any kind for area 9, would love to try the new purple varietys,but would like any, see trade list

Mr. Brown Thumb says that the ornamental ones have been bred for their lovely foliage so that's why the potato is pithy and woody, whereas the sweet potatoes bred for their potato production are tastier ... in the tuber portion. http://mrbrownthumb.blogspot.com/2010/10/ornamental-sweet-potato-vine.html. Sooo if they're both Ipomoeas then one should grow them for what they intend to harvest and use for their tables ... either leaves or tubers? I have Puerto Rico sweet potatoes growing and will have to try eating the young leaves and shoots. This is a very interesting discussion because I have been curious about eating the foliage for a while. Does anyone know if all Ipomoeas (morning glories) have edible leaves? Thanks to you all for the information in this thread.

Right, at the level of the seed piece and somewhat higher, the tuber-bearing filaments come off the stalk as long as it is kept covered with soil or mulch. Generally speaking once the stalk is quite green it will no longer make tubers from that point, which simply means the plant will put more energy into fewer tubers not necessarily less yield. I make a shallow trench to put the seed into and cover with one or two inches of soil. In the bottom of the trench first goes compost unless the ground is fairly rich. A sprinkling of epsom salt is good and wood ashes if you have any. When the plant is vigorously growing N can be supplied with urine diluted 5 or 10 to one with water. Potatoes like tomatoes are highly symbiotic with mycorhizzae. If you can find old wood chips or twigs with fungi on them toss them in the compost in the trench and soak the trench good of course. One can also buy the spores by mail and inoculate the compost or rotted manure, etc. Once the garden area is well grown out with myco you're all set if you don't till too much, keep the OM up, don't let the ground get bone-dry with means don't let it be bare for long periods. Even weeds help. Every common crop family except brassica needs the myco's for optimum health.

Likewise I have never planted sweet potatoes in a container or bags. But have seen pictures of those who have and they just let the vines spread out over them and down to the ground. And from the reports I've read they produce well. Production is very hard to predict. Weather conditions can cause production to change a lot. The same varieties I dug up to nine pounds in 010 from didn't produce a pound after the hail and the hot, droughty summer last year. And the one I planted in mid July produced several tubers but none as large as the one they were produced from. I would say the most I dug last season was around 5 pounds. The same variety that produced nine pounds the year before. So very hard to predict. And then again growing in a bag, container may affect production also. Jay