I was referred to the Mericlonelabs.com a year ago, out of season for buying the Okinawa sweet potatos. Now this year, I have been unable to get the website to come up. I did buy a couple of potatos from my local Saigon Supermarket, which had sprouts. I put them in the ground outdoors, and hope they continue to grow. Apparently, in south Alabama, they can grow them locally. But I'd like to get some virus free from Debby if possible. If anyone can get to Mericlonelabs.com, will you do so and post the link here for me? I have no idea what my computer has against me going there~~ !!! But on another note: I boiled some of the potatos from the market, and then blendered them up. I intended to make a nice pie with it, but it was quite tasty just blendered up like that. I added some fat free half and half and some Splenda, and made a fantastic HUGE smoothie or lavender milk shake. Even my parrots loved it. Never got around to making the pie, but the recipe is on the Smaller Homes forum Conversation side, of GardenWeb, of course. The original poster for the recipe is FLGARGOYLE.

Sounds like you have a productive garden! Keep trying with the long bean-my neighbor has quite a large patch and they do very well for him. As for me mostly old standards. Lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, eggplant, chile peppers, various herbs, green beans, wing beans, pole beans (the wind terrorizes them so i have just sown a hedge of pigeon peas for wind break), tomatillos, beets (fresh, raw beets are delicious-who knew?), bok choy, sugar peas. i have had bad luck so far with broccoli and turnips of all things. Just started some red malabar spinach but i think it might be too slimy for me. Have a start of Okinawan spinach too but it tastes like chewing on pine needles!-I hope it's the right plant, it was a pass-along. Just preparing a new area for some other things i want to try-kabocha, long beans ; ), soybeans and maybe some corn. Hoping the melon flies will not sting the kabocha. Thinking to try some leaf amaranth once the weather heats up. Also i am hoping to find a source for pak-wan/Katuk on Maui.

There seems to be 2 or more purple potatoes. White with purple flesh and purple with purple. This page has seed potatoes. http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/Plants%20&%20Roots.htm#SWEET%20POTATOES There is a produce company in Calif. that carries these. Go all the way to bottom of page. http://www.dorevaproduce.com/varieties.asp Also do a search on the Vegetable Forum. Someone there metioned having slips of the purple/purple. Also I think the ornamental potato 'Blackie' is the same thing. Either that or the pink and green variegated. My friend from the Phillipines mentioned it once. I'll check with her tomorrow.

esco socal im not sure what the state is specifically threatened by, i know California quarantines Florida fruit trees for nematodes in the soil that are prevalent here. thats why you need a phyto certificate and shipping is so high from the big retail nurseries again i think you would be hard pressed to find anything threateningly invasive in PR or the Carribean that isnt already here, in fact the opposite i think would be more of a threat, spreading invasive species there that are prevalent here. Im not sure if there is a specific threat they identified from Hawaii or if its just general safety when dealing with a completely different eco system they are trying not to cross contaminate