We love candy potato and normally use it as an alternative of the traditional spud. They’re additionally very simple to develop and with these recommendations on the right way to develop candy potatoes, you’ll be rising some for your self very quickly in any respect.
Candy Potatoes
Candy potatoes develop below the bottom like common potatoes. Above the bottom, candy potatoes are sprawling vines that may take up an enormous quantity of room within the backyard and have flowers that resemble these of Morning Glory.
These warm-weather crops, they like round 20-30˚C, are also called kumera. There are three several types of candy potatoes, the golden brown, the purple and the white skinned selection. There isn’t a lot distinction in flavour, simply their pores and skin colors.
Propogation
Propogation could be finished by planting slips not by reducing up the potato and planting it. I desire to get slips from natural candy potatoes, however that’s simply private alternative. There are a few methods I exploit to get these ‘slips.’
When you have candy potatoes which have determined to sprout on their very own (as pictured above), gently pull off these slips when they’re about 8 inches lengthy, with a twisting movement and place them in a jar of water, ensuring the leaves are out to the water(as pictured under).
Maintain the water clear by altering it usually and shortly, these slips could have roots.
Once they have a good set of roots, normally takes a few weeks, they’re able to plant within the floor. Maintain your slips in a shaded space, and don’t use chilly water, because it may kill them. An excessive amount of solar and the leaves may go brown and die.
One other strategy to develop slips is to droop a candy potato in a jar of water. Use three toothpicks to carry the candy potato half in/half out of the water. Once more, change the water usually.
As soon as the slips have sprouted, twist them off, place them in water to develop roots.
As soon as they’ve first rate roots, they are going to be able to be planted within the floor. Maintain your slips in a shaded space, and don’t use chilly water, because it may kill them. An excessive amount of solar and the leaves may go brown and die.
Getting ready the Soil
Candy potatoes like the heat, so are finest to be planted in the course of the hotter months – Spring/Summer season – of the yr, in any case frosts have gone. Select a heat web site in full solar, a spot the place candy potatoes haven’t not too long ago been grown. The perfect soil is mild and sandy, barely acidic and has good drainage. Plant them in raised beds or on mounds to keep away from rotting in moist climate.
As soon as the slips have their roots and the soil is ready, create a slit within the soil, place your reducing in, leaving the leaves above the bottom, and firmly press the soil round your reducing. Plant your cuttings about 30-40cm aside. Maintain moist whereas the roots are growing. After this, feed month-to-month and water sparingly.
Because the vine grows, you possibly can trim its development through the use of pruning shears. These pruning can be utilized as cuttings for brand new crops or could be added to your compost. The vines will type roots wherever the leaf joints make contact with the bottom.
Harvesting
When you planted tubers, they’ll take about 4 months from planting in heat areas and as much as 6 months in cooler areas. The perfect time to reap is earlier than any frosts or chilly climate set in. The foliage and the ends of the vines will start to show yellow. Normally round 95 days from harvesting.
Because the candy potatoes are below the bottom, watch out when digging them up. Loosen the soil across the plant, reducing away a number of the vines if obligatory.
Pull up the plant and utilizing your arms, rigorously dig up the potatoes and shake off the surplus filth. Don’t wash them! Permit them to air dry within the solar for just a few hours, earlier than curing them. Curing helps to maintain them longer and can assist sweeten them as effectively.
The candy potatoes which were nicked or broken in the course of the harvesting course of will have to be used instantly.
To remedy candy potatoes, that you must lay them in a single layer on prime of butcher paper or newspaper in a heat space (about 80˚F / 27˚C) with some humidity (round 90%). After resting for about 10-14 days, they need to be able to retailer in a cool place. Don’t freeze.
Candy Potato Recipes
Pests
As with crops, there are numerous bugs, resembling grasshoppers, that will have a nibble on the leaves in your candy potato crops. This injury is never tragic, simply merely beauty. The weevil is rather more of an issue. To forestall injury from these, make sure that to make use of crop rotation and by no means plant candy potatoes within the floor the place they’ve beforehand grown.
General, candy potatoes are a simple and forgiving crop to develop. The leaves could be edible, although don’t feed them to your canine, could be steamed or stir-fried and make a beautiful addition to salads, although they are often fairly bitter. Put together like spinach or turnip greens.
We love candy potatoes baked, although they are often boiled, steamed or fried as effectively. Small cooked items could be added to curries and casseroles and even used as an alternative to pumpkin in lots of dishes.
