Tag Archives: Sweet Potatoes

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Sweet Potatoes

My first ever harvest of Porto Rico sweet potatoes was small but will be plenty for us. Lesson learned. Till deeper or hill more soil around the plants. I don’t think I dug the spot where I put the slips deep enough. The soil was like cement a few inches down. It has been very dry but I still think I probably didn’t till deep enough. As is evidenced by the photo they are on the small side. I didn’t weigh them but am happy with the haul for the most part. I am ‘curing’ them on the back porch as they are supposed to store much better after curing.

I think next year I will grow them again but may put them in a couple of half barrels where the soil is looser and will be easier to dig. Porto Ricos don’t vine nearly as long as some varieties, probably getting about 4-5 feet long. They might look nice spilling over the sides of the planter with some annuals mixed in for color.

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October – Endings and New Beginnings

greenonions

While the rest of the garden is coming to a close the cold frame is just getting started. We are still probably 2-3 weeks away from our first frost but the garden plants are winding down as the days shorten and the nights cool off. Everything I planted in the cold frame a couple of weeks ago is up and growing strong. I dug up the other side, incorporating a little manure/humus mix into the soil today. I will probably plant some more radishes and spinach in there this afternoon or tomorrow. In a week or two I should have some good sized lettuce transplants from the basement. I still need to build the lights (lids).

These green onions may or may not do anything going in this late but as with everything else I never know till I try.

I read that the sweet potatoes are to be dug just prior to the first frost. I’ve never grown them and if we even get a couple of sweet potatoes off each of the 30 plants I planted that will be more than enough for us for the winter.