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Post by shin on Apr 8, 2019 23:20:16 GMT
I happened to read the other day about the "Okinawan Diet", which is the basic diet of people who live in Okinawa. What I read was that Japanese people are the longest lived people in the world, and of all the Japanese, those who live on the island of Okinawa are the longest lived of all, with more people living to be 100 there than anywhere else in the world.
What do Okinawans eat that makes them live so long? Mainly they eat the Okinawan purple sweet potato. I saw a little chart that showed 70% of their diet was purple sweet potato. Measuring the amount consumed by the actual people who lived to be 100+ it was 70% purple sweet potatoes, according to the article.
Now I'm not sure I'd want to live to be 100 if 70% of my diet was purple sweet potatoes every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, purple potato after purple potato after purple potato.
But I ordered 3 plants anyway to see what the fuss was about. Anyone have some growing tips?
I don't even like ordinary sweet potatoes so this was probably a mistake.
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Post by feather on Apr 8, 2019 23:55:57 GMT
I studied some anthropology in school, and we were to read a book about an island of people, an obscure island, they ate mostly root vegetables, it wasn't a sweet potato, it was something even less sweet and they were very healthy too. It's not important to me to live to be 100, but I'd like to live and feel good, enjoy life and be able to get around and do things, even in my old age, whatever old age is for me. This is the potato diet by a guy in Australia, very healthy. He lost a lot of weight. The book 'The China Study' talks about the blue zone people, most healthy, that base most of their diet on carbs. Rice for instance. The doctor, a medical doctor, Dr. McDougall has a book out called something like 'The starch solution', and many many youtubes about why a diet based on starches and vegetables is more healthy than the standard american diet. Here's a one hour talk with McDougall. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaNDDuqmCsNow you've stirred up a hornet's nest. Blue sweet potatoes have more anti-oxidants than white/yellow/orange sweet potatoes, therefore better for you. Eat your rainbow. If you want a sweet potato to taste less sweet, then boil it. If you want it to be more sweet, bake it.
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Post by Weed on Apr 9, 2019 0:12:55 GMT
Southeastern Pa. right? Begin by amending enough 5.6-6 pH soil (now) to build yourself a mound that's about 4' long, 20" wide at the base x 12" tall. Soil should be on the sandy side with some OM to help retain moisture. For best results here in the NE, if you can - cover the mound with landscape fabric...the fabric attracts heat and SPs love it hot. Cut your 3- 2" holes @ 15" centers thru the fabric and plant your slips. Keep them well watered for at least the first 4-5 days
As they run, keep the vines from taking root at the node points...I use shredded leaves but straw works well too. Every once in a while pick up the vines to make sure they're not tapping. If they throw roots, pinch them off and shift the vines. If you allow them to root, they'll begin making useless baby SPs (which are just robbing the main tubers growing in the mound.
I assume your slips will arrive around June 1st? Oh yeah...deer will come in and eat them down to the ground every chance they get! I'm not familiar with the variety you ordered but the Covington's I grow here will run 10' -12' from the mounds
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Post by feather on Apr 9, 2019 0:21:52 GMT
shin, did you know that Weed, is a master at growing those sweet potatoes? He taught us, gave us landscape fabric, sent us slips, how to mound them, and even though we are pretty far north for them, we did get sweet potatoes. I'd trust what he said. This forum and the people here are amazing.
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Post by shin on Apr 9, 2019 0:22:44 GMT
A lady once put words to my objection to ordinary sweet potatoes. They're both sweet and savory at once. It's like sprinkling salt and sugar on your food.
Northeastern PA. I ordered 3 plants from Rare Seeds, don't know when they'll ship. I will do my best and fence them in! I have a ton of leaves.
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Post by Weed on Apr 9, 2019 0:33:49 GMT
shin , did you know that Weed , is a master at growing those sweet potatoes? He taught us, gave us landscape fabric, sent us slips, how to mound them, and even though we are pretty far north for them, we did get sweet potatoes. I'd trust what he said. This forum and the people here are amazing. I remember that! Ready for some more? ETA is June 1 as always
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Post by feather on Apr 9, 2019 0:51:09 GMT
Thanks Weed, I'd hope people south would grow them and grow them well. We'll opt out of sweet potatoes. We usually try new things and see what sticks. We're going to try the mako seeds this year, and we are very excited to do that. And some chickpeas because I use so many, and some soy beans too. And we'll put in green beans in the garlic garden right after we harvest. I'm so happy we get two crops of things in one patch and we are WI, the frozen tundra. shin, sweet potato leaves are edible! Don't forget that.
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Post by shin on Apr 9, 2019 1:16:49 GMT
Well there's a pleasant surprise. I'll be sure to follow those instructions to a T!
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Post by AD in WNC on Apr 9, 2019 19:59:23 GMT
I lived in Hawaii where a co-worker grew purple sweet potatoes (Okinawan yams). They were absolutely delicious! I don't much like regular sweet potatoes, but the purple ones are great. She baked them with their skins on for supper and the next morning she sliced them across so that they looked like thick silver dollar pancakes. I could eat a couple of slices for breakfast with no butter or salt or anything on them. Tasted great and filling too.
That fall I found some at the local grocery store and we had purple mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. They boiled up nicely and I used a bit of milk to mash them up - they didn't need butter. They were a big hit with both hubby and baby. Boy we're they good!
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Post by feather on Apr 9, 2019 20:46:44 GMT
AD in WNC, I'm getting really excited for shin's purple potatoes now. I think we should try to get an invitation to dinner there. In other potato news...A good movie is 'Martian', he get stuck on Mars, grows potatoes to survive, which just shows you, how good potatoes are. I loved watching him grow potatoes in his 'green house'. And potato humor:
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Post by midtnmama on Apr 9, 2019 21:16:17 GMT
Random thoughts:
Some folks think sweet potatoes are only good smothered in butter and brown sugar (something the Okinawans and other healthy eating people do NOT do. BUT, did you know that just adding cinnamon to the roasted sweet potato gives a "sweet impression and taste?"
In college the nonsense about potatoes causing weight gain started. FRIED potatoes will cause weight gain. Baked potatoes WITH Sour Cream and Butter will cause weight gain. But POTATOES will not cause weight gain and are very nutritious. After all, billions of South Americans over a million years have prospered with potatoes as their mainstay. Irish, same.
The leaves of the sweet potato are edible and are used in many ethnic cuisines, including Phillipines, and other asian countries.
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Post by solargeek on Apr 10, 2019 0:21:36 GMT
I love potatoes but could not eat at every meal each day. Or even 300 days unless of course I was starving. ANd then I would thank God for them.
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Post by susannah on Apr 10, 2019 0:34:14 GMT
Random thoughts: Some folks think sweet potatoes are only good smothered in butter and brown sugar (something the Okinawans and other healthy eating people do NOT do. BUT, did you know that just adding cinnamon to the roasted sweet potato gives a "sweet impression and taste?" midtnmama, I always thought I hated sweet potatoes because my only exposure to them while growing up was having them baked with brown sugar and marshmallows. They literally made me gag as a child. I supposed I should mention that as a child I had no sweet tooth whatsoever - couldn't even stand ketchup because I could taste the sugar. French toast I would only eat with a bit of butter and salt and a ton of black pepper. Etc. But it was only candied sweet potatoes that triggered my gag reflex. A few years ago, I read the eye opening news that sweet potatoes could be served savory. And what do you know, it turns out I LOVE sweet potatoes. I was just given the wrong sweet potato toppings as a child.
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Post by shin on Apr 10, 2019 1:06:34 GMT
BTW I really love that sweet and rude potato cartoon! lol!
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Post by feather on Apr 10, 2019 18:24:37 GMT
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Post by midtnmama on Apr 16, 2019 23:31:33 GMT
susannah, we like to eat vegetarian chili over sweet potatoes. Very savory and good!
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Post by susannah on Apr 16, 2019 23:47:34 GMT
susannah , we like to eat vegetarian chili over sweet potatoes. Very savory and good! That does sound wonderful. I'm thinking the next time I make a batch of zucchini and black bean chili, at least some of it is going over sweet potatoes!
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Post by midtnmama on Apr 17, 2019 13:15:53 GMT
susannah,I haven't tried it, but I've heard some folks add sweet potato to their hummus. I also like to add zuchinni to my chili (uses up the bounty and so healthy!) This week, I added okra ( because I still have a lot frozen from last year's bounty) It was great! Great minds think alike!
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Post by ceresone on Apr 17, 2019 23:06:56 GMT
I raised sweet potatoes one year, fenced in with cattle panels, my bed was 4' wide 16' long. Panels were 54" high. You could see nothing but vines inside, thing was full.. But the outside looked as if it had been shorn, deer kept every stray vine nipped to the wire!
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Post by AD in WNC on Apr 18, 2019 1:03:31 GMT
ceresone That sounds exactly like what would happen at my house. NC grows lots of sweet potatoes and I found a place in Tennessee that has deep purple ones. I am very tempted!
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Post by shin on Apr 26, 2019 22:25:22 GMT
The sweet potato plants arrived, and today I dug a hill for them in the yard. They're currently sitting in some big pots with top soil in them, it's windy and rainy, quite fierce, so I will put them in the ground in a day or so.
Digging up a garden after it rains is so much easier than when it's dry.
I have a lot of tomato plant sproutlings I want to get in the ground when things aren't so harsh too. And I need to get a fence up to protect it all. Well lots to do, inbetween rain showers. A lot to be thankful for.
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Post by shin on Apr 26, 2019 22:46:35 GMT
Here's a photo. They came without any sweet potato, just plants with roots.
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Post by shin on Apr 27, 2019 13:44:25 GMT
Well the weather changes like it suddenly does, and a cold front is coming in, so I won't put the sweet potatoes out just yet. Since I've never grown 'em before I'll ask a lot of novice questions here such as, if it hits 40 degrees in the evening, is that going to be enough cold for 'em to keel over?
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Post by shin on Apr 27, 2019 16:03:25 GMT
You know I'm going to retract my complaints about ordinary orange sweet potatoes. Tried one raw, just heated up in the microwave today for lunch, they're not bad. My taste must've changed or maybe I just didn't like the way they were prepared when I tried them in the past.
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Post by feather on Apr 27, 2019 16:30:53 GMT
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Post by vickilynn on Apr 27, 2019 16:58:50 GMT
You know I'm going to retract my complaints about ordinary orange sweet potatoes. Tried one raw, just heated up in the microwave today for lunch, they're not bad. My taste must've changed or maybe I just didn't like the way they were prepared when I tried them in the past. I've been finding that flavor depends on which sweet potatoes I buy. The ones that are sold in bulk at my store don't taste very good. I think that's why folks put lots of brown sugar and butter on them. I bought a bag of organic ones, and while they were small, they tasted amazing. No need to use anything to enhance the flavor. So good!
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Post by gran29 on Apr 27, 2019 18:50:47 GMT
Deer love sweet potato vines! We had issues with deer eating our potato vines til we fenced the garden.
We grow them every year, have cut back on how many as they are very productive. Not sure of the variety as it was one I bought from the grocery store many years ago, it sprouted, we planted, they were(are) delicious so we've kept them going. We like them baked, mashed, roasted or made into sweet potato fries.
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Post by dustawaits on Apr 27, 2019 21:57:26 GMT
Try frying them in a little oil. They do not have to be mushy!
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Post by shin on May 18, 2019 23:08:27 GMT
I've planted some more purple sweet potatoes today. I ordered another few from Rare Seeds, only one didn't make it, it arrived a bit smaller than the others, and I think the non-summer temps didn't agree with it.
I have an unexpected lot of carrots this year as I got some the free sample surprise with an order. I really hope the sweet potatoes do well. I am trying to start some normal orange ones in the house but there're no signs yet, guess it takes awhile.
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Post by ceresone on May 19, 2019 20:05:22 GMT
Everyone does know sweet potatoes need to be cured before eating? I tried toveat one just dug and learned the hard way? They get sweeter longer they are stored.
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