I Yam a Yam

In June, we started a small garden area around our Christmas Tree Peach.  Roughly 10' diameter, created totally from cardboard, composted oak trees, yard clippings and some partially decomposed compost.  To dress the area up a bit, I spread newspaper around the middle, topped off with  a small bag of Jungle Growth, and planted some basil seedlings and sweet potato vine cuttings.   The photo below is how the garden spot looked yesterday in the dappled afternoon sun.

My garden on a dime is filling in nicely.  It's always amazing how much growth occurs during our hot rainy season.

In the beginning, June 1 in fact; there was a sweet baby Peach tree in a big garden spot all by her lonesome.

She was surrounded with piled up trash.  Arranged neatly and aesthetically of course.

A few sprigs of cuttings of sweet potato vine were stuck around her, along with some basil seedlings.

Then I found the coral rocks on the side of the road for trash pickup.  Can you believe I talked DH into hauling them home for me????

They make a very nice border.  And the garden spot expanded just a bit more.  Less grass to maintain!

Remember now, I started sweet potato vines back in February.  I bought a package of organic baby sweets, let them dry out for a few weeks.  Then moved them out to the garage under lights and in trays of water to start the chitting process.  Chitting - what a fun word that is.  It means to get roots growing.

Every eye on a potato has the potential to sprout.  As soon as it sprouts, carve that section of the potato out and put it in some water.  Roots will start growing!

When the roots and baby vine are developed, plant them in the ground.  Before long a vine will start growing!  Along the vine at each leaf is a node that can sprout roots.  Some roots will develop into little tubers that grow and grow into a potato!

You can also take cuttings off the vine and root them in water or in ground.  This is another way to spread out your sweet potato crop.

Our main sweet potato patch is on the far side of the driveway.  The few started here were to provide a pleasing ground cover, prevent weeds and help grow the soil.

Looks pretty nice out there today.  But alas, the celery needs to be planted.  Lettuce needs to be planted.  I need that growing spot.  Time to pull sweet potato vines.

I really didn't expect much in the way of crops.  Figured I would pull the vines up and move them to the back along the front of ugly planter pots row.

Imagine my surprise when the very first potato was a full regular size yam!

I didn't think there would be enough here for a meal.  I bought a few to supplement the very few I expected to harvest.

Blow me over!

3.5 lbs of yams.  OK, some are a bit small and should have been thrown back.  Some are still in the ground because I didn't feel like digging under rocks.  But, OMG.  Look at that!

Can you imagine what I'm going to find when I get over to the far side of the driveway that I planted out first????

Mom BJ - sweet potatoes for dinner when you get here!