How To Grow Sweet Potatoes And Farmstay News

Maggie asked me about sweet potatoes. These are photos I took last Spring, but as we are currently harvesting the last of our sweet potatoes, I felt a bit nostalgic for spring...so will tell you a little bit about them.
Supermarket sweetpotatoes rarely sprout...I suspect they are sprayed with something . I bought my sweet potatoes from our local organic shop 'Organic Feast'(great shop!!) in Maitland.
I cut them up into pieces and placed them in the soil.

 There was little effort to it all. Although I did find at the end of season, the bigger pieces were the ones that did the best. I guess the plant had more to use as nutrients.

I used all sorts of pieces (orange, white and purple). I discovered the orange ones did the best and supplied the most produce. The purple were more slow growing and the white ones did not seem to like my climate at all. So, in a temperate climate, I would suggest the orange kumera to begin with.

It was so exciting seeing them all sprout.

And this is what we have been eating for the past few weeks. I haven't been near the grocery shop for 3 weeks now, these are just delicious!!

Of course , you can't grow them now...too cold. All the plants have just been zapped by frost. But the little tubers left in the soil untouched will shoot again in spring. So it is a great plant that you have to do little work for, and it just keeps providing -you must find a permanent designated area for it though.

In other news we are listening to builders hammer and drill as the new bathrooms go in the farmstay rooms. I can't get near the perpetual garden with all these utes parked up along the house. Still, it is a good sound, the sound of progress  .

I have both fires going today and am looking out on a very dry landscape, as the frost has burnt off the last of the kikiyu grass . There has been some rain today , and fingers crossed we will get some winter grasses coming through soon. ...just need a bit more rain. I have planted clover around my orchard to create a natural mulch and am attempting to never run out of broccoli (as it always seems to be the one thing that I have to dash to the supermarket to buy) by planting 17 plants and more to come.Also, as I snuggle up in front of the fire, I have created the farmstay blog :
http://thelittleblackcowblog.blogspot.com/  ....so feel free to visit whenever you like and tell alllllllllllllllllllll your friend  as well!
Can't wait to hear more about what has been happening in your garden Maggie.