Garden Alphabet: Sweet Potato

Growing food is one of the most fulfilling things you can do in your garden although growing flowers also provides much for the soul. My wife has been pushing me to grow more food for the last several years, so when these sweet potatoes started sprouting in the pantry, it seemed a frugal way to try growing them out in the garden. These vines are taking off very well and I am hoping for a big crop of sweet potatoes for my curry in the coming months.

Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are a root vegetable.[1][2] The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of Convolvulaceae, I. batatas is the only crop plant of major importance—some others are used locally, but many are actually poisonous. The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato (Solanum tuberosum) and does not belong to the nightshade family. — Wikipedia.org

• Sweet Potato on Wikipedia
• Sweet Potato Recipes at AllRecipes.com
• “What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?” from the Library of Congress
• Sweet Potato: Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Sweet Potatoes from the Old Farmers Almanac

 

Previously in Garden Alphabet:

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