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Post by macmex on Mar 23, 2021 17:13:43 GMT
I spent a couple of days with my daughter who lives in Anchorage Alaska. Knowing me so very well, she offered to take me to an international grocery store to browse the merchandise, especially the produce. I love learning about new (to me) foods. One of the first things we encountered were the sweet potatoes. I'm sure they had a bin of Beauregard and another of Covington, but there were also bins of some Asian varieties which really caught my attention.
One was labeled "Sweet Purple," in a box labeled "Okinawan Sweet Potatoes." The other was labeled "Satsumaimo."
In the photo, the Sweet Purple appears white and the Satsumaimo appears purple.
The Sweet Purple is purple on the inside and Satsumaimo is white on the inside.
Just the opposite of their exterior colors!
I purchased enough to try and also to try growing. We baked some of each, long and low, in the oven for our trial.
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They were both EXCELLENT! Neither was dry, but rather very dense. Both were noticeably sweet, with Okinawa Purple (Sweet Purple) being candy-like. Satsumaimo was more dense and slightly more moist than Grand Asia. It reminded me of Murasaki, which I once grew and discontinued on account of plant patenting issues. Okinawa Purple was more moist than Satsumaimo.
I plan on starting slips from both to trial in my garden this year. If they produce decently I'd say they are definitely keepers!
Imagine finding new sweet potato varieties on a trip to Alaska in March!
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Post by macmex on Apr 14, 2021 15:53:16 GMT
Update 4/14/2021
Neither of these varieties have sprouted, as of yet. The roots look fine but they're still sleeping. The greenhouse has become more consistently warm, even quite hot during the day time. Hopefully they'll sprout soon.
Most of my other varieties, with the exception of Ozark County, have good sized slips on them now.
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Post by macmex on Apr 27, 2021 15:01:10 GMT
Satsume (Satsumaimo) has started to sprout. Both roots still look good. Greenhouse temps have been favorable for encouraging growth. We'll see when Okinawa Purple decides to wake up. I started shipping slips yesterday, but obviously, these two won't be available for a while.
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Post by macmex on May 6, 2021 12:46:36 GMT
Here's an update on these two varieties. The Okinawa Purple roots have not sprouted at all. I believe they're beginning to rot. We'll see. Apparently this one is especially sensitive to cold, and must have gotten chilled (in transit or in the greenhouse).
Satsumaimo (which a Japanese/American friend explained to me, means "Sweet potato (imo) from Satsume (a city in Japan) has sprouted very well. Here are two photos I took on May 5. I estimate that I have over a dozen very nice slips, ready to go.
This is a six inch pot.
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Post by June Suhm on May 9, 2021 17:10:59 GMT
I recently did the exact same thing. Went to International Market in Oklahoma City and purchased 3 types of sweetpotatoes...some to eat and some to grow. I got the two that you have pictured (look exactly the same, but had different names. The white skin with purple flesh was called 'Hawaiian yam'...the purple skin with white flesh labelled simply 'Japanese sweetpotato'---and I got a third one, white skin and white flesh--called 'Sweet white Japanese').
Last year I grew 1/2 acre of purple skin/purple flesh...original potatoes also obtained from the same International Market. Now 10 months since harvesting. they have stored REMARKABLY well. Some are starting to sprout for the new season. We have eaten them fresh and I have recently started drying the remainder in my dehydrator, grinding in a blender and using as a powder in baked foods.
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Post by macmex on May 9, 2021 23:39:11 GMT
This is great input. Thanks!
Did the white skin/purple fleshed variety do alright for you?
What's your climate, where you garden?
I have one Okinawa Purple root left, which hasn't rotted. It hasn't sprouted, either, yet it is firm. So I am still hoping to get some slips.
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Post by June Suhm on May 10, 2021 23:00:31 GMT
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Post by June Suhm on May 10, 2021 23:02:13 GMT
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Post by June Suhm on May 10, 2021 23:03:33 GMT
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Post by june on May 11, 2021 23:53:29 GMT
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Post by macmex on May 12, 2021 10:10:14 GMT
That's wonderful! Wow! dehydrated sweet potato powder! My wife and I will have to try that. Thank you so much!
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Post by june on Jun 3, 2021 19:49:57 GMT
Fun day! We went to the International Market (Oklahoma City) and I got to browse the sweet potatoes. I already have slips planted of all of these kinds except the red skin, very dark orange flesh ones so most of these will be for eating. I will root a few more of Hawaiian Yam (white skin,with purple flesh).
It may be sheer folly, but I also bought a 2 lb. bag of 'potato greens'. I like surprises so I did it just for the fun of seeing what a few will grow out to be. Doubtful that a farmer would grow sweet potatoes solely for the greens (?)--the roots are probably![]() something edible as well. Will be fun just to see what happens.
I'm sure I'm not the first...what experiences with this has some one else had?
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Post by june on Jun 3, 2021 20:34:19 GMT
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Post by macmex on Jun 15, 2021 17:38:04 GMT
What fun! Yes, it is a lot of work too, but I love to experiment.
Somewhere in my reading I think I found that Okinawan Purple and Hawaiian Purple are one and the same. It's hard to know. My son and daughter-in-law gave me a book on plants and Hawaiian culture and it mentions that when the first Polynesian settlers arrived there, there were few food plants. They brought most of what they needed with them. They mention that due to crossing and selection that the Hawaiians came up with hundreds of varieties.
Okinawan Purple is finally starting to sprout! Apparently this one wants HEAT in order to wake up and get going.
Here's another new one, I'm trying. This is called Hawaiian Orange. It's skin is actually red. It's flesh is orange and has that same dense, sweetness of a Satsume type.
I'm still trying to get my last 90' of row ready for planting. Sometimes I think I'm crazy, growing all of these!
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