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ceresone

My 'Oh, MY, Sweet Potatoes

ceresone
14 years ago

I dug my sweet potatoes yesterday.

First, it's a mistake to plant them in 2' of soil, plus good ground below that-let's say I dug as deep as I could.

I've never seen such a variance in a crop! I have everything from a bloated root size to monsters 18" around and 2' long!! They are big enough to feed 4 people well. Wonder if they shrink as they dry?

From what I read, they dont store very well, so think I'll follow Blue Book, and bake, wrap in foil and freeze.

Question? what size do I store for spring starts--and how do I store them? I've found regular Irish Potatoes store well for planting in a paper bag, and the crisper drawers of the ref.-Think these will?

I have some light tan, as well as the deep orange, think I'll look up the name, because unless they taste super, I wont plant them again.

Comments (5)

  • jspeachyn5
    14 years ago

    Sounds like you received quite a work out.
    I'm glad they did so well for you.
    I don't eat enough of them to grow my own so I can't help w/how to store them.
    But congrats on the success!
    Bonnie

  • gldno1
    14 years ago

    I raise Beauregard which is a deep orange that I love. My crop this year didn't amount to much but I just planted 10 plants. They should be cured for a couple of weeks in high temps around 80 degrees. Normally that isn't too hard to do, but with these cold days, I may just bring mine inside to cure. Then store at around 50 degrees with high humidity of 80 to 85%. I store them in a room in the milk barn that has concrete floors and walls so the humidity is pretty high. I place them in single layers on newspapers in card board boxes to I can check them often. Loose papers on top. I turn a heater on the keep it from freezing.

    I like to save a couple of medium sized ones with no deformities and if I can from a hill that had the best production.

    I hope we can both save some over.

    I scrub and bake all the fingerlings for snacks. I love them, but DH won't touch them. I eat skin and all.

  • christie_sw_mo
    14 years ago

    Did you weigh your giant sweet potato Ceresone? That's huge! You must've done something right.

  • Susy
    14 years ago

    Glenda, my DH has never thought he liked sweet potatoes. I usually bake them and just add some butter. Yum! I had bought one to bake for me and never got around to baking it. Last night I cooked some pork cutlets. Saw the sweet potato on the cabinet and thought how good pork and SP would be. I peeled and sliced it in the skillet along with some white potatoes. Didn't say anything, we ate and later DH asked "where did you get those big carrots"? He thought they were very good but thought he was eating sliced, fried carrots!

    Missed your birthday so here is a Happy Belated Birthday Wish!

    Bev J.

  • gldno1
    14 years ago

    Mine will eat regular baked ones; just not the little fingerlings cold.

    Have you ever tried the confetti potatoes like they make at Silver Dollar City? Just add diced onion and red and green peppers to the potatoes. We both love those.

    Thank you Bev for the birthday wishes.

    Glenda