Ever eaten a sweet potato? Seen a sweet potato before it lands on your plate? It is a root vegetable with no particular shape or size.The one we get in Bangalore is a nice magenta pink on the outside and white on the inside. I understand there are other variants of this vegetable. This is what it looks like.
I first accosted a sweet potato in my garden way back quite by accident. I had grown a vine(name unknown at that time) for its lovely light green leaves from some cutting, and when the time came for me to pull it down, there was this huge tuber under the soil. My maid insisted it was an edible sweet potato. But I would have none of it and gave it away to her. Later I learnt that this variety of sweet potato is grown mainly for ornamental purposes, as the leaves have such a beautiful hue.
I also learnt in time that those leaves were edible. And with my desire to grow many leafy greens, I bought some sweet potatoes from the market and planted them whole in the soil, as it was.This was about 2 years back. When the leaves came out, the shape and texture were different from the light green ones mentioned earlier, and I wondered at what was happening. But I did get a yield of sweet potatoes. That was encouraging.
During the recent lockdown, I have tried to grow various vegetables in my small balcony. On doing some further research on growing this vegetable, I learnt that you should let the small shoots sprout in the water first and then transplant the little plants into the soil.
I cut up one sweet potato into two ( not necessary), and placed one half in water in a small plastic container such that it stood straight. In 10 days time, baby shoots had come up. I however left them for longer to let them grow a little bigger.
I had at least 8 small plants sprouting out from that one piece. I picked out the strongest 4. You need to just tug at them hard enough and the young plant would separate. They are fully complete with a strong root system, ready for planting. I have planted the 4 in a container. And I need to find a home for the remaining shoots which adorn my dining table as of now.
I had planted some a few months back, one in a large pot, but another in a small plastic pouch. Out of curiosity I have upturned the pouch and emptied the contents.
Lovely! I find 4 sweet potatoes totally weighing about 500 gms. It's taken around five months to get this and so this is a long gestation period exercise. You can decide whether it is worth the wait. But for the sheer unique experience of seeing the baby plants sprout out in water, and a root vegetable forming in your balcony garden, I think you should try growing it one time at least. I remember the fun in harvesting potatoes in childhood. Harvesting sweet potatoes is something like that. There is mystery under the soil waiting to be unravelled. Go ahead. Plant one soon. Your whole family will enjoy the experience.
