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Post by macmex on Nov 23, 2020 14:21:02 GMT
This is a whilte sweet potato, raised for generations in Gunlock, KY. I just received my first two roots (fall 2020) and plan on growing it in 2021. Am in a hurry right now, so I won't post more. Later I'll give source and what I can recall they said about it.
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Post by macmex on Nov 24, 2020 12:22:00 GMT
I received this variety in October 2020 from Pauline Shepherd of Gunlock, Kentucky. She told me that this had been a favorite of her mother-in-law's (I hope I am not mistaken and that it was her mother's favorite), that it had been grown in their location for generations, and also that she and her husband grow a number of varieties and sell slips. She said that the just called it the Old Fashioned White sweet potato. Apparently folk around them also call it that, as the sell the slips. However, I asked if I could call it Gunlock or Shepherd's White in order to be more specific. I suspect that there are a good many sweet potatoes, out there which are being called Old Fashioned White.
My understanding is that over 100 years ago, there were more white varieties in the USA than yellow or orange.
I know... the yellow and orange varieties are higher in beta carotene. But I have to admit, I gravitate to the white varieties.
Just from looking at the photos (she sent me one which turned out to be too small to post here) I wonder if this might not be Southern Queen? I haven't grown Southern Queen since the 1990s and I have no photos of it. Who knows? Someone would have to grow the two, probably for more than one single growing season, and compare.
As for me, well, I'm going to grow Gunlock in 2021. I already expect that it'll be a favorite for me!
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Post by coby on Dec 6, 2020 18:26:36 GMT
macmex, if youre interested, Sandhill Preservation Center has a website where you can buy (and view) a few hundred heirloom varieties of sweet potatoes, as well as heirloom vegetables and heirloom poultry,
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Post by macmex on Dec 6, 2020 21:19:08 GMT
Thanks Coby! Sandhill is the best!
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Post by macmex on Mar 21, 2021 15:29:35 GMT
I have my sweet potatoes pretty much all bedded and starting to sprout now. Gunlock is "out in front," so to speak. It has grown the fastest. This is what it looked like on March 17. I pulled the largest slips and reset them along the edges of the tray, just so the roots would put out more.
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Post by Pauline Shepherd on Nov 1, 2021 23:14:26 GMT
I hope you have an update on the sweet potatoes I am curious as to how they grew for you in your area
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Post by macmex on Nov 8, 2021 15:11:30 GMT
Hi Pauline! I missed your post until today. Don't know how I manage to miss things like that, but I do.
I harvested most of my Gunlock sweet potatoes the first week I started digging, back in October. They made a decent crop. Most roots were about 2 lb (my estimate). I waited until this past Saturday to cook some up and did so, baking them on a tray, uncovered, in their skins, as is my favorite way to do sweet potatoes. I found them to be a bit firmer fleshed than most varieties and not quite as sweet. I told my wife I didn't want to cook any more of them until at least Christmas, as I suspect they'll sweeten up some more. My lunch today is beef stew which includes home grown beans, carrots, onions, garlic, barley and a Gunlock sweet potato 
What's your assessment of texture and flavor for this sweet potato?
I've been meaning to look you up and touch base, but I discontinued my Facebook last year (started a new one just for homesteading stuff).
Here's a photo of some of the harvest. I got 5 gallons of nice roots from 6 slips. Later I dug another six plants and got about the same.
I've already sent a root to a friend in Missouri, so he can grow this variety. He plans on sharing with friends and neighbors.
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Post by macmex on Nov 8, 2021 15:21:47 GMT
By the way, I tried to take notes on flowering this year. I did not observe any flowers on Gunlock.
Here's what I wrote on October 11, over on the Harvest 2021 thread:
Over the weekend I dug six plants of Gunlock and perhaps six of Grand Asia, maybe more. I had planned to spend most of Saturday harvesting sweets, but our two LaMancha bucks (dairy goat breeders who are in rut) broke down their pens and went rampaging around the farm, fighting with each other and with our ram (male sheep). We ended up fixing and cleaning pens before catching and putting everyone away. I do believe all our goats have been bred now, too!
Anyway, at the very end of the day I did spend a short time digging sweet potatoes. Gunlock is new to me this year. The roots were pretty uniform, all in the ideal size range, if one were selling roots. Production was okay. I noticed that Gunlock will set roots about 2' from the plant, where I'm not usually expecting them. I'd like to plant this one in softer ground, where this tendency wouldn't be an issue. As it is, my soil has been like concrete, very hard to dig. Gunlock reminds me of Southern Queen, which I grew years ago. |
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Post by macmex on Apr 11, 2022 14:36:17 GMT
I'm bedding sweet potatoes now for slip production and trying to be pretty conservative about saving plenty for the coming demand. This morning, however, I did cook up a couple Gunlock sweet potatoes for our evening meal and one for my morning snack. Generally, I snack on sweet potatoes by baking them in the skin and eating them skin and all. Gunlock works quite well for this style of eating. The skin, though sturdy, is not tough enough to be a distraction when I eat it. This one is a bit drier than Brinkley White. It has an entirely different texture and flavor than either Japanese White or Grand Asia.
You can see in the photo that it has some fiber to it. It has fiber. That's not to say that it's stringy. It's not stringy at all. It's nice and sweet too. Gunlock seems to keep very well and makes excellent slip production.
Today it's April 11, 2022 and Gunlock has beautiful growth, out in the greenhouse.
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Post by macmex on Jun 3, 2022 13:30:54 GMT
Just another observation on this variety: Gunlock is a RAMPANT producer of slips. It's quick to sprout and grows slips fast. Additionally it is very indeterminate in slip growth, meaning that the slips get real long, real quickly. I've found that I can "mow" cuts from my slips, sticking them in water, if I want to get any roots on them. Otherwise I just mow and plant. They produce their own roots very quickly en sitio in the garden. By "mowing," a single tray of roots produces way more usable slips than most other varieties.
In my mind this is a wonderful thing. It makes Gunlock a "food producing machine," so to speak. Additionally, the roots hold very well. It's June 3 and today's snack is a baked Gunlock! Still firm and moist after 7 months of storage. The more I get to know this variety, the more I appreciate it.
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