There are several different varieties of purple sweet potatoes available from sources such as Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Sand Hill Preservation, Duck Creek Farms, and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. 1). Most purple potato varieties grow as early, midseason or late-season varieties. They require about 100 to 120 days to mature, which is why sweet potatoes produce so well in the long, hot summers of the southern U.S. Sweet potato slips are produced by year-old sweet potatoes in hot beds at large specialty farms in mid to late spring. The bag you see pictured was purchased at Trader Joe’s in Manhattan Beach, CA (Los Angeles). At … Thank you for choosing this service. In warmer climates, it’s easier to tell when purple sweet potatoes are ready to harvest because their vines will yellow and die back. After Columbus' discoveries, they were brought to Asia, and varieties with white skin and speckled pale purple flesh were developed on the Japanese island of Okinawa. D. alata, called "white yam", winged yam, water yam, and purple yam (not to be confused with the Okinawan purple "yam", which is a sweet potato), was first cultivated in Southeast Asia. Let's get together. Exclusive to Frieda’s, these unique Stokes Purple ® sweet potatoes have a somewhat moist, moderately starchy texture and are mildly sweet with slight floral notes. Waiting too long and exposing sweet potatoes to frost will likely leave you … However, since the plant is patented, this means only those that have a license can produce it; so finding slips for home gardeners isnearly impossible. Sweet potatoes are typically ready for harvest 3-4 months after you put the slips on the ground once the plant has begun to wither and die back. Early types, like... New Potatoes. The potatoes are easy to find due to the plant’s own website (stokesfood.com) where you are able to buy them directly or locate a store nearby to purchase them. The produce company is Frieda’s and they are organic. When to Harvest Purple Potatoes Growing Time. Our experts will call you on your preferred time. If you want to try your hand at growing these colorful veggies, here’s how. New potatoes don’t store well and should be eaten within a day or two. You can harvest new potatoes about three weeks after flowering – dig carefully to avoid bruising tubers or damaging roots. This crop is intolerant to even light frosts. As it grows, add more soil to the hill – this will give the plant extra room to grow underground and protect it from weevils. Often, this is 3 to 4 months from when you planted the slips (most varieties take at least 100 days to reach maturity). As your plants grow, you can harvest and eat the tender sweet potato vine tips. There’s not much to do in terms of maintenance other than to keep the deer out of the potato patch (sweet potato vines are one of their favorites) and make sure the vines receive about 1 inch of water per week. Purple sweet potatoes are poised to become as popular as kale at trendy restaurants and farmers markets, even in northern climates where they’re more challenging to grow. Copyright © 2020 EG Media Investments LLC. health benefits of Purple Sweet Potatoes. The young potato tubers begin to form at flowering. Purple potatoes, also known as Peruvian purple potatoes, have naturally purple or deep blue skin and flesh, and are unusually high in antioxidants which makes them super healthful. The first is well dug, compost rich soil, and they need drainage. The plastic should be in place for two to four weeks before planting. June 24, 2012 - Since purple sweet potatoes offer a lot of the appeal of regular potatoes (we love them as oven-baked fries and mashed) but have more vitamins, we got excited when we saw them at our local health food store. Purple sweet potatoes are fun to grow and cook with. Sheâs the author of five gardening books, including the Amazon-bestseller, 3 Recipes For Homemade Holiday Chicken Treats, Build This DIY Weasel Box To Keep Your Hens Safe, 6 Christmas Gift Ideas For Farmers In 2020, Recipe: Cinnamon & Sugar Brioche Is A Rich, Tender Treat, What To Do If Your Goat Has A Rare Disease. Okinawan Sweet Potato Purple sweet potato is common in Japan and Okinawa where it is used in many sweet and savory dishes. Sweet potatoes are typically grown from rooted slips, and purple varieties are no different. Please try again. Because the sweet potatoes can form a good distance from the plant, work from the outer edges of the berm in toward the center. Curing Purple Sweet Potatoes. Purple sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants, and their creamy texture makes delicious fried sweet potato chips. I roasted or bake the purple spuds in a 375 degree oven until done through. There are over 400 different sweet potato varieties around the world, figure out which is best for your garden. Once the temperatures drop down into the 50s at night, it’s time to start checking your tubers. It is noted that the first purple sweet potato was bred by the Japanese and grown specifically on Okinawa, hence its name. Your email address will not be published. Available year-round, these sweet potatoes have purple-tinted skin with a deep purple flesh that intensifies when cooked. Sweet potatoes grow by forming tubers along their roots. Horticulturist Jessica Walliser is an award-winning radio host on KDKA Radioâs âThe Organic Gardenersâ in Pittsburgh. In Texas, the most common food varieties planted are Beauregard, Centennial, Jewell, and Vardaman; the most popular is Beauregard. Sweet potatoes prefer a slightly acidic soil pHâsomewhere between 5.5 and 6.5 is best, as it’s less inviting to the soil-borne pathogens that sometimes attack sweet potatoes. You'll be happy to know sweet potatoes can be grown in containers. You can usually harvest Okinawan sweet potatoes after 120 to 180 days. I harvest my potatoes in the fall, eat … Purple sweet potatoes are low in calories at just around 50 calories per potato. If your temperatures or humidity levels are not quite ideal, curing may take up to 2 weeks. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If they're still soft after your first check, let them cure for a few more days and try again. Because the sweet potatoes can form a good distance from the plant, work from the outer edges of the berm in toward the center. Sweet potatoes that have brown, red-orange, or white skin with orange or white flesh are native to Colombia and southern Central America. The potatoes that are firm and moist are ready. The variety was unidentified and Mike began propagating it. Available from late August through late spring, the Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, with a purple-tinted skin and bold purple flesh, have a drier, denser texture, and better-balanced sweetness than their orange counterparts. Get video instructions about kitchens, bathrooms, remodeling, flooring, painting and more. Slips are simply rooted stem cuttings of sweet potato vines, usually about 4 or 5 inches in length. Here are some of the other varieties to consider that are easier to find and work well in U.S. gardens. Planting purple sweet potatoes. They have little to no fat, 1.3 grams of fiber, 1.4 grams of protein, and only 12 grams of carbs. This root crop has hundreds of varieties, some bred for their showy vines and others for the tasty potatoes (Fig. There are 2 main culprits to avoid once your sweet potatoes are cured. Required fields are marked *. I picked up a few potatoes that day, just to try to cook them, and ended up sprouting them and growing my own purple sweet potatoes. Yams and sweet potatoes have been confused for centuries, find out the difference and which one is best to plant in your garden. Finding slips online can be a challenge, but if potatoes are found it would be easy to produce slips at home. The sweet potatoes that are soft should be discarded. Like other types, purple sweet potatoes are best planted in hilled rows. I am so thankful that I got to harvest my sweet potatoes in November while most part of our country is covered in snow! There are hundreds of different orange sweet potatoes to grow – here are the top five recommended by the experts. For these reasons, the purple sweet potato growing season only runs during the summer months in most of the country. Purple-fleshed sweet potatoes need a long, warm season to produce a good crop, but the starchy, deep-purple roots of varieties such as ‘Violetta’ and ‘All Purple’ are worth the wait. To harvest, use a pitchfork or digging fork to lift the tubers out of the soil. Mature potatoes are usually ready three or four weeks after the tops die down. Growing sweet potatoes in pots allows you to keep them contained to a specific area. It offers high-yield and disease-resistance. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow but they do need a few things to grow really well. Brush off excess soil with your fingers, but do not wash or rinse the harvested tubers. Consider them when planning for your veggie garden: ‘AllPurple’, ‘Purple Majesty’ or ‘Purple Passion’. Hello Youtube Family! Beauregard is one of the world’s most popular sweet potatoes. Growing ‘Okinawan’ sweet potatoes in U.S. climates can be done, but the variety was specifically bred for the weather that is consistent of the islands such as Okinawa and Hawaii. The variety was unidentified and Mike began propagating it. All rights reserved. If the growing season has been good with adequate water and sunshine, harvesting sweet potatoes should begin about 100-110 days after planting depending on the variety. Once they’re settled into their new home, purple sweet potato vines will grow fairly quickly. Usually, sweet potatoes are ready to harvest when the leaves and ends of the vines have started turning yellow, but you can leave them in the ground up until the fall frost. We love to DIY. © 2020 Discovery or its subsidiaries and affiliates. They usually come in bundles of 25, which is … Mike Sizemore, who lives in Stokes County, North Carolina, is noted for discovering this variety. To warm the soil, cover the planting rows with a layer of black or clear plastic (more later on how to create good planting rows). Browse a full list of topics found on the site, from accessories to mudrooms to wreaths. Do not add nitrogen-rich fertilizer to sweet potatoes, as it encourages excessive vine growth at the expense of tuber production. Much like all sweet potato varieties, purple types need to be cured before long-term storage. In northern gardening zones, you’ll need to start your purple sweet potato crop by warming the soil for a few weeks before planting. Much like all sweet potato varieties, purple types need to be cured before long-term storage. The thing that sets purple sweet potatoes apart when it comes to their nutritional value is that they are packed with antioxidants. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are from the same family as regular sweet potatoes. Don’t wait until after your last frost date to harvest! Harvest the potatoes after about three to five months after planting, depending on the growth rates of the Japanese sweet potato cultivar you choose. October 10, 2018. Here are some key instructions on curing and storing sweet potatoes. Tuck the edges of the plastic into the soil or pin them down with rocks, bricks, or landscape pins. It is well known that sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and have good nutritional value. It prefers to be watered multiple times per day, likes rich, nutritious soil and sunny, warm conditions. They are a good source of vitamin C and contain a high level of anthocyanins—the antioxidant compound also … Build 10-inch-high, berm-shaped rows by mounding the soil up, after it’s been tilled and amended with compost or well-aged manure. Again no peeling necessary. Purple varieties aren’t as sweet as other colors, but they sure are beautiful and tasty. Learn the basics about growing sweet potatoes and their origin. If you’d like, you can mulch newly planted slips with straw, untreated grass clippings or shredded leaves, but if you’re using the plastic, there’s no need to add extra mulch. Pick a site that receives full sun and is well-drained. In an article for the LA Times, it is believed that Stokes Purple is possibly a variety that was introduced by Japanese sweet potato breeders who had a number of purple varieties already in the marketplace. Today, they are widely grown in Hawaii and exported to the United States mainland where they are popular with Asian and Lati… It is possible to produce your own slipls, but takes time and planning. If you live in a cooler climate, harvest time will be shortly before the first fall frost (as early as 90 days, and as many as 120 days). Their unique colors come from natural anthocyanin pigments; some Peruvian potatoes are naturally purple, while others are bred for deeper shades. The Ultimate Purple Sweet Potato Guide. Mike Sizemore, who lives in Stokes County, North Carolina, is noted for discovering this variety. There are several different varieties to try. Whether it is an edible or ornamental sweet potato, flowers are not usually part of the equation. Unfortunately, they were awfully expensive ($3.99/lb, I believe). purple sweet potato, egg yolk, lemon juice, caster sugar, sea salt and 6 more Purple Sweet Potato Pudding Family Spice red chile powder, purple sweet potatoes, pecans, cloves, eggs and … Purple sweet potatoes are grown in the same manner as more traditional sweet potato varieties. All rights reserved. When the sweet potatoes are finished, they should be slightly moist and significantly more firm. Demystifying different types of purple sweet potatoes, one tuber at a time! Tell us what you think: Leave a comment 8 people are already talking about this. In warm climates, the vines will begin to yellow and die back, but in the north, this may not happen in time for the arrival of fall’s cold weather. Once the skins have cured, store your purple sweet potatoes in wooden or plastic crates at about 55 degrees F with 85 percent relative humidity. The other more recent purple sweet that has made it to the grocery is Stokes Purple sweet potato. First, you need to avoid cold temperatures. In all possibility, Stokes Purple could be ‘Okinawan’, but without genetic testing it is truly impossible to know. The part we eat is the tuberous root of a vining plant that is closely related to morning glories (Ipomoea tricolor) and youll easily see the similarity in leaves to the sweet potato vines we now grow as ornamentals. Roasted Purple Potatoes. Find solutions for sourcing organic sweet potato slips and fertilizing with naturally derived nutrients. What's the Difference Between a Sweet Potato and a Yam, 60+ Ways to Use Up Thanksgiving Leftovers. The purple potato made its way to Hawaii and then to the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian sweet potato, which is a variety called ‘Okinawan’, but is commonly called purple yam, Japanese purple potato or Japanese Sweet Potato. How to plant. Mature Potatoes. 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