Jersey Sweets?
 

Next year (2009), I'd like to try growing sweet potatoes - we're planning on a small garden expansion but no room for this summer.

I'm trying to research a specific kind (or close to it) that my father used to buy in South Jersey. He bought them from a local farmer around the Mullica Hill area and they were just called "white yams". I've looked at Sand Hill's descriptions and "White Yam", "Nancy Hall" and "Jersey Yellow" just don't sound like the ones I remember.

I stumbled across this from an organic produce supplier in California: "Organic Jersey Sweet Potatoes - This variety is an old-fashioned sweet potato with a golden yellow skin at harvest time which fades to buff or tan after storage. The flesh color ranges from creamy white to bright yellow with an occasional pink variegation. It has a dry, mealy flesh." I also found a reference to "Jersey Sweets" on a NJ agriculture website, but no mention if these are still commercially available to a home gardener.

That description sure matches what I remember from 30+ years ago. I do recall the skins would darken quite a bit by the end of the winter, and they has a buttery yellow color flesh.

Has anyone heard of a source for these? Or even heard of this type of sweet potato? I know my dad would really get a kick out of tasting these again.

Did you think to look at JLHudson? He had quite a collection of yams as I recall.

[SIZE=2][COLOR=#336699][B]I agree with your description. It might be worthwhile to call that outfit that carries them.


1-888-ORGANIC
Diamond Organic
[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

Granny, thanks for the tip about JL Hudson, but I couldn't find anything on their site. Hadn't heard of them before, so I'm tempted to get a catalog...but do I really need any more catalogs? Sigh.

Tom, thought I might order some to taste them and see if they match what my memory bank remembers. It looks like (with shipping) they're about $9.00 a pound. I could sprout these and get slips, correct?

Try these felpec -

[url]http://www.newhopeseed.com/vegetable/sweet_potato.htm[/url]

If you haven't already located them by calling the number Tom suggested, or otherwise,my suggestion is to e-mail Glenn Drowns at Sandhill Preservation.

Glenn speacializes in sweet potatoes and lists close to 100 at his website sandhillpreservation.com

I already checked and Jersey Sweets is not listed, but with there being so many synonyms for one variety, for many of them, he may know something about Jersey Sweets.

There's a Yellow Sweets listed in the SSE YEarbook but is described as not being sweet.

Granny,
Thanks (again!) for the link to New Hope - I HAVE to stop looking at these seed companies or I may never get my '08 list finalized.:)

Carolyn,
Thanks for the information about Glenn at Sand Hill. As you said, even though he may not have it, he might know something about this variety.

Don't know why, but I have developed a craving for these after all these years (and no, it's [U]not[/U] one of those "pickle and ice cream" type cravings!)

Thanks, all :D

[quote=felpec;87740]Granny,
Thanks (again!) for the link to New Hope - I HAVE to stop looking at these seed companies or I may never get my '08 list finalized.:)
[/quote]

TELL me about it! The seeds are mostly here (except I want some of those Chinese Beauty Heart radishes and a couple of other things), so I have now set up a garden calendar with the last expected frost as Week 0. Everything up until then is a - week (so many weeks until & counting) and everything after is a + week. And then I have a list of all the starts and all the plant outs, what kind of mulch, etc. and so forth for each week. From there I will attempt to get a materials list and a garden map done. I feel like I am planning the invasion of Normandy!

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I'm now going through a huge folder of:
garden maps from the last two years with notes scrawled on them (why can't I learn to use pens that don't use ink that becomes illegible when the paper gets wet?),
dirty empty seed packets with obviously important (at least they were when I wrote them) but now totally incomprehensible notes written on them,
a bizillion Post-It notes (with scribbles like "start two weeks earlier!!!" - they are now detached from their original spot on one of the garden maps or a dirty empty seed packet, and I'm trying to figure out "start WHAT two weeks earlier???"). :dizzy:

Good thing I wasn't in charge on D-Day - we probably would have invaded Liechtenstein.

[quote=felpec;87754]:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

(why can't I learn to use pens that don't use ink that becomes illegible when the paper gets wet?),
[/quote]


Well whatever you do, do not believe what they tell you about that "weatherproof" tape or those "waterproof" Sharpies. They aren't. This year I am making each and every tomato & pepper their own private dog tag using dcarch's label idea and some heavy duty plastic laminate. Going to leave a big margin on one side, punch a hole in the laminate and attach the sucker to the plant with one of those plastic handcuff ties before it ever sets foot out the door.

felpec, I was looking for the dry sweetpotatoes we used to get in September that were grown in South Jersey. They had so much sugar it would bubble out during baking. Yum!

I found a popular white variety popular in NJ called O'Henry. Steele Plant Company in Tennessee carries them, and they are very inexpensive: $10.49/DZ, 25 plants for $13.49. Best of all: NO shipping or handling charge.

I am ordering a dozen O'Henry and a dozen of an orange type, probably Carolina Ruby. Total cost: $17.25

I finally put my order in last week. I wanted to try more than 2 varieties, and I got another gardener from work to split an order with me. So, we are splitting 36 plants of O'Henry, Centennial, and Beauregard. I waited too long, and they're out of Carolina Ruby.

I went on a ratings website, and usually you get more than you ordered from this company. So, it will cost us about $13 apiece for 18+ slips each. And I'm hoping I can make my own slips next year.

I'm really psyched! I put down 25' of black plastic landscape cloth yesterday, and the slips will be here in 3-4 weeks. I hear the flowers are really beautiful, too.

There probably isn't a heathier vegetable than sweet potatoes.