Sweet potato, also known as kumar or yam, is a tuberous plant of the morning glory family. Although this crop is known in our country as "sweet potato," it has absolutely no relation to the potato.
The sweet potato is considered to have originated in Peru and Colombia, and has been cultivated for over ten thousand years. Columbus brought the sweet potato to the Old World and established it firmly in Europe.
Sweet potato varieties are usually divided into three main types:
- feed;
- vegetable;
- dessert.
Dessert varieties of sweet potatoes are distinguished by their sweet flavor, similar to pumpkin, carrots, and sugar beets. Vegetable varieties have a more bland taste and are used in salads and main dishes. Sweet potatoes have only recently become popular in Russia, but have already attracted keen interest from farmers and lovers of exotic foods. Another difference between sweet potatoes and potatoes is that they can be eaten either cooked or raw. Unlike regular potatoes, sweet potato roots are large. Some exceptional specimens can reach up to 30 centimeters in length and weigh up to 3 kilograms. Even the leaves of the sweet potato can be eaten, but only if the plant has not yet begun to yellow and wilt.
Chemical composition
Sweet potatoes are a treasure trove of micronutrients and vitamins, including magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, folate, and pantothenic acids, as well as a large number of vitamins (A, C, PP, B1, and B6).
It is believed that one serving of sweet potatoes can meet the daily requirement of vitamin A. Although sweet potatoes are considered a sweet vegetable, they have a very low glycemic index and are an excellent addition to the diet of people with diabetes.
Advantages and disadvantages of sweet potato
It would take a long time to list all the benefits of sweet potatoes, but let's try to focus on the most important ones:
- Gastrointestinal tract. The product coats the gastric mucosa and helps significantly improve peristalsis.
- Cardiovascular problems. Thanks to the B vitamins in this vegetable, it improves blood vessel function, strengthens their walls, and helps effectively combat cholesterol plaque.
- Brain and nervous system. Sweet potatoes contain a large amount of potassium, which helps improve nerve connections and maintain brain function.
- Excess weight. Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, which helps the body feel full, so a small portion is enough to satisfy hunger while losing weight. Moreover, sweet potatoes are very low in calories and can be eaten without worrying about adding weight to your waistline.
With such a long list of health benefits, it might seem that sweet potatoes have no downsides and can be eaten by people of all ages, regardless of health concerns. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Sweet potatoes do have some downsides, which it's best to be aware of before you start eating them.
Sweet potatoes are strictly contraindicated for people with stomach ulcers. It is also not recommended for pregnant and lactating women to avoid health problems.
The vegetable contains a small amount of oxalates, which in certain cases can crystallize into kidney stones.
Peculiarities of growing seedlings
Although sweet potatoes are a foreign crop in our country, that doesn't mean this exotic vegetable can't grow in our latitudes. Sweet potatoes thrive in warm, humid climates. Their growing season lasts approximately 180 days, which is too long for the temperate climate of central Russia.
Therefore, our farmers prefer to plant it early (approximately 60-120 days in advance) and then transplant it outdoors during the warmer months. Seedlings can be grown using either seeds or roots. The first option is rarely used in our country, as sweet potato seeds are very difficult to obtain, and waiting for viable seedlings to grow from them is a long process. Therefore, the only option left is tubers.
Sweet potato – growing in the middle zone
As mentioned earlier, in central Russia the most acceptable method of growing seedlings is the tuber method.
There are three ways to grow sweet potato seedlings from tubers:
- horizontal method;
- vertical method;
- growing in water.
To get good seedlings, you'll need to buy good young sweet potato tubers. You can buy them at the store or from a sweet potato grower. The better the quality of the vegetables you buy, the more likely they are to produce viable and strong seedlings.
The horizontal method involves placing the root vegetable on its side in a box filled with soil and pressing it slightly into the soil. It is then watered generously. It's important to make holes in the box to allow moisture to drain. The soil itself should be pre-treated and well-fertilized with mineral fertilizers.
It's recommended to soak sweet potatoes in a fungicide solution for a few minutes before planting. This is believed to help prevent various plant diseases and accelerate growth.
With vertical planting, the tuber is placed in the soil at a 90-degree angle to the surface. Depending on the variety you're growing, you can use either the wet or dry method.
The seedling box should be placed in a dark, warm place. Once the sprouts appear, the box should be moved to a bright spot for a few hours a day to allow the plants to gradually acclimate to sunlight.
Growing in water. To sprout sweet potatoes in water, select a firm root vegetable without visible rot or bruises. Otherwise, the sweet potato may spoil from constant contact with water.
Place half the sweet potato in a glass of water and secure the sides with toothpicks so that one half is submerged and the other half is above water. After a couple of weeks, you'll notice sprouts sprouting from the tuber in all directions. All you have to do is carefully separate them from the sweet potato itself and replant them in prepared soil.
Now that the seedlings have reached the required size for planting outdoors, it's important to ensure the soil is ready to support a bountiful harvest. The soil should be fertilized with mineral fertilizers. Sweet potatoes themselves may not be particularly fussy about soil composition, but they still prefer to root in a location with sufficient potassium and sulfur.
In its native land, sweet potatoes are considered perennials, and thanks to the warm, humid climate, they require little care. However, in our latitudes, you'll need to create more favorable conditions for sweet potatoes than for other vegetables if you want a good harvest.
Plant sweet potatoes only after the thermometer reaches 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). Harvest them before the temperature drops below 40 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit), otherwise they will freeze.
In addition to mineral-rich soil, the sweet potato requires ample watering for rapid growth. The sweet potato planting area should be watered daily, otherwise the roots won't absorb moisture and develop the juiciness that gourmets value so much.
You should stop watering the plant about two weeks before harvesting. Otherwise, the sweet potato may become overly watery and tasteless inside.
Sweet potato seedlings are usually planted very close to each other, but since the plant belongs to the bindweed family, it is worth leaving a distance of at least fifty centimeters between the beds.
Avoid planting other vegetables close to sweet potatoes, as sweet potato stems will quickly entangle neighboring plants and deprive them of sunlight and warmth.
Loosen the soil for planting very shallowly, about twenty centimeters deep. But don't go any deeper, otherwise the sweet potato won't have time to root properly and produce fruit. Make holes and insert one cutting into each hole, so that half of the plant is above ground level. Try not to damage the plant's root system and plant as quickly and carefully as possible.
In temperate climates, sweet potatoes are most often planted under plastic, creating greenhouse-like conditions. On warm days, the plastic is removed, but the rest of the time, it protects the still-fragile plants from possible adverse weather conditions.
Once all the plants have taken their proper places, water the soil generously, but do not create swamps in the beds: sweet potatoes like moisture, but not excessive dampness.
There's no need to worry about weeds with sweet potatoes; their leaves and stems form a dense mat that prevents other plants from developing comfortably.
While you can rest easy when it comes to weeds, you need to be constantly vigilant when it comes to pests. Thanks to its sweet root, sweet potatoes are a tasty morsel for mice, moles, cockchafers, slugs, and spider mites. Once these pests have feasted on this tasty vegetable, they won't leave it alone willingly.
You'll need to launch a serious pest control program to keep your harvest safe and sound. Fortunately, many effective pest control products are now available in specialty stores. The key is to treat the plant as thoroughly as possible to prevent pests from getting a foothold.
If there are no pest problems, that doesn't mean you can relax and do nothing for several months. Even if you've thoroughly treated all the tubers with a fungicide solution, there's always a risk that the plant will become diseased and begin to wither.
This depends on the soil conditions, for example, if it's too acidic or insufficiently fertilized or moist. Sweet potatoes can also become diseased due to lack of access to fresh air and sunlight (if the plants are kept in greenhouses).
To prevent sweet potato disease and the loss of your entire crop, inspect the sprouts carefully from time to time. The most common and annoying sweet potato disease is blackleg (a fungal plant disease). It's very difficult to get rid of, and it's better to take good care of the plant from the start than to allow this infection to spread.
Sweet potatoes are sun-loving plants, and it's no wonder, as their native habitat enjoys year-round sunshine. Before planting sweet potatoes, carefully inspect your plot and choose a spot that's completely shaded. It should be fully illuminated and warmed by the sun. Hobbyists have been known to install powerful grow lights in their greenhouses to ensure their plants receive abundant light and warmth, day and night.
Sweet potatoes need to be fertilized several times throughout the growing season. It's best to use a proven mineral fertilizer rich in potassium. If you can fertilize the soil with wood ash, soaked for several weeks, the plant will reward you with a bountiful harvest at the end of the season.
Make it a rule to lift all sweet potato stems from the ground every few weeks and carefully inspect them. Your goal is to prevent the stems from producing additional shoots that will begin to root in the soil. When these shoots become numerous, the plant stops wasting its energy on root growth and development and instead focuses on root enlargement.
Harvesting and storing sweet potatoes
As mentioned above, sweet potatoes should be harvested before the air temperature drops to four degrees Celsius. You'll notice the plant's leaves turning yellow and losing their elasticity. This is a sign that the crop is ready to be harvested.
Before harvesting, remove all trailing sweet potato stalks and inspect the soil. It should have characteristic cracks that will tell you where to look for the roots.
Use a pitchfork and carefully lift the soil. Don't use a shovel, as the roots are quite fragile and easily broken. Sweet potatoes, unlike potatoes, grow very closely together, so there's no point in searching for them in different corners of the hole. The vegetables are dug up as a single bunch. Don't try to pull the sweet potatoes out of the ground like a potato plant; the roots will remain in the ground, or worse, they'll break apart.
Once the entire harvest has been collected, immediately select suitable root vegetables to use for seedlings for next year. Gardeners recommend washing sweet potatoes with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to clean them.
Place the remaining tubers in wooden boxes, layering them with paper or sand. Sweet potatoes don't require any special storage conditions. They will keep well at room temperature for several months after harvest.
Growing sweet potatoes in the Krasnodar region
Since the Krasnodar Krai is located in the southernmost part of Russia, the weather there is more suitable for growing heat-loving sweet potatoes. This region enjoys more warm and sunny days during the growing season, making it much easier to create favorable conditions for sweet potatoes.
The main thing is to prevent pests from damaging the root system and protect the leaves from drought. Regular watering will ensure a bountiful autumn harvest.
Homesteaders recommend planting seedlings outdoors only after the acacia has bloomed. This greatly increases the likelihood of avoiding cold nights and ensuring a safe harvest.
Sweet potatoes have only recently been cultivated in the Krasnodar region by enthusiastic farmers. At first, people were confused not only by the vegetable's appearance but also by its distinctly sweet taste, unfamiliar to Russians. In Russia, when people hear "potatoes," they expect a familiar product from childhood, but instead, they find a dish that combines the flavors of various vegetables.
But every year, the number of sweet potato lovers grows. Farmers exchange different varieties, send each other seedlings, and even try to independently develop new varieties that are even better adapted to Russian weather conditions.
Growing sweet potatoes in Belarus
Belarus is rightfully considered the main potato producer in the CIS countries. The climate here is ideal for growing this beloved root vegetable.
If regular potatoes grow so well here, farmers decided to try growing their sweet cousin and didn't put it off for long.
Since regular potatoes and sweet potatoes need to be grown in different conditions, it took some effort until the overseas vegetable began to produce a good harvest.
Several enthusiastic gardeners boldly took on the task: they obtained seedlings in various ways, cherished and nurtured the sprouts in large boxes on their balconies, treated them with fertilizer and protected them from direct sunlight.
Of course, in Belarus, the idea of planting sweet potatoes en masse will never arise, and they will never displace potatoes from their pedestal, but many are ready to diversify their diet with this healthy and unusual vegetable.
If sweet potatoes were talked about more and weren't considered a vegetable that thrives in warm, humid climates, perhaps more people would get involved in growing sweet potatoes, says one of the first gardeners to plant sweet potatoes in his garden.
Sweet potato varieties
Since sweet potatoes are divided into three types, each type has its own varieties, which are very popular among farmers:
- Japanese
- Purple
- White
- Bonita
- Tainung
- Manchu
- White
- Red ginseng
- Beauregard
- Vinnytsia pink
- Garnet
- Betty
- Vardaman
And there are many other varieties to choose from depending on what flavor you prefer in sweet potatoes.
Sweet potato reviews
Everyone who has ever tried a sweet potato agrees that its taste is unforgettable. It's such a unique vegetable that comparing its flavor to potatoes, bananas, pumpkins, or carrots is pointless.
This is a unique root vegetable that can be used in salads, desserts, and eaten as a standalone dish.
Sweet potatoes pair beautifully with a variety of vegetables, helping to enhance their flavor. They don't need any additional seasonings, as they have their own distinct flavors.
Gardeners say that the taste of sweet potatoes always depends on the quality of the fertilizer used during its growth, as well as the degree of soil moisture and its acidity.
Those who have been growing sweet potatoes on their land for a long time admit that they would be ready to give up regular potatoes in favor of the new overseas guest.
The easiest way to cook sweet potatoes is to bake them in the oven, wrapped in foil first. This way, the flesh remains juicy, soft, and sweet. The internet is full of recipes with unusual ways to cook sweet potatoes. Some cooks even manage to make cakes and pies from this vegetable.
Sweet potatoes can be used as a side dish with various meats and vegetables, drizzled with sauces, combined with light vegetable salads, fried like potatoes, and even used in desserts. Only your imagination can decide how far you can experiment with this vegetable.