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Old June 18, 2016   #37
Zeedman
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 313
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luigiwu View Post
Interesting zeedman, so you wouldn't grow kamote from the tuber/sweet potato? I'm watching a youtube on how to plant kamote stems... they look like they want to crawl on the ground? I guess they keep rooting themselves when they do that? I am limited on horizontal space and try and grow everything vertically, do you think they can be trained to grow vertically?
The tubers from the kamote I grew were unlike any sweet potato sold in stores around here; they were white all the way through. They were also long, twisted, and brittle... and tended to form 2-3' away from the plant in any direction, and up to a foot down. It was a major excavating project to find them, and most broke during extraction. After just a few tubers, I gave up & let frost take the rest, with my blessings.

Dry & tasty, but definitely not worth growing for the tubers - and IMO, not worth growing your own shoots if fresh shoots can be purchased. You might be able to winter over some rooted cuttings, though.

Sweet potato greens are better known in the South, so folks from that area might be able to suggest varieties with better-tasting leaves.

Yes, left to their own devices, most sweet potato vines trail over the ground. They will root at the nodes in moist soil, and spread to form a dense ground-hugging mat unless cut back. You could probably grow them from a large pot, hanging or on a pedestal, with the vine drooping over the side. I've seen the ornamental varieties overflowing their pots, and sweet potato foliage is fairly attractive.

Quote:
I'm so sad, my lettuce leaf basil have started to go to seed already... I didnt think basil bolted but I guess they do... one less green
If you want to have a steady supply of leaves, cut it back hard when it bolts (several nodes below the flowers) and it should re-sprout. Keep pinching off any new flower stalks as they emerge. I generally allow mine to flower freely for most of the summer, since the bees love it; I trim off blossoms from plants one at a time, to maintain continuous blooming. If I intend to dry some leaves, I remove all flowers stalks in late summer, so the plants will be full of new leaves when harvested.
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