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Organic Gardening

2012 sweet potato harvest and NO vole damage!

11 years ago

Finished digging sweet potatoes today a month ahead of my usual habit. In trimming the excess vines, prior to digging, I noted three wonderful welcome garter snakes.

There was not one SP with evidence of vole contact. For five years in this garden, voles have dined on the SPs. Will make oven french fries with some broken Vardeman taters tomorrow and assess their sweetness factor. My other variety is Georgia Jet-those with the lovely bee tempting nectar blossoms.

The snakes meandered about the piles of trimmings and too late, I realized I should have captured them to live in the high tunnel, where mice and most likely voles reside.

Now, if the garter snakes would only consume some of those rabbits...

The only difference in raising the SPs this year was the use of homemade eucalyptus spray once for blister beetles that attacked one SP during the drought.

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Comments (5)

wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
11 years ago
I used to have a huge garter snake in the sweetpotatoes...no doubt a good vole catcher.
rosiew
11 years ago
blueberrier, let us know how your 'sweetness' test came out. Which of the two varieties is your favorite.

Rosie
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In East Tennessee they will continue to grow through September, but they can be harvested anytime they are big enough for your use. In Virginia we use to pull a few for eating (without destroying the vines) beginning in mid August and then dig the main crop just before the first frost. Depending on your cultivar the roots may get larger or they may start new roots. When you do take up the whole plant you should find roots from finger size on up. If you are content to continue taking some as needed, it is a good way to do it. Voles do love them so, if they do attack, they can detroy a lot of potaoes in a short time.
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I'm not as sure about the frost damage theory as some. Although they are tropical and any frost damages the tops, and a hard freeze will kill the tops, I always found it best to wait until frost takes them, and I've not had any problems with storage quality. In fact, one year, a light frost zapped the tops somewhat in late Sept, but then we had another month of nice weather, and they grew quite a few new leaves. Obviously, any cold deep enough to threaten freezing the ground could potentially damage the tubers, so you would need to dig them before that happens. In northern climates, I think it's best to let them go as long as possible for maximum size and starch content of the roots. I've cured mine quite effectively by putting them in black plastic crates and stacking them in the back of the SUV I don't drive every day, parking it in the sun at the end of my driveway -- it gets pretty toasty in there in October, like 90-95, which is a good temp to cure them without cooking them. I crack all four windows a bit so that too much steam doesn't build up. I leave them in there about a week. Of course, some years sun is hard to come by in Michigan in October, so I can't always do this.
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Awesome! I only planted 4 slips in a small patch, but they grew like weeds, and I can see some HUGE ones sticking out of the ground. Can't wait to harvest them.
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I just dug up one plant that I stuck in a pot last spring because I didn't have room for it anywhere else. It's my first year growing them, and I just couldn't wait and wanted to see if it worked! I have a nice pile of small but nicely formed tubers from this small pot, so I am excited like a kid on Christmas morning to harvest the main crop later this month and serve my own sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. Does anyone have tips for curing them on a small scale? I've been reading about giving them heat and humidity to form sugars. If I put them in my detached garage that gets very warm in the daytime (the sun beats in the windows and onto the roof) under a sheet with a pan of water nearby will it work even if the temps go down into the 50s at night? Thanks!
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blueberrier1
Original Author
11 years ago
Rosie, the new Vardaman were only slightly sweet, rather dry, while the one 'pierced with the garden fork' Georgia Jet was sweeter and more moist. Still, both were tasty-just not the optimum sweetness we notice after curing and aging several weeks. I included a GJ from last year in the test, and it was like candy.

This year, some of the Vs were 20" or more long while 1-2" diameter. They require much more care in harvesting. The GJs were the std SP shape with some monster sized:3#s. I purposely plant the GJs 10-12" apart to not have huge results. Both of these varieties are much tastier than Beauregard (the std store variety), IMO. Both are delicious prepared in any recipe. DH and I especially enjoy the french fry cuts (coconut oil and sea salt) in the toaster oven with a green salad for supper.

Additionally, the V only produce half the volume of the GJ for me.

If anyone has a variety they favor, please post it and its characteristics as I want to add a new variety in 2013.
rosiew
11 years ago
I would like to know more. Have never grown potatoes and want to next year. How do you store them for curing/aging? And for storage after that.

Re harvesting: what is the best method you've found?

Have a huge Asian market not far from me. Will try to discover what varieties they sell cuz I really want to try the coconut oil method. Can get that there too.

Thanks for all this info!

Rosie
blueberrier1
Original Author
11 years ago
Rosie, these are so easy to grow and have a huge ROI for our frequent consumption. I usually dig them at the end of Sept here in ctrl KY. Begin digging two feet from the plant, especially if raising V.

They are then placed on cardboard on the stone sun porch floor and covered with burlap and bask in the heat for at least 3 weeks. I keep the windows closed to keep it extra warm at least in the daytime.

Next, I gently place them in two layers in cardboard boxes, and drape two layers of brulap overtop. Usually I sort them size wise. These boxes are then set on the downstairs floor (concrete with two inches of insulation underneath), where the usual temp is 60-65 deg.

When winter sets in, I often bake a jelly roll pan full when baking bread, and then process some for freezing for pies, soups, mashed SPs, etc.

A few months ago, I began snapping sprouts off last years crop, and do it monthly now-but they are still very tasty.

Enjoy-now if you have secrets for raising organic peanuts, I am ready for them!

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