Sweet Surprise!

GoDawgs · September 16, 2019

Back in May when I planted five or six hills of sweet potatoes (cutting back this year) I had one slip left over. I didn't have the heart to toss it (packrat syndrome) so I stuck it in the end of another bed and put a trellis there for the vines to climb. Just a toy. The trellis on the far end of the bed, Aug 25th.

Two weeks ago I noticed what looked like a sweet potato trying to push up. It's just to the left of the black plastic.

Yesterday I got curious so I cut down the vines, removed the trellis and started brushing soil away from the sweet potato which became several sweet potatoes!

After the fork was used to loosen everything up, it turned out there were five potatoes in there, including two huge ones!

This is the largest one, 2 lb 5 oz. The other biggie is just 2 oz less and the third biggest one is a bit over a pound.

They are now in in the shed, in a peach basket which is inside a plastic trash bag to cure for two weeks. There are several holes punched in the plastic to let excess humidity escape as the sweets cure.

I'm glad I didn't toss that slip!

September 16, 2019	#1
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Sweet Surprise! Back in May when I planted five or six hills of sweet potatoes (cutting back this year) I had one slip left over. I didn't have the heart to toss it (packrat syndrome) so I stuck it in the end of another bed and put a trellis there for the vines to climb. Just a toy. The trellis on the far end of the bed, Aug 25th. Two weeks ago I noticed what looked like a sweet potato trying to push up. It's just to the left of the black plastic. Yesterday I got curious so I cut down the vines, removed the trellis and started brushing soil away from the sweet potato which became several sweet potatoes! After the fork was used to loosen everything up, it turned out there were five potatoes in there, including two huge ones! This is the largest one, 2 lb 5 oz. The other biggie is just 2 oz less and the third biggest one is a bit over a pound. They are now in in the shed, in a peach basket which is inside a plastic trash bag to cure for two weeks. There are several holes punched in the plastic to let excess humidity escape as the sweets cure. I'm glad I didn't toss that slip!