Kakdah bought a kilogram of sweet potatoes. She did masak lemak udang with it. The few left were more or less forgotten. Then one day she found them sprouting with lovely purplish red shoots. I fluffed the soil a little bit at the place where Zinnias were once towering elegantly and put the sprouting potatoes. Zinnias could have taken most of the nutrients, so I bring back fertility by adding a spoon of poultry fertiliser pellets in each hole.
We never grow sweet potato before ......
Three clumps of sweet potato shoots were quite a sight. The leaves are nice looking indeed, green with a touch of purple. Now I am searching for more info, how long do I have to wait for potatoes to develop in the soil. Huh..., yet another adventure.... But we don't have to wait for potatoes to develop for harvest, shoots can be pinched for fried menu. I see sweet potato shoots sold at fifty cents a bunch in the market......
Update:
Some info from gardening.about.com
Latin name: Ipomea batatas
Days to harvest: 3 to 4 months
We never grow sweet potato before ......
Three clumps of sweet potato shoots were quite a sight. The leaves are nice looking indeed, green with a touch of purple. Now I am searching for more info, how long do I have to wait for potatoes to develop in the soil. Huh..., yet another adventure.... But we don't have to wait for potatoes to develop for harvest, shoots can be pinched for fried menu. I see sweet potato shoots sold at fifty cents a bunch in the market......
Update:
Some info from gardening.about.com
Latin name: Ipomea batatas
Days to harvest: 3 to 4 months
sweet potato shoots
At the same time, on the other veggie bed,
Our sole surviving sunflower has its bud opening up just a little..... Will it be as bright as what has been shown in other blotanical blogs. Will the yellow petals be truly yellow?... Can the slender stem support the flower?... questions... questions.... huh!
earlier
now sole surviving
sunflower bud
opens a little bit more
Happy Gardening
~Bangchik and Kakdah
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA.
~Bangchik and Kakdah
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA.
I enjoy sweet potatoes!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise you could eat the shoots of sweet potato
ReplyDeleteGood job! I grew my potatoes the same way, they were sprouting, and instead of disposing them, I planted them. Aren't we good?!
ReplyDeleteYou can eat sweet potato shoots??! To think of all that I've wasted....!! I'll have to try them. These do have pretty leaves.
ReplyDeleteThese sweet potatoes are becoming more and more popular as ornamentals around here. I see them in pots mixed with other annuals, they are pretty! Your sunflower is going to be gorgeous!
ReplyDeleterosey
We also planted some once, and ate the leaves (which are very nice) - if you're interested, this is my post on it: Cooking organic sweet potato leaf
ReplyDeleteNice pics of the sunflower by the way! I love watching plants grow :)
Enjoy sweet potatoes - I wonder how it will go...
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Ewa
It is so good to know sweet potato is so useful. Save for the flowers (which I do not know what can be done with it), every part of the plant is edible :-) I have fun growing mine. I hope it would be the same for you. Happy gardening Bangchik & Kakdah!
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to read about your potato growing experiment. I've never grown any sort of potato, but the sweet ones, especially the purple sweets, are my ultimate favorites. How I wish it were possible to obtain them in Italy!
ReplyDeleteI love growing things which I've never grown before. I've never tried sweet potato though.
ReplyDeleteYour blog looks awesome with picture of sunflower bud. Keep it up the good work
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you could eat anything but the potato. How interesting. You are very resourceful to plant it when you saw it sprout. What a great unexpected bonus to your sweet potato purchase.
ReplyDeletei am sure bloom of sunflower will be beautiful and typical yellow. Stem will support the flower, don't worry. We do grow sweet potato vine but not sure whether the tuber is eatable or not.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the encouraging comments. I have to admit, growing sweet potato this time is not by design, more of by accident. But we will learn the same. Good to know that sweet potato become ornamental plant in some part of the world. Whereas in some other placeS, they are grown to feed people.
ReplyDeleteTaking shoots for a menu, will be endless I heard. New shoots will keep coming.
But I have to wait for another 3 months to see how big the purple potato will be....
Cheers,
bangchik and kakdah
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA.
It's been a long while I ate sweet potaotes. Sometimes we bbq them - wrapp in foil and put on the fire. Nice:)
ReplyDeleteThat is very interesting that you can eat the sweet potato leaves as the leaves of ordinary potatoes are poisonous! Val
ReplyDeleteBangchik, your sunflower plant is doing very well and the sweet potato plant is looks sweet and pretty too.
ReplyDeleteKEATS, aaaa... that's a nice way to handle sweet potato, BBQed them!
ReplyDeleteSweet potato shoots are definitely safe VAL.., these are sold in markets as long as I remember.
Just imagine BELLE, I never grow sunflower before, and after second attempt at germinating them, there is plant surviving. Imagine the suspense to see the first bloom ever!!.. haha.
~bangchik
Putrajaya, MALAYSIA.