The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: Rumpleteazer on February 17, 2010, 12:22:26 am
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Has anyone had any success growing sweet potatoes?? I had always assumed that it is too cold here in the UK to be successful, but a few weeks ago on Gardener's Question Time, Bob Flowerdew said that they grow well here. He gave lots of detail about how to do it and I think he said you can grow them from sweet pots that you buy in the supermarket. However, I was listening to this in the car at the time and taking notes and driving in traffic is not very sensible. Of course I then forgot about it until now, and of course now I can't find it on the BBC website! Any suggestions/experience anyone?
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Extract from article on Bob Flowerdew,
'Vonnetta, his wife, comes from Jamaica, and her influence is clear in many of the plants Bob chooses to grow. They both love sweet potatoes, so he has many plants on the go. He's tried growing them from tubers planted in the spring, but says this is pointless.
Sweet potatoes are best not grown in the ground. They are a quick-growing, sprawling plant that roots wherever the vine touches the soil and the plants put their energy into developing these nascent babies, not plumping up the tubers that you want. Once rooted, they push down deep and you'll find many of the tubers buried at least a metre deep.
Bob instead advises growing sweet potatoes from slips or cuttings taken from the actively growing plants in late summer or early autumn. Treat them as you would a pelargonium or any tender plant, taking the cuttings in late autumn or winter, rooting and storing them in frost-free conditions.
In spring, they should be planted into large plastic sacks filled with rich compost and grown on under cover. Our season is too short for them to develop decent-sized tubers in the garden but, grown with some protection, each slip should produce several pounds of tubers.'
Hope that helps!
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Anybody know the calorific value of sweet potatoes?
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Annie in the google box type what is the calorific value of YAMS There is screeds of it ;D :farmer:
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Good grief - I KNEW there was a drawback - they're twice as high in carbs as ordinarily pots!!!!!!
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Yeah Annie but three times as tasty Only trouble for me is I dont fancy eating the skin which to me,a King Edward skin is the best bit well over cooked till its nice an crisp lathered in butter Hey up Annie no wonder eee's a fat :pig: ;D :farmer:
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Well, I eat teh skins - Chris's tip was to cut the sweet potato in chips/wedges, season well, roast at 220C for 20 mins - absolutely fantastic!
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Not sure they are organic or is it that they are organic?I dont know but they make lovely chips :farmer:
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Thanks Sagehen for the useful info. Probably not one for this year I think. I will have to stick with buying them for now until I am feeling more adventurous. No too worried about the calories - a little of what you fancy I reckon!
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I "grew" some from slips year before last. Complete waste of time - they didn't grow more than about 6 inches high and had no below ground activity whatsoever and I am in the allegedly sunny south! I think we have to wait for one of those "hot summers" the met office keep promising and failing to deliver! I think it depends on number of sunshine hours. I'd be interested to know your success - I love sweet potatoes and they are scrummy in a sweet pie too!