Friday, December 13, 2013

2013 All Purple Harvest


In early April, when Tucson’s average high temperature rose above 80 degrees, I put out my All Purple Sweet Potatoes to start growing slips.

 
A few All Purple Slips I transplanted though I will probably not transplant next year.

 
With some EM-1 my slips really took off by mid-may
 
 
Slips can take a long time to start – especially if being grown indoors. That is why I have been working on a new way to start my slips outdoors. Though I have greatly improved my method for growing sweet potato slips, I believe that my sweet potatoes do much better when I wait until May 1st to start growing out slips.

 
My second harvest of sweet potatoes required a flashlight to procure

 
When the time finally came to harvest my All Purple sweet potatoes from the garden, I had to do so a little at a time. It is difficult to harvest a sweet potato that can mature over a foot below the ground, and doing so requires loose soil and some dedicated time to feel through the soil by hand.
 
 
Some of my first harvest of All-Purple Sweet Potatoes

 
 
Some of my second All-Purple Sweet Potato Harvest
 
 
One of my larger All-Purple Sweet Potatoes
 
 
Another large All-Purple Sweet Potato.
 
 
By the end of my harvest I felt both good and bad. It seems that the quality of this variety of sweet potatoes decreased from going into the ground so early. A few of the larger sweet potatoes did not exhibit the color or texture I would have expected from this variety. On the other hand the harvest of 95 pounds was a nice way to finish my summer garden harvest.


Some of my second All Purple Sweet Potato Harvest. Can you find the nickle?

5 comments:

  1. What a great harvest...I am envious as I cannot grow these. Maybe one day when I get my cold frame, I can start them out early and actually get some decent sized sweet potatoes.

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  2. Hi Jay. I just discovered your blog and find it very interesting.My husband and I have 5 sons so aim to grow as much produce (and flowers) as we can. Best wishes, wendy (awhiterockgarden.blogspot.ca) from White Rock, BC

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your response!
      I work hard and enjoy providing food for my family! (=

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  3. Oh Jay, you Purple Potato Eater you
    :) April

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    Replies
    1. Thanks April! (= I'll have to post some more pie pictures.

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