Joy of Sweet Potatoes

In our family, we have rediscovered the joy of sweet potatoes! I think it started out with an invite to a parent’s house where baked sweet potato was served instead of a russet baked potato.  It was so yummy that I’ve been adding sweet potatoes to several of my main stay dishes since then.  Did you know that sweet potatoes do fabulous in turkey soup? Well they do!  We also cut up small potatoes and add a sweet potato to the mix when we saute potato slices as a side dish.

So with all this talk about the joy of sweet potatoes AND it being prime planting season, it was quite natural to wonder if it’s a reasonable item to add to the garden.  Upon my research, I’ve discovered that I already HAVE one in a pot that over wintered with my other herbs and goodies this year! yippee! I had no idea!

Did you know that Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are not yams? The true yam, Dioscorea sp., is an entirely separate species that grows only in the tropics.

Sweet Potatoes are also related to the Morning Glory family and the leaves of the plant are VERY nutritious. In fact, South and Central America where Sweet Potatoes originated from, the leaves are actually a vital source of nutrients.   Mainly the Sweet Potato plant is a vine though there are bush varieties available where space is a limiting factor.

If you are interested in growing a sweet potato plant, they are generally started from plants called “slips”.  If you do a search on the internet for sweet potatoes, you can set a full sweet potato in water to get a plant. What is really needed is a sprout from one of the “eyes” of the root.  Perhaps that’s why they call them “slips”.

Here’s a quick set of steps to grow one. This can actually be a neat project to do with the kids!

Sweet Potatoes can also be used as a natural colorant in handmade soap. It’s settled then! I’m planting some!

Happy Washing!

~Regina