretty good method. Doesn't cost space you're planting either.

 

[CoastRange57]

I started some Yukons and Reds both in containers in March this exact way. It worked out very well. I got probably 3 - 5 pounds out of a 3 gallon size container. Had about 10 of them. Those reds pulled up, peeled and made into hash browns on my plate in about 15 mins were pretty damn good. Right on my back deck too.

You can get some good yields on container crops, but they become a bit problematic if you use the black nursery pots. I have much better luck with the peat pots in keeping the moisture in.

 

[hikepat]

Think I may try growing sweets next year along with my Reds. Wondering if any one eats the leaves when they grow sweets? I have heard they are eaten in much the rest of the world but not much in USA and would love to try some.

 

[Brutus57]

Think I may try growing sweets next year along with my Reds. Wondering if any one eats the leaves when they grow sweets? I have heard they are eaten in much the rest of the world but not much in USA and would love to try some.

Never tried the green leaves but sweets are very healthy for you.

Brutus Out

 

[toaster]

I talked to a gut at a farmer's market about growing sweet potatoes a year or two ago and he said the climate, around Portland anyway, is almost too cold so he put black plastic on the ground to absorb the heat of the sun. The plants grew through slits in the plastic. Don't know exactly where you are but its something to consider. Regular potatoes, on the other hand, grow easily. Stack a few tires and fill them with dirt and straw. When you harvest just knock over the stack and pull the potatoes out of the dirt.

-Topher

 

[CoastRange57]

You are going to have to buy sweet potatoes and let them go to seed to get your starts. If you want to buy the starts, they are expensive.

 

[knuckle Head]

Maybe going against the "preparedness and survival" thread here,.

Sometimes the monitors chime in too quickly, I would tend to think anything that teaches a person to plant, grow food and give them a heads up about what is going on would tend to be a long the lines of preparedness. I just learned a lot about growing potatoes and am happy you and the rest shared your knowledge.

Thanks,

 

[PolishedBrass]

Side note on Sweet Potatoes ...

They are the only "flavoring" that is even close to the Agave for making Tequila essence flavoring.

I tried it with limited success ... I believe sweet potato skins lightly grilled with the right seasonings ... might make a decent extract.

My first attempt was partially successful.


I got a flavor that was "close" ... but had to tweak it with agave to get it spot on.

 

[PolishedBrass]

I think next time I am gona Try this recipe:

Roasted Sweet Potatoes 8 pounds (Dark Golden Brown.)
Tomato juice 1/4 cup
Plum 1ea
Kiwi 1ea
Sorghum 1/3 cup
Witch hazel 1/4 tsp (Or another astringent herb possibly thymol oil?)
Finely Ground Charcoal 1/4 tsp
Add 4 PH water to make it 1 gallon.

Boil till most of the liquid is evaporated
Let sit till cool enough; then strain 3 times to super fine.
Blend remaining ingredients with 1 cup of everclear.
Strain mash again and combine with other liquid.
(Let sediment fall from each liquid and pour off dark clarified liquid
and combine them ... might have to ad clarifying agent.)

Treat everclear with 1 small piece each of lightly burnt Mesquite and
Hickory, and heavily burnt White oak. (Adjust for coloring)

I am thinking that somewhere between 1/4 cup and 2/3 cup of the
solution will turn a gallon of Everclear into a Tequila flavored
beverage.

Side note on Sweet Potatoes ...

They are the only "flavoring" that is even close to the Agave for making Tequila essence flavoring.

I tried it with limited success ... I believe sweet potato skins lightly grilled with the right seasonings ... might make a decent extract.

My first attempt was partially successful.


I got a flavor that was "close" ... but had to tweak it with agave to get it spot on.

 

[Frankenrifle]

Sweet potato or yam? There is a definite difference. In care and flavour in fact. For sweet potato you just grow and harvest. For yam you have to age them for at least 3 months for the sweetness to come out or you'll get a slightly bitter and high starch result.

 

[erudne]

Sweet potato but I am open to other varieties of starchy root/tuber if it will grow in the PNW

 

[chemist]

We're trying sweet potatoes this year as an experiment, just a couple rows of them, but everybody says it's too cold here for them. Sure doesn't seem that way today. It's only a question of whether we have enough time.

We always plant short-season tomatoes like the Russian Black Krim, but there's no equivalent sweet potato that I've ever seen.

 

[erudne]

Where I live a green house is a must due to frost, wind, short grow season, 'varmints'. My low altitude garden/orchard was attacked again by elk while I was away last weekend, the orchard was damaged and the blue berrys eaten down to the ground! I'm putting up an electric fence this week, more dogs