With the rising cost of food. Growing your own food is always a good insurance. One of the easiest vegetable to grow is sweet potato. In fact, once it is planted they grow like crazy with little maintenance! They make a perfect permaculture plant.
Sweet potatoes that you find at the grocery store are very hearty plants. Every part of the plant is edible including the leaves. In Asia, the leaves are consider a delicacy and never found in the grocery store.
Orange tinge color sweet potatoes have the most nutrients. The orange color indicates that sweet potatoes are high in carotenoids like beta carotene. Just like carrots that are orange too, orange sweet potatoes are very good for vision.
To start your sweet potato crop just buy an orange sweet potato from the grocery store. Cut up into smaller pieces. Then take the sweet potato pieces and plant it in well-drained soil. Sweet potato plants do not like soggy soil. The best way to grow sweet potatoes is to plant them in large pots so they can be easily harvested.
Once you have your sweet potato propagating, cut the green vines and plant them. A sweet potato vine can sprout a new plant! Sweet potato are super easy to grow with little maintenance making them one of the best permaculture plants. You can cut off a vine then soak it in water for a couple of days and watch it sprout roots. Afterwards, plant the vine and within a couple of months, you will have sweet potatoes growing from the roots. Sweet potatoes require a lot of sun and a warm climate, otherwise it goes dormant. Sweet potato leaves require trellises to wrap around and grow up.
When winter comes, cut the green vines at the base. You can save these vines and grow them indoors during winter. Just soak them in water until they sprout roots and find a sunny place inside to grow them. They grow very well indoor during winter and will supply you an unlimited supply of leaves to eat. To harvest the sweet potatoes, pour the contents out of the pot. Sort the sweet potatoes and rinse them for storage.
Make sure when you harvest your sweet potatoes that they are stored in a warm, dry area for at least two weeks. This will make the potatoes starch up to make it sweeter. The longer you store it, the sweeter it gets.
Sweet potatoes taste great from just baking it and eaten with butter.
The leaves are amazingly healthy and delicious! They are a great source for vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. They are also a great source of dietary fiber. The leaves can be eaten raw with a hint of sweetness. The best way to cook the leaves is to light fry them with butter and a little garlic. It is slightly sweet with a “green” flavor to it.
Gardening is a healthy hobby that is very relaxing. It can help relieve stress. Start your Self Reliance now! Start your garden to insure unlimited supply of fresh healthy food. Remember to add biochar to your soil for more nutrient dense vegetables and fruits.
About the author:
E. Wong is a licensed acupuncturist in Texas that practices Traditional Chinese Medicine. With over 30 years of training in Tai Chi and Qi Gong, he shares his knowledge with his student as a Tai Chi and Qi Gong instructor.
He believes in being a responsible denizen of this planet through actions such as recycling, alternative energy, and green living.