Kevin Lee Jacobs

Gardening, Recipes & Home Décor Tips

How I Grow Sweet Potatoes

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | 95 Comments

Last updated on February 25th, 2018

054I love sweet potatoes. I love them baked in a pie, mashed in Bubble and Squeak, and shredded for eggs in nifty nests. Fortunately, this beta carotene-rich Impomea batata is extremely easy to grow in a small home garden. All you need is a sense of adventure, and at least one mature sweet potato!

Sweet potatoes are grown from rooted spouts, or “slips.” You can buy already-rooted slips from online dealers (you’d be amazed at the different varieties they offer), or produce them all on your own. If you go the DIY route, as I did last year, be sure to start your project a couple of months before your average last frost date.

061To start, grab a sweet potato. Or two. Last year, I used organic sweet potatoes from my supermarket. They worked perfectly well.

055Next, cut the tubers in half…

057And arrange them, cut-side-down, in a baking dish. Then add enough water to reach 1 inch up the sides of the cut pieces.

058Alternatively, you can put a whole (or halved) sweet potato in a jar of water, and secure it in place with toothpicks. Set the tuber so that it is half-in, half-out of the water.

026Bring the jar or dish to abundant sunlight and moderate warmth, and in  2-3 weeks your Impomea will push out lovely green sprouts.

Note: If your tuber refuses to sprout after 3 weeks, it will claim one of three alibis:
1) It was sprayed, by the seller, with sprout-retardant
2) It is located in a too-cold window
3) It doesn’t like you

Another note: If your tuber was sprayed with sprout-retardant, don’t despair. Just give it extra time to push out growth.

017When the sprouts achieve 5-6 inches in length, cut them off, and remove the lower leaves. Then stick the stems in a jar (or a drinking glass) of water. Give the cuttings warmth and light, and they will produce roots in a matter of days. Refresh the water once a week or so.

You can, of course, root the stems in small (2-inch) pots filled with commercial potting formula. Keep the soil evenly moist at all times.

Hardening Off and Planting Out

It is absolutely necessary to harden off the cuttings before planting them out. To do this, bring the slips outdoors to a semi-shaded place in late spring, or when daytime temperatures are in the 60°F range. Bring the slips indoors if nighttime temps are expected to dip below 50°F.  After 3 days, gradually introduce the slips to full sun.

028Here in New York’s Hudson Valley (zone 5-b), Memorial Day weekend is the usual time to plant out sweet potato slips. Space them about 15 inches apart, and be sure to soak the soil daily until new growth is evident. Then provide 1 inch of water per week. Impomea is a tropical grower that wants full, blazing sun for 100-140 days.

037Last summer, my little slips grew with the speed of Jack’s infamous beanstalk…

050until a woodchuck discovered the delicious leaves. Fortunately, enough leaves remained to nourish the orange roots below. To my surprise, I achieved a substantial crop at summer’s end.

107To celebrate that harvest, I whipped up some Eggs in Sweet Potato Nests, and washed them down with cold champagne. What a winning combination.

Enjoy this feature? Get my email updates. And to validate my existence, be sure to post your thoughts in the comments section below. I can’t always respond to comments, but I always read them!

 

Comments

  1. 1

    Cary Bradley says

    Thanks for this tutorial, Kevin! As usual, your timing is perfect. I grew sweets for the first time last year, a purple Hawaiian variety that is delicious. Smells like cloves when cooking! I held a few back to try to grow my own slips, but I’ve had a terrible time getting them to root. I put them in mason jars (without toothpicks) and think according to your instruction, I may have had too deeply submerged. Think I’ll find some toothpicks and try your way. Yours look fabulous! Thanks, my friend!!!

  3. 3

    Carolyn says

    Thanks I used to do this in science. I might plant in boxes up on my deck since my groundhogs ate my hollyhocks last year.

  4. 4

    Lace Faerie says

    I think I’m going to give this a try!
    My brother just introduced me to spiralized sweet potatoes. He peels them then cranks them though the spiral cutter, then tosses them into pan with olive oil and lightly sauté until al dente. High heat in a cast iron skillet results in beautiful carmalized “noodles”! I can make this, serve with a mixed greens salad and call it dinner!

  5. 5

    Josie says

    Perfect! My bay window is so warm and sunny. It’s ideal for starting plants, but winter sowing has worked so well for me that I have nothing to start there. Now I do! Do you hill sweet potatoes as you would regular potatoes?

  7. 7

    Mary in Iowa says

    I have a whole organic sweet toothpicked in a jar, just starting to grow roots that preceed the slip growth. It’s a bit slow, but I keep my house quite cool–in the low 60s–so even though it’s in the light unit it’s not setting the world on fire. Maybe I’ll sneak something else off of the bottom heat source and give the spud a tropical vacation.

  9. 9

    Becca says

    Hi Kevin,

    Thanks for all your super informative posts about starting garden plants and seeds! I just started wintersowing this winter after years of reading about it. I also like trying to start plants indoors from grocery store cuttings-celery ends, avocado pits, sweet potatoes, etc. My question is, do you think it would be possible to use a milk jug container to harden off plants grown indoors-like maybe plant sweet potato slips into a milk jug in early April and plunk it outside with the other wintersown jugs, instead of trying to remember to water all the time and move them in and out? I confess I have excellent starts to projects, but often lazy follow through… In the spirit of experimentation, I’m going to try it this spring with some of the slips from a sweet potato sitting in my kitchen window now, but I was wondering if you’ve ever tried anything like that.

    Cheers,
    Becca

  10. 10

    Lori Schmidt says

    Hi Kevin I planted sweet potatoes last year for the first time very late in the season. I saw the seedlings in a nursery and knew nothing about growing them so took them home. They did get tubers, not the greatest but they taste great. You had the woodchuck problem with the leaves but I had a Vole problem with the tubers.. Quite a few had big chunks eaten out of them when I harvested them. Being such small creatures I am not sure how I am going to keep them out of the bed this year, just hoping my resident garden snakes do their job (I found a large snake skin in the bed so there was at least one living there but he did not do a complete job LOL and a few voles got to my potatoes)

  13. 13

    Dianne says

    I LOVE Sweet Potatoes anyway they are fixed (except candied–yuk). AND my dogs love them as well. They are SOOOgood for us. That being said I am going to give it a try. My little garden will love having them become part of the veggie family.

  14. 14

    Nelly NY7a says

    I want to grow sweet potatoes this year but without using my prime real state raised beds. I’m thinking about containers but what kind and what size is what I need to figure out to get a good harvest…. So many seeds so little room 🙁

  15. 15

    Sue Smith says

    I tried some straw bale gardening last year. It was very successful. Last years bales are good for one more year, I think. I wonder how sweet potatoes would grow in straw bales?

  16. 16

    Mary Beth says

    As usual, you give excellent advice, instructions and give me more to think about. You are such a nice person to share all that you do. From me… I , myself, thank you for all the time and trouble you go through.

  17. 17

    Tawni says

    Last year I planted ornamental sweet potato vine…I think this year I’m going to try real sweet potatoe vines…That way I’ll have an extra bonus…Real sweet potatoes. ..If we plant them in the next month. ..When would you advise harvesting?

  20. 20

    Trudi says

    hmm …the keeping them wet is the hard part for me as well.I’m busy and i forget! but i love reading about the possibilities in the garden and life. Here is another grateful THANK you for being so generous with your garden and cooking adventures.

  21. 21

    Carolyn says

    Have ordered organic slips for a hefty price to try sweet
    Potatoes for the first time. This would be much cheaper. Also, need more sw. Potato recipes
    because they are not my favorite.
    I eat them because I should. Also, about a week
    ago I sent you an email to ask
    if you had ever seen, eaten or grown agretti? Think that email must be in cyberspace because you are very prompt with replies. So here it is again.

  22. 22

    Joanne says

    Hi– I’m new to your site. I have about a dozen milk jugs out on the back deck here in Maine, filled with seeds and “high hopes”. Now, I can try sweet potatoes as well.

    I am teaching a seed starting class next weekend at the local greenhouse/nursery. Milk jugs will be on the lesson plan along with toilet paper seed strips.

  25. 25

    Chrissy says

    Thank you for all of the great information. I home cook for my rescue dogs and sweet potatoes are a big part of the diet here. They are fabulous roasted and mashed, and I love the nested idea (for me, not the dogs but they would probably like that, too). Not to mention, they look quite fun to grow, too. Bring on spring!

  26. 26

    Judy Hines says

    Can’t wait to share this with you and your other fans. Microwave a sweet potato. Cool. Peel. Mash. Add juice of 1 lime and blend. For a larger quantity, just remember 1 lime/1 sweet potato.

  27. 27

    Linda A says

    Hi Kevin, Great post – thanks for the interesting info.
    I eat sweet potatoes but am not real crazy about them. Maybe I should try a variety not
    usually found in grocery stores and see if one would appeal. Then I could produce more
    by your method.
    I really like the light green ornamental sweet potatoes, especially in containers – so pretty!

  28. 28

    jean says

    I read your posts every time I receive them….love your humor!
    I am planting deeper window boxes this year, and traditionally I buy sweet potato vine from the nursery…at a pricey price….
    I will start these little guys now, and plant them in the boxes with my flowers and chard…then harvest when I need to give my flowers more breathing room….Autumn.
    Thank you for the illustrations….I’m a visual learner and all of your instructions are so do-able.

  29. 29

    Ms. V. says

    This is a suggestion for Lori Schmidt. Check out the web site NH Hostas. The owner had a serious mole/vole problem. Look for his solution (the written directions are given and are much easier to follow than his explanation). Good luck.

  30. 30

    Belinda says

    I need to add my “thank-you”s to all the others. You have become indispensable to me each Spring. I also like reading through your reader responses for even more ideas, such as the one above.

  32. 32

    Ardelle says

    I am considering planting some and will try to start my sprouts yet today. I also love sweet potatoes and use them more than typical white potatoes. I will build a raised bed with a floor to prevent bindweed from infiltrating my baby sweet potatoes home. I had to give up a perennial bed because I lost the battle with bindweed/Jimsonweed. Sometimes you just have to “know when to fold ’em”. How deep should their enclosed bed be I wonder. Suggestions?

  34. 34

    Barbara Jean Smith says

    Hi Kevin! I’m in Florida, and I started Sweet Potato’s in the fall. They been growing good! I do I know when their ready?

  37. 37

    Hoosier Gardener says

    That woodchuck had the right idea. Did you know that sweet potato leaves are not only healthy, but very delicious? My Chinese sister-in-law said many Chinese grow them more for the leaves than the tubers! Just treat them like any greens, sautéed in a little oil, or steamed, or boiled.

    Also, for those of you in zones with a short growing season, the best sweet potato for you would be ‘Beauregard’. It produces HUGE tubers in record time. Some are over two pounds, yet are never pithy, always delicious!

    I also had trouble with voles for the first time last summer. They laid waste 90% of both my sweet potato and regular potato patches. I have to check the website Ms. V suggested a few posts back.

  38. 38

    Barbara Jean Smith says

    It’s time! Ooohh, Yummy! Let’s see: Mid October ’til end of February = About 130 days? Mostly sunny and over 50 degrees. I’ll put that in my journal for next year!

    I love your site! I read it as soon as it comes: the tips and oh, the recipes! and the pictures of your garden. Say hi to the Silver Fox for me!

  39. 39

    Leslie D says

    Hi Kevin,

    This looks so interesting and easy. I will try it. I made sweet potato chips last night with the help of a Mandolin, and really liked the taste. I added a little onion powder to spark up the flavour.

    Until now I have not been a huge fan of these potatoes, but am willing to try them in a variety of now dishes now. I appreciate your enthusiasm, and love the idea of the nests with eggs.

    Thanks so much, Kevin (and a skritch behind the ears for Lily)

  40. 40

    Eliza J says

    Thanks for this blog Kevin ~ this is the year to try this! I have the PERFECT sweet potato that is already producing offspring! Never have grown these before, but really am looking forward to trying!

  41. 41

    susan says

    just love your style and warmth and sharing so many wonderful things about life that are often very simple for others to do. I really enjoy reading your various projects, even if i cant do all the beautiful things you share, it’s so nice to see them. Beautiful photography and most of all you share your simple joys and sheer enjoyment. Susan

  42. 42

    Tracy says

    I have had good success with sweet potato ‘Beauregard’ for a few years in Minnesota, Zone 3. I usually buy started slips, but I have a few left in the root cellar that I will try your method on in order to get my own slips. Best crop was grown last summer in a black rubber horse trough filled with soil and compost. The flavor is incredible compared to store bought tubers! Apparently, the greens are edible for humans, not just woodchucks! Keep meaning to try them.
    Cheers.

  43. 43

    Margie S. says

    I get large tubers every year in my planters when I’ve added the yellowish sweet potato vines (I think they are called ‘Margarita’, or something like that) which I’ve purchased at the greenhouse. I was wondering if these tubers are edible and also how do you harden them off for storage? If they aren’t edible I could still start my own slips using this method… In past years, I’ve given the plants ‘haircuts’ and rooted the slips in water (only takes a few days) to increase the number of plants.

  45. 45

    Debra says

    Your observation was correct Kevin, lush growth will hinder the production sweet potatoes. Here in KS we never worry if the goats or deer browse a little 🙂

  46. 46

    Heike says

    I grew them for the first time last year and since my garden didn’t do so well as the weather was so weird here again in Easter NC, i figured they didn’t either, so to my surprise, when I went to clean up back there one day, I found a sweet potato that barely fit into a 2 Gallon bucket. After peeling and cutting it up for pie and sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, my 10 qt stockpot was full. I still have some of it in the freezer.
    I have a picture of my bumper crop, but can’t figure out how to add it to this comment.
    I will be growing them again this year.

  47. 47

    Dana says

    I went the slip route one year; then, when a sweet potato sprouted in my pantry, I just cut the potato into pieces and planted the piece with the sprout. It worked (Okanagan/Hawaiian). This year I’ve been cutting back the vines thinking more energy will go into the potato and not the vine. I have to fence the vegie patch as the bandicoots love to dig for roots.

  48. 48

    brenda says

    morning Kevin,
    My sweets start on their own in the cabinet (reds too!).
    I just drop them in a pot of dirt, cover them and water.
    Wallah, pot of potatoes and a beautiful plant to boot!!!

  50. 50

    Michelle S. says

    The best post about growing sweet potatoes that I’ve seen! And the Eggs in Sweet Potato Nests are a thing of great beauty! Thank you, Kevin. Also you made me giggle with the line about validating your existence.

  51. 51

    shayla says

    In Utah, we call the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes Yams. Sweet potatoes have white flesh. Your pictures are what we call yams. Is growing methods the same for both? I prefer the orange colored yams.

  53. 53

    Janet Metzger says

    I had one “wild yam” left; cut it; it now resides in water in the bowl that used to hold Grandma Metzger’s African violet that died after I returned from OK. So now I can have food for the fall.

    Thank you!

  54. 54

    Samantha Gray says

    One of the projects we did to teach the kids about gardening when they were little was to have them grow sweet potatoes in the windows. We lived in an urban apartment then, so had no way to plant them outside, although the green vines in those city windows were very pretty. Somehow, when we moved a couple of years later to a home with ample gardening space, I never thought to grow sweet potatoes… possibly because we were ten minutes from a large farm tucked away from the main road which grows all kinds of wonderfulness 9 months of the year. But you have inspired me, and this year I will try to rear sweet potatoes. Thank you, Kevin!

  55. 55

    Laura says

    I love sweet potatoes, too! And your recipe for eggs in sweet potato nests sounds delicious! Just found your site, and I am enjoying your posts! Thanks!

  56. 56

    Don Ross says

    Picked up 4 good sized organic sweet potatoes today and will get underway with your tips. I garden here in Canada on the northern shore of Lake Ontario and have heard of some folks having good luck with sweet potatoes now in our changing climate and longer growing season. Will let you know how I make out come harvest time. Thanks.

  57. 57

    Jean says

    I have grown sweet potatoes for the past 4 years. Once you have eaten homegrown sweet potatoes you will never go back to the ones in the stores. There is no comparison. When we finish the last ones, my granddaughter who is 11 asks, ” Do we have to wait a whole year to get some more of those”. Love my sweet potatoes. Thanks Kevin for a great article.

  58. 58

    Arvella says

    Just wondering how many slips you planted in the pictured raised bed. Looks close to size of my raised bed.
    Really want to try this. Love all your posts.

  59. 59

    Jan Thompson says

    Kevin you area wealth of knowledge and make everything seem easy and fun! Thank you for this…can’t wait to try it in the Spring.

  60. 60

    Jan Thompson says

    Kevin you are a wealth of knowledge and make everything seem easy and fun! Thank you for this…can’t wait to try it in the Spring.

  61. 61

    Liz thompson says

    Hi Kevin, love your newsletter. Perhaps living in South Africa makes it a little easier, but this is how it all happened for me. I bought an orange sweet potato from our veggy market, cut it up into chunks, buried them in the soil and they all grew so prolifically that I had to thin them out or they would have taken over the entire lawn too! So now, I only plant one chunk at a time. They do take a while though but so worth it. xxx Liz

  62. 62

    Dee says

    Love the post….
    I love yams too. question please how deep does the bed have to be….the soil? I have a little raised bed at my condo…not deep enough for carrots but manage broccoli ok
    Thanks a bunch….looking forward to next blog…we are having baked sweet potatoes tonite with garlic shrimp pasta….a bit heavy on the starch maybe but who cares
    Dee

  64. 64

    Sandra Strandebo says

    So confused: I am obviously missing something. The post shows the tubers sprouting away in a bright sunny window. But then it imediately goes to:

    It is absolutely necessary to harden off the cuttings before planting them out. To do this, bring the slips outdoors to a semi-shaded place in late spring, or when daytime temperatures are in the 60°F range. Bring the slips indoors if nighttime temps are expected to dip below 50°F. After 3 days, gradually introduce the slips to full sun.

    if they’re in a jar in the window sill when do I put them out in order to bring them back in?

    I live in the Pacific North West so a bright sunny window in winter is like hoping Prince William will get a divorce and marry me. We won’t get frost again probably as our winters are very mild. We have snow right now though and nobody knows what to do!!!!

  65. 65

    Karen at Country Gardens says

    love this post. we have an organic store nearby so I will stop and get a few to start. also love the idea of the horse tub. I have one with a hole and was wondering what to do with it. now I know, I will grow sweets.

  66. 66

    Pat Burnstad says

    Kevin, just a note about the slow cooker (Pot Gem Multi Cooker) that you recently talked about. One of my friends received one for Christmas. When she used it the bottom melted out of it. She called the company and they informed her that batches 1728, 1730, 1731, 1734, and 1746 did have problems. Maybe check your batch number.

  67. 67

    Jeanne says

    Your timing for this post is perfect. I have a long garden (looks similar in size to the picture you show) and I just had nothing I was excited about planting there this year… UNTIL I saw your post. That long garden bed will be lovely with sweet potatoes growing in it, and we’ll have fun harvesting it, probably more than we can eat. Thanks for this and for the recipes. Thoroughly enjoy your site..

  68. 68

    Chris Salek says

    How long will it take the slips to grow large enough to transplant. I live in the Berkshires (Mass) Is it too late to start this now ?

  69. 69

    Mary Ross says

    I grow the decorative sweet potato vine in my flower pots. I dig them up in the fall and find little potatoes on them which are delicious! Now I know I can also eat the leaves! The chartreuse vines are the most prolific.

  71. 71

    Joanne says

    For Sandra (no. 64). I love your last paragraph re Prince William. Since I live in Alberta ( I am American) the British Royal Family is always forefront in the news but I have never before heard that comment.

    One of my sons lives in Kent so I know about your snow situation. And since this is the winter that never seems to end I am not even going to try sweet potatoes. Oh that I lived back in Wisconsin where I grew up!

  72. 72

    Carol Maurer says

    Hi Kevin, thanks for the sweet potato tutorial. I have a request. Is is possible for you to put a “print” link on your text articles especially the ones with steps. I’m not yet acclimated to this digital world and still like a hard copy to refer to. Also it keeps me away from the computer that seems to suck my life away once I sit down in front of it. 🙂 Carol in Jacksonville, FL

  73. 73

    Larry Gilbert says

    I like to peel and slice sweet potatoes in a skillet with onion, mushroom, chicken chunks, and fry away. It doesn’t take long for the sweet potatoes to soften up, and I even like them a bit caramelized. Then close to being done I add yellow squash slices and zucchini slices, when available (I don’t want them overly cooked). Season to taste. Makes a great meal.

  74. 74

    Lois says

    The leaves also make wonderful chips. Just like Kale chips. And I love to eat them like spinach or other green that you steam for a short time. Enjoy!!!!

  75. 75

    Judie says

    Kevin, I live in the lower Hudson Valley & have been under the impression that our growing season was too short to grow sweet potatoes, this has encouraged me to try this. You’re recipes are great,simple & well discribed. I look forward to every post.
    Thank you!

  76. 76

    Michelle A. says

    Hi Kevin. To save space in my garden, I grew my sweet potatoes in two large flower pots last year. I think they were about 15-20 gallons each. Got a nice crop of sweet potatoes. I’m doing it again this year. I never harvest until they’ve been hit by a good frost and the greens die. It makes them sweeter!

  77. 77

    Franceen Elias-Stein says

    Thank you so much for your wonderful explanation and pictures for growing sweet potatoes. I’m going to start a couple of potatoes tomorrow!

  78. 78

    SUE SMITH says

    I have some sweet potatoes that have sprouted in a hanging basket in a kitchen window, without being cut and put into water. It is late February. We live in Zone 7. I hope I can keep the potatoes going until it warms up more. They are starting to shrivel, but the sprouts have done really well. The potatoes were organic (and not sprayed with growth retardant), so they sprouted almost immediately this past fall/winter. I will have to wait a while before I can cut off the slips and root them…. Thank you for your very informative and helpful article!

  79. 79

    Patti Law-Poggi says

    Kevin, how many potatoes did it take to fill your sweet potato bed as pictured above? Can I expect that many slips from just two potatoes or more.

  80. 80

    Patti Law-Poggi says

    Hi Kevin, how many potatoes did it take to make your sweet potato bed as pictured above?
    Also, what is the best medium to plant the slips in when they are ready?

  81. 81

    Edna says

    Kevin, this is just what I was looking for! My husband doesn’t eat nightshade related plants but loves potato salad. After some exploration we found that Oriental yams make a delicious salad. So I plan to use your instructions and use oriental yams. Thanks to you I know to start then by the end of March!

  83. 83

    Janet Metzger says

    Kevin,

    Thanks for the steps. Last year I cut potatoes that were sprouting and planted the pieces straight into the ground. This looks a bit more secure. Will start immediately!

  84. 84

    Elfrieda says

    I’ve never grown sweet potatoes to eat; only as a “spiller” in my large pots and used the chartreuse color and the dark wine red one . I’m sure if I dig down in the pot I will find tubers; but I am treating these as ornamental plants. Now I have to find a place where I can grow them for food (my doggies love sweet potatoes too),

  86. 86

    Sue S says

    My husband and I love loooooong baked sweets at a low temp. for 2 to 3 hours. I put them in our toaster oven at 250 degrees (or lower) for at least two hours. I put a piece of foil under them because they ooze a bit. They are So sweet this way. I don’t put a thing on them but husband adds butter. Try it. You will love them cooked this way.

  87. 87

    Anne Pollock says

    Changing the subject I saw this article about heirloom tomatoes recently on the internet: https://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/cooking-questions/what-are-heirloom-tomatoes
    Do you grow heirloom or hybrid tomatoes and why? My grandparents had a farm here in CT and they saved the seeds for everything they grew. That was a long time ago and the farm is now an apartment complex. My father would have been a 110 this year to put a scale on how long ago. I remember the beef steak type tomatoes were so delicious and I have never been able to buy seeds that produced tomatoes that good.

  88. 88

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    Hi Anne – When it comes to tomatoes, I prefer to grow heirloom varieties. Favorite is ‘Cherokee Purple.’ To obtain seeds for beefsteak and other old-garden tomatoes, my best advice is to visit Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org). The selection there is outstanding.

  89. 89

    Robin Shelly says

    I’m going to do something I’ve never done on this great web site of Kevin’s. I’m going to share a recipe. As a child I detested sweet potatoes-complete with uncontrollable physical reactions trying to eat them 🙂 It wasn’t until I was a home economics student teacher and given recipes to lead the kids through preparing a Thanksgiving dinner that I discovered one of my most coveted recipes to date. I am humbly sharing here-in case there’s others who share my early disdain of something so good for us! I’ve never seen this recipe on line anywhere and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Note that it actually calls for yams, but I’ve used both for this amazing dish. (I also sometimes just microwave a sweet potato, then split the skin, mash in melted butter, stevia, cinnamon, and pretend I’m eating a quick pumpkin pie).

    SWEET POTATO SOUFFLÉ
    2 ½ to 3 pounds yams, peeled, boiled, and mashed
    Beat in:
    2 eggs
    ¼ C brown sugar
    ¼ C melted butter
    ½ t salt
    1 t cinnamon
    Add ¾ cup orange juice, which really makes the recipe

    Put in casserole dish, spread pecans or walnuts on top and sprinkle with ½ C brown sugar, drizzle with ¼ C melted butter over the sugar.
    Bake uncovered 375 for 20 minutes. If you desire the sugar to be more like candy, let it melt under the broiler a few minutes before serving.

    Note: Yams are the brighter colored orange tuber versus the darker colored one. If confused at the store, determine which is which by slightly scraping the skin away from the flesh to see below the skin.

  91. 91

    Janet G. Metzger says

    Thank you, Kevin, for the refresher course!

    Janet

    PS: Often times my computer is so slow I cannot read the post or write back. I do try every week!

  92. 92

    Karen R. says

    i used a heat mat because my only sunny window is in a cold room. It worked & the sweet potatoes are the sweetest I’ve ever tasted.

  93. 93

    Tracy Jennings says

    I grow my sweet potato plants in an old, black horse trough. It keeps the critters out and they like the soil warmth from the black exterior. Beauregard variety has worked well for me in Minnesota if I buy slips. I am going to try to start slips again now that I have a warmer indoor spot to try rooting.

  94. 94

    Patti LAW-POGGI says

    Hi Kevin, I’ve had my sweet potatoes in water for some while, they have LOTS of shoots, but the only trouble is that I’ve let them grow so long, about 2′ long each branch, so can I just use the ends or what now?

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