The reason you don't want a tangled mess of roots on your transplants is that the slip develops it's sweet potatoes from the roots which go down, into the soil, from the new plant. You want those roots to GO DOWN and away from the slip, thus developing nicely shaped sweet potatoes. Stunting can also be a result. If you simply pop a started plant from a cup and plant it, roots and all, and if those roots are abundant and tangled, then you stand a good chance of getting gnarled sweet potatoes. I've had this happen when I finished planting my slips and decided to just plant my starter roots, which had grown an extensive network of thin roots in the pot or tray. The resulting harvest was smaller and it was misshapen. Here's a quote from Sandhill Preservation Center, and the link from which it came: "Do not think you need lots of roots on the slips when you plant them to be able to insure success. The more roots the more stress when transplanting and the more they will be stunted. The key when setting out the slips is to have very few roots and keep them as wet as possible in the garden for the first seven to ten days. Then back off on the water and they will go crazy. The worst possible thing you can do upon receipt of the slips is to pot them up and wait a few weeks and then transplant to the garden. You will have lost a good two weeks of positive growth and will have given them two chances to slow down. The more you slow them down, the less yield you have. The more times you transplant them, the more nonuniform roots and the less roots you will get." Here is a link that might be useful: Sandhill Preservation Center Sweet Potatoes

The main thing is to give them several days at nice warm temperatures, and also, to avoid a lot of jostling and moving of the roots. I've heard that every time one turns a sweet potato over, part of the natural sugars turn to starch. I have struggled to give them much heat for curing. Typically I've waited until the days start getting cool before I get in a hurry to dig them. But this year I started a little earlier. I have all I've dug in cardboard boxes and stashed some of the boxes on our sun porch, which gets pretty warm this time of year. The others, I'm stashing inside the house, in a room we use for storage. It doesn't get that warm in there. But then, neither does it get as cool as the sun porch, at night. Oh, also, here's another observation on flavor. It really helps their flavor if you cook them longer than just after you can easily stick a fork into them. Our first batch of cooked sweet potatoes for 2014, went into the oven about 45 minutes before we wanted to eat them. When we took some out, they seemed done. We ate a couple and thought... "not sweet, these need more curing time." My wife and I had to go to bed. But our night owl daughter wasn't even ready to sit down and eat. She asked if we had left her any. We had... in the oven. By the time she got them, they were squishy soft and quite sweet. So, if your sweet potatoes don't seem sweet enough try cooking them longer on a lower heat. Try eating one and then, if not sweet, try cooking them a bit longer yet. Also, keep in mind that some varieties simply are not supposed to be very sweet. Grand Asia, for instance, is not quite as sweet as most American types. Yet the variety has a good, dry, fluffy texture and is quite tasty as long as you aren't expecting candy like sweetness. George

oh, yes. Sorry. I forgot to mention that about the mint. Oregano can do the same thing. So can Lemon Balm- that's the one I am battling at this time. It started in the herb bed, jumped across to the bean bed, and now is residing very happily where the tomatoes and some squash are growing. Not all the same plant, but they are all relatives. LOL Janie

I call this Sweetnana. It probably should be classified as a dessert; either way it's on our holiday table each year. Sweet Potato Puree with Bananas and Buttered Pecans 6 pounds (about 6) sweet potatoes 4 ripe bananas, skins on 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup pure maple syrup ý cup Brandy 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 pound pecans 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons brown sugar Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Roast the bananas, with the skins on, for the last 15 minutes of cooking time. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and bananas, and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until the potatoes are chunky. Add the butter and maple syrup, puree until smooth. Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt; puree to combine. Transfer to a shallow baking pan and smooth out the surface with a spatula. In a skillet, cook the pecans in butter over low heat and sprinkle with salt. Sauté until well-coated, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Transfer the pecans to paper towels to drain. Arrange pecans on top of puree and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 300 degrees F until heated through, about 20 minutes.