To tell you the truth, I haven't had much success with saving the root or tuber from season to season - of course you're looking to harvest them for food and I'm simply using them as an ornamental plant! I just hack off the top growth as it dies from frost, then dig up the tuber. Sometimes I don't get to it in time and it's rotted in the ground. I've grown some in pots and just thrown them in my unheated garage overwinter and had them come back the following year, then other times, they just rot. I do notice that at the end of the season when I dig them sometimes they've made small "baby" tubers to the side of the main ones. I live in New England where we get cold, snowy winters so maybe we just don't have a long enough growing season for many new tubers to develop off the main plant. You're in a far warmer zone than I am! I know the roots are edible, obviously since I'm buying mine in the produce dept. of the grocery store! But I have no idea about the stalks or leaves. If you grow batata from the grocery store, let us know what the leaves are like! Those plants are expensive to buy so if I can get those for pennies from the grocery store compared to dollars for a plant at the garden center, that would be a score! Sorry I couldn't help more, but as I said, we grow it here as an annual, ornamental plant for the most part. Lisa

You can get mung beans out of the bulk bins at major supermarkets that work great for sprouting, at vastly lower cost than mail order. If you want to be a bit more experimental, try the spice section or Indian spice section and get mustard seeds -- I haven't tried mustard seed from these sources, but I think they should work. A bit more pricy, but still probably much cheaper than mail order, hit a health food store and they should have bulk or packaged seeds for sprouting, in many varieties.

LOL, thanks for the latest Fruit Reviews. Looks like akebia fruit will be more for visual than culinary, interest. :) Aftermidnight, yes, I've seen the pink, brown and white flowered cultivars. They're all great-looking. Most larger nurseries in town have these three types, but I haven't seen any of the variegated-leaf ones (want want want). Thanks for mentioning it. I'm adding the white-flowering one mostly for visual effect mixed in with the chocolate flowered one, but it got me thinking about the possibility of fruit and if they were even good to eat (apparently not very, heh heh). Still, I think they look neat so I'll do a little pollination this year just to see if I can get some. And yes, I'll give them a little taste (possibly very little). Medlars: yes, they're an aquired taste (and texture!), but I sure like them. I've seen some very unflattering descriptions of the texture (see Trees of Seattle 2nd ed., lol), but I like them if they're properly aged. I've planted them at each of my gardens in Seattle and they do make very attractive little trees and the flowers are quite pretty. I wonder what the current owners think of the fruit? Thanks again for the taste tests...keep them coming. Happy gardening, and eating, Grant Here is a link that might be useful: medlars

Received my seeds today! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you Kamil and everyone! I'm just about to go start mine! I even got my favorite color, how's that for cool! Maybe we could do a swap based on color next time...Hm, I might have to start one of those based on purple.... :0) Thanks a bunch guys/gals it was fun!