Time To Let Those Sweet Potato Soak Folks!

Are you living in the EU and are you having the same weather as we are in NL right now? Is gardening also a hobby you have like I do, then just so you know, it's time to let those sweet potatoes soak!

I actually let them soak on these cups back in Feb 7 to be exact. A week later, some of the nodes started swelling, some were cracking open and some were already having roots. Four days later, I checked back and the first root was already hanging longer than it was.

I didn't really have to do much, just that I made sure they have enough sunlight so I placed them on the sink. They must have grown faster have I placed them on a board on top of the heating but we know what happens to water when placed on it so I didn't .

Every three days, I'd replace the water and I've always used lukewarm just to let them have a warm bath after all, they're really tropical plants. After 4 days, I moved them to the wine glass on the first pic cause the bottom started feeling sticky so I suspect yeast formation and am not sure that's healthy so almost every Saturday after that I'd brush them gently till that sticky feel goes away. I just used an old soft tooth brush.

I was supposed to post about it later but I've decided to do it now cause I realized what if you, too would like to grow one. It's time! Plus ... today, when I was replacing the water, I felt some soft spot on one of them and found out there's a rot so I scraped the whole rotting part off to avoid killing the whole root. Would the piece hold? I guess yes since the whole bottom is pretty much like that - all soaked.

Today, it's exactly a month and a week soaked and some baby plants are already sprouting. The white ones are ahead of that with an orange flesh which seems to be the slowest of them all and that's a bummer cause I'd really like to grow a lot of those since it's the sweetest of them all.

I can't wait till they start having real leaves like this one did last year. Unfortunately, I will have to grow them indoor because this part of the earth has suddenly switched on winter mode from "a pseudo spring spell". Btw, those pics of the sweet potato sprouting last year was taken in March 17 and 21 (respectively) so I can't wait for that day to come!

I'm growing them not just for roots but for the leaves. We eat them, too in the Philippines and one of my favorite Filipino dishes is Sinigang and the best vegetable to put in it is the sweet potato leaves. I wish I live in Spain or Portugal cause there, I could grow a farm of sweet potatoes there and perhaps if they thrive enough the whole EU won't have to import sweet potatoes anymore.

A kilo costs almost 3 euro here and for that price I could buy at least 15 kilos of organic sweet potatoes in the Philippines. This plant is very very easy to grow in a tropical country, it's almost like grass, you can even grow them in cuttings and just make sure to water them everyday, once they've grown roots, they've managed on their own and get invasive. Before you know it, you'll be having roots under the ground to harvest!

I saved the plants I've manged to grow from that one sweet potato root I grew last year just to experiment on it. I wanted to check whether they'd survive till it's okay to let them crawl outside this year. I saved five of them but only three survived and as you can see one of them have browning stems, too.

I haven't thinned their leaves at all because I think they need it much plus I don't think they look healthy. Fingers crossed they'd survive, thrive and grow me roots when its time.

' you planning to plant sweet potatoes this year, too? It's time to let them have their jacuzi bath but first, grab yourself a root or two and I wish you luck!

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