Monthly Archives: June 2010

Vegetable Gardening With Yams Or Sweet Potatoes

Posted on June 17, 2010 by admin| Leave a comment

The real yam is definitely a tuber from a tropical vine and is no relation at all to a sweet potato. “True”yams are often confused with a sweet potato and the sweet potato suffers from the same fate. The “true”yam is a very popular vegetable in Latin America,caribbean and Africa. Yet it is hard to find this elusive vegetable in the United States but it is gaining in popularity. The yam maybe located in local Asian and African markets.

It is possible that it could be located in some local American groceries but you would have to search.Why is all of this so important and who really cares? Well it is a compeletly different vegetable than the one passed off as a yam. It also has some very excellent nutritional value which I will go into a little later in this informative article.

The true yam is found in several hundred varieties with the fleshy part including many colors such as white,ivory,yellow or purple. The thick skin of the yam is usually brownish black. Here is the part where a difference is encountered as your sweet potato may grow 8-12 inches long your yam can grow to SEVEN FEET. You will also find when cooking a true yam that the texture is slippery and has a starchy appearance.

The taste can be described as somewhat earthy and hardy.This does not describe the well known Yams that appear on many American holiday plates.The real answer to the headline is your holiday yam is really a sweet potato. It has been sold as a yam but it is really an orange-colored sweet potato.This resulted from producers of this type of sweet potato trying to distinquish it from the white-fleshed sweet potato recognized by most people.

This is not to infer that yams are not a desirable vegetable since they are a great source of vitamin B6. The high consumption of vitamin B6 has indicated a reduction in the risk of heart disease. The “true” yam will most likely be sold in chunks or pieces sealed in plastic wrap. It would definitely be a struggle to wrestle with a seven foot tuber weighing nearly 150 pounds. The yam is also a good source for potassium which assists in controlling blood pressure. A storage protein known as “dioscorin” may also be of benefit to those suffering from hypertension.

“True” yams usually can replace a sweet potato in any recipe calling for sweet potatoes. There is one condition that sets it off from sweet potatoes;a yam can’t be eaten in a raw state as they are toxic prior to cooking. it is not wise to store uncooked yams in your refrigerator but keep them in a cool dark place that is well ventilated for up to ten days. You should not store them in the sealed plastic bag but should be stored loose.

After all of that you can really enjoy “true yams” by making a puree of the yam and adding a little milk and season with tamari,coriander,cumin and cayenne for a delectible taste. A good stir fry can be made adding chunks of it to fennel,onions and mushrooms. Isn’t it time you tried something different? I am sure this vegetable will be easier to find in large cities than in rural areas but it is certainly worth the time to seek it out.

You can find out more about vegetable gardening by going to http://www.gardenersgardening.com/vegetablegardening.html

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Farming, Introduction

When to Plant Potatoes

Posted on June 17, 2010 by admin| Leave a comment

One of the most versatile vegetable, potatoes can be boiled, fried, mashed, grilled or baked, and it all taste yum. Although, potatoes are available round the year, using your own home grown ones have a different charm altogether. This article is an attempt to answer all queries about growing potatoes starting from when to plant potatoes and all the way to harvesting them.

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop which belongs to the Solanaceae family, commonly referred to as a nighshade family. The world’s fourth largest food and staple crop, potatoes are an absolute favorite among children and adults, alike. Read more on vegetable gardens.

Growing Potatoes

Potatoes are grown from tubers, ‘seed potatoes’ as they are popularly known. There are dozens of different potato varieties; early, second early and maincrop potatoes. So choose the one you are looking for as per need. Let me get down to answering a few basic questions about planting potatoes before getting into the details. Read more on growing potatoes indoors.

When to Plant Potatoes?
Potatoes should be planted from mid-March or early April, when the soil temperature is closing to a 45º F.

Where to Plant Potatoes?
Potatoes should be planted in a location that receives full sun, and in a loose, well-drained moisture retentive soil.

How Deep to Plant Potatoes?
Depending upon the size of the seed potato, plant them in loose soil at a depth of two to five inches deep.

How Far Apart to Plant Potatoes?
The spacing completely depends upon the variety. Early potatoes should be planted 30 cm apart in rows spaced at 45 – 60 cm, and second earlies and maincrops should be spaced at 38 cm apart in rows spaced apart at 75 – 80 cm.

Method of Planting Potatoes

Now let’s get down to the best way to plant potatoes and soil preparation, and chitting. Potato seeds are not tiny seeds, but special seeds that are actually small sized potatoes or tubers. Four to six weeks before planting the potato seeds, one needs to sprout them. Place the potato seeds in trays or boxes in a light airy location with plenty of light either in late January or early February. Each seed potato has a number of ‘eyes’, keep that side facing upwards. The seeds will start to sprout, and will be ready for plantation when the sprouts grow about 1 to 2 cm. This entire process of sprouting seed potatoes is known as ‘chitting‘. Chitting helps the tubers to establish and grow faster, for un-sprouted seeds take longer to sprout in soil and at times, produce a smaller crop.

Now let’s get down to soil preparation. Choose a location where potatoes have not been grown for last two years. To get a good crop, give the location a three year rotation for growing potatoes. Till the soil deep, and add in just a little peat moss. Fertilizing is not necessary at this stage. Experts recommend a location that has been manured the previous winter. However, the addition of some compost or a little peat moss is beneficial. The use of fresh manure is a strictly no-no as it tends to cause scab on the potatoes. Ready the rows and trenches as per the variety of the potato seed. Handling chitted seeds carefully, gently press or set them into the trench with the shoots pointing upwards, and cover the potato seeds very lightly with soil. As the sprout grow bigger, keep mounting the soil higher. This will give the young potato plant protection from frost and weeds.

Watering potato plants as they begin to grow is very important to ensure the health of the tubers. Keep the soil well watered throughout the summer, especially during the flowering period. The flowers borne are white, pink, red or purplish blue with yellow stamens. The potato seed variety some times also determines the color of the flowers, such as; white flowers generally have white potato skins, while colored flowers tend to have a more pinkish to brown skins. Preferably water early in the day. When foliage dies back naturally, cease watering for a week or so to allow the tubers to mature.

Harvest potatoes 2 to 3 weeks after the plants have finished flowering. Early potatoes can lifted from June until September, even when the foliage is still green, whereas second earlies and maincrop varieties can be lifted September, however, before lifting the crop, cut back the foliage to ground to give the potato skins sufficient time to toughen up.

Learn more about growing this wonder veggie:

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Farming, Introduction, Tips

Growing Potatoes in Tires

Posted on June 17, 2010 by admin| Leave a comment

Rene was a health freak and such she had a beautiful vegetable garden. She also had potatoes planted in her garden. But that was not without a twist. (No actually it should be a turn). The turn oops I mean the twist was that she had plated and was growing the potatoes in vehicle tires!

Although it sounds hilarious, growing potatoes in tires also seems to be an out of the box (or should I say tire!) idea. To grow potatoes in tires is nothing but planting potatoes in used or worn out tires. This way, the tires are deemed useful. Hence after all this rambling about potatoes in tires, care for a bumpy ride about growing potatoes at home? Lets bring it on.

How to Grow Potatoes in Tires

Tire Retire: Get hold of some old tires to start off. Getting old, used tires is no big deal. If you do not have them, your neighbors or acquaintances are going to have them! If nothing works, your best mate is Internet. Just put an advertisement on a dedicated website where you have loads of classifieds. Consider your requirement fulfilled.

Seed’y’ Potatoes?: We all love potatoes! They are not seedy. What I want to say is procure some good quality seed potatoes. After you get them, a week or so prior to planting, induce sprouting in potatoes by putting them in a warm and well lit area. Soon enough, you would see buds coming out from each eye of the potato. Then, cut the potatoes in large chunks, having at least one eye. These are the seeds, let them sit for a few days so that a scab is formed. Scab is necessary as it will avoid rotting of the potato underground. That is an important thing for growing potato in tires.

Spot the Spot: Once you are settled with tires, decide upon a place for the tire in your garden. Just remember that the soil should be warm and there should be a good amount of sunlight. So, pick the spot depending on that. When you decide upon a spot, also see whether you can have a proper drainage below the tire. The spot is very crucial when it comes to growing potatoes in tires.

Plant ‘Em Up: Following the first three steps, you are now all set and raring to go to plant the potatoes. Now, you most probably would not have got all the tires of the same size. Therefore, determine which is the biggest and lay it down first. This is the base. Now fill the inside of the tire casing completely with soil. Then follow this up with laying the second largest tire on the top of the base and fill it halfway through. After this, plant the potato seeds in the middle of the tire, covering them with soil and dirt. Use soil in a quantity so as not to fill the tire up to the brim, but good enough. Then water the seeds well. For more on how to plant potatoes, read tips for planting potatoes.

Caring for them: Now that you have planted the potatoes, water the taters well and ensure a thorough drainage of water. Water the seeds a bit more than usual immediately after planting, when it is in the flowering mode. If possible, do this in the morning, because if the leaves stay damp overnight, they are more prone to diseases. Add another tire and lay the soil around the stalk once the plant is around 8 inches tall. To avoid suffocation of the plant, leave a few inches uncovered. Repeat this process after the shoot grows 8 inches further. By the end of summer, when the foliage would turn brown and die back, stop watering. But the harvest time has not yet arrived, there is still time for potatoes to be ready for harvest. Before the commencement of the initial showers of rain, harvest the taters, or else they would rot in the ground. Post the procedure of gigging them up, keep them in a dry place. To know how to grow sweet potatoes, read growing sweet potatoes – how to grow sweet potatoes.

There! Enjoy your home-grown potatoes with your family! Wasn’t this is one of the most interesting and fun recipe to grow potatoes? The trick here is to water the plant well, because water will help the tubers grow well. Growing potatoes in tires is all about timing and taking proper care of the tubers. Pamper them and give them a good skin so that they do not go bad in quick time.

It wasn’t that bad a bumpy ride, was it? So, when is your next potato harvest going to be?!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Farming, Techniques

Growing Potatoes in Bags

Posted on June 17, 2010 by admin| Leave a comment

Many farmers prefer to grow potatoes in field. But if you are city dweller, even a piece of dirt becomes a rarity. So how to grow potatoes in city? Growing potatoes in bags is your answer. (you can also grow them in a potato tub, I like this method better ). Growing potatoes at home is very interesting.

How to Grow Potatoes in Bags?

Get a bag of compost. Properly empty it in a place where it can be stored for a long time. This is because potatoes wouldn’t need all the compost at once. Cut the compost bag properly because this is where your potatoes will be growing. Next you roll the top of the bag below half way mark. This shall give support to whatever compost that you are going to put in it. Don’t roll it all the way down because that wouldn’t be of any use.

Put a small layer of compost at the bottom of the bag. Now place some seed potatoes on top of this freshly put compost layer. Two or three seed potatoes will do. Now cover these seed potatoes with another layer of compost and water it for a while. See that it does not get wet too much. It only has to be adequately moist. With this all the preliminary stages for growing potatoes in a bag have been covered. Read more on growing sweet potatoes

After a few days (maybe a week), you will see that there is a shoot coming out of the compost. The time interval may depend on weather. Once these shoots come out you add some more compost to the bag so that they completely covered again. Well if you need to unroll the bag do it just so slightly. Again moist the compost just so that the newly formed shoots may sustain. Again allow these potatoes to grow.

Until now I have been repeating, not to soak the compost. But do not let it dry out as well. In every container gardening you shall find that the material in it dries very quickly when compared with actual ground. As water is needed for any life to grow you will need to moist the the compost every now and then. (I recommend once a day.) This way you will keep a close watch on potatoes also.

When the potato plants mature, you will see that they have distinctly come out of the bag and they can no more be called shoots. In some cases they become quite big also. Wait for them to flower. Once they have finished flowering, your baby potatoes in compost bag should be ready. If you want your potatoes to be grow, then you can wait for a week or so for them to grow.

Now that you have taken out the big plump potatoes, what will you do of the left over compost? Well spread it over your vegetable garden. Do not use the same compost again for new potatoes. This will not only spread diseases in potatoes, but your efforts will also be wasted. Growing potatoes in bags always requires fresh compost. Read more on growing potatoes in tires.

Growing potatoes in bags is not such a difficult task. All you need is patience and good care for the vegetable. When you have home grown potatoes, the satisfaction you will get is unparalleled. Hope that the above tips for planting potatoes are satisfactory.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Farming, Introduction, Techniques, Tips