Okinawan sweet potato- purple
 

I was at the asian grocery when I found this strange root. it was labled something like asian yam, but is sweet-potatoey... unassuming beige skin, hiding GORGEOUS purple flesh. got a small tray in the $1 (going soft) bin, and theyre great. just had one microwaved.

kinda the texture of red bean paste- not too sweet, but good enough to eat with nothing on it. used often in sweets from what ive seen online.

ive got one small tuber trying to sprout, and im going to put a 2nd in my worm bin (sprouts almost anything) and try to grow these out.

If youve got an asian grocery near you, you should try this vegetable!

There are may be four kinds of Asian sweet potatoes: white, purple, yellow and orange. They have a firmer texture like potatoes not like yams.

BTW, sweet potato greens are very tasty cooked.

dcarch

The white and yellow types were staples in my family. Not so much the purple, not from our area. They are actually quite versatile little tubers. The drier texture lends itself to various uses other than the stews we had them in. Gnocchi and croquette comes to mind offhand.

Am going to try yams as this year's experiment...

Suspended two lovely specimens from the grocery store in water about 6 weeks ago. Have lots of roots and lots of slips (?, long green sprouts with glossy foliage). Is it best to root these in water or potting mix (my inclination). Also, have just noticed over the past two days that some of the oldest leaves are developing a very strange appearance, very small yellowish blister-like formations. There are no insects, and it does not appear to be a mold or fungus. I have removed these leaves just in case, but if it is a normal senescent change it would relieve my mind if someone could comment. Do these plants develop roots easily along the shoots? There appears to be adventitious type bumps along the stems. TIA

I think you root the slips again in water, then plant in soil, but Ill be trying that again shortly (mine got all moldy the first time!)

Thanks for your input, Garnetmoth - the sprouts were getting humongous, so I pulled most of them off last week and potted them up in very moist potting mix (my idea of a compromise). So far, a few are OK and some are "sulking". Don't really care because it is/was an experiment, and my understanding is that they are pretty large plants so I don't really have the room for all of them anyway. If the sulkers perk up, I will donate them to a local plant sale in the "exotic section"...

Over in the Potato forum, there is a thread on Propagating Sweet Potatoes that would probably be very helpful to you.

[URL]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=13550[/URL]

I've purchased sweet potato slips for the past two years, but will try to grow my own slips next year, from this years harvest!


As for the OT, I had some Hawaiian/Okinawan Sweet Potatoes while in Hawaii earlier this year, and I could not find a supplier of slips for them. So I will be in search of an asian store or some source for tubers to grow slips for next year. I loved the color and want to grow my own!!

Not sure if these pics will help anyone, so here they are:
[IMG]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l278/bluelytes/IMG_2290.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l278/bluelytes/IMG_2292.jpg[/IMG]

Best;
bluey

okinawa purple was probably my most reqested variety of Sweet Potato from the SSE yearbook this year. I am still getting lots of requests for it from my website. I don't know why there is so much interest in it all of the sudden.
gary

Ive got to go hunting for slips this week, I think there is 1 local nursery who carries any. The purple (Okinawan) are tasty, but im a sucker for any sweet potatoes.

Bonus is their greens are edible too, and our kept rabbits LOVE them (we just trim 2-3 leaves per trailing vine every other week or so) and have good tuber development.

Thanks for the pic Bluey! my attempt at slips was near the compost bucket and I think the #^%$@&#^% fruit flies got gunk on them because they molded all up. Will try again!

Well, ALL of my potted on babies are doing very well. I guess it just took a little time for the "sulkers" to root themselves. What a beautiful flat of transplants - I have shared quite a few to fellow adventurous gardeners (yams in our short season!!??!!), and look forward to putting them into the ground. Are the leaves of all types edible? Wish you lived closer, Garnetmoth, still have 12 left...

SALIX,
WOW! You guys can actually GROW sweet potatoes up there? You must be east of the Cascades. How DO you do it?

Best;
bluey

Bluey - don't know if we can grow them, it is my experiment for this year. Sometimes in the autumn I have found reasonably sized tubers of sweet potato vine when dismantling the ornamental pots, so I figured with a bit of a head start and some care, we just might get something...

And if not, the original 2 tubers are still suspended in their container of water, still putting out small sprouts and are just as firm and clean as when I started this process almost 3 months ago. Might just cook 'em up and eat them - then I'd only be out my time and effort, LOL, and have learned something in the meantime.

SALIX,
I will be VERY interesting to hear of your results. BEST of luck with your project.

Best;
bluey

That is sweet Salix, thanks! I had Red Wine Velvet from SSE, but I had to move back to Ohio to help my dad, and my now husband couldnt find "something that looked like a sweet potato" in all my mess. He found them maybe mid winter when he was taking down the container garden. I tried but they werent in good enough shape to sprout.

the city gardeners use ornamental sweet potato in the street side planters and I really want to ask for them (leaves dry OK at the end of the season, ive heard some of the tubers are decent tasting) but theyre next to the street and all that pollution...?

I just love the Beauregard we get most often here, if I can successfully start my own slips this year I may try a SSE order again :-)