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Post by macmex on Dec 15, 2021 15:38:56 GMT
This morning while getting ready for work, I grabbed a white skinned sweet potato from a bucket of unsorted sweet potatoes, which I had dug at the end of the harvest. Looking at it I assumed it was a Gunlock, as the shape was different than what I generally see with Brinkley White. It never occurred to me that it might be some other variety than one of these.
Imagine my surprise when I baked it and took a bite!
It was an Okinawa. Here's the link to the thread in which I describe how I obtained this variety.
Everyone I've spoken with, who has raised this one on the US Mainland has said that it makes large vines and a puny harvest. That's a shame, as it is an absolutely delicious variety.
I noted in my records that I only managed to get two slips for planting, from the roots I obtained. This was apparently because those which are shipped abroad (as in to the US Mainland) are irradiated heavily and, probably, chilled, making them tend to rot and die, rather than sprout.
I dug six or seven decent size roots this fall, deciding not to eat, not even one, but to save them for making slips in the coming spring. But somehow, a root got into that bucket. It was with mixed feelings that I ate (and enjoyed) it.
Nine times out of ten, when you do an internet search for "Hawaiian Sweet Potato" this is the one which will come up. The purples are very popular in Hawaii. Unlike Becca's Purple and Molokai, Okinawa is very notably sweet. This one was fairly moist, though not gooey.
Most who report low harvests comment that they believe this variety requires more fertility and heat than their North American conditions can afford. My hopes were that heat was the issue. Tahlequah, Oklahoma beats out Hawaii for heat, any day (between June and October). So my conclusion? Well...
We'll see. I didn't get enough planted to really do a fair test. I thought the harvest was pretty decent for only two slips but definitely, we need more time and plants to trial. Hopefully my Oklahoma raised roots will make good slips, come spring and... I don't accidentally eat them!
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Post by june on Dec 15, 2021 16:56:41 GMT
George, stop eating our future Okinawan's! LOL ....Just a few days ago, I dug my small patch (growing in the greenhouse)....My results were disappointing. I had gorgeous vines on top but, unfortunately, a gopher or vole party underneath. They apparently LOVE Okinawans. I did salvage a bit, and I took a lot of cuttings. Don't know if I can keep them going until next summer or not, but I'm trying. Some in water and some in soil (under lights)....more are planted directly in a heated bed in the greenhouse....and a few seeds (not sure what the pollinator was) that I will start next spring.
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Post by june on Dec 15, 2021 17:10:10 GMT
I guess its asking a lot, but maybe my hybrid Okinawan seedlings will taste as good as the original and produce like crazy! Maybe.
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Post by macmex on Dec 16, 2021 15:13:46 GMT
Well, having seeds is a great thing! It's possible that a seedling will do better in our climate and conditions than the original.
A friend sent me some small roots to a variety called Korean Pink. He says that it has reddish purple skin with yellow, mottled purple-pink flesh that cooks up a mottled light purple, like Okinawa and that it has a similar complex flavor to Okinawa. So, we have lots of possibilities going!
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Post by june on Dec 16, 2021 15:43:20 GMT
I'd like to try some of those someday.
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Post by macmex on Dec 16, 2021 21:28:28 GMT
You'll be the first I share with!
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Post by macmex on May 13, 2022 13:44:54 GMT
Well, I can easily understand why Okinawa is not a popular variety among growers on the Mainland. I bedded some roots on March 29, noting that I spotted the first sprout on April 19, but honestly, this has been the most sluggish of varieties to make sprouts. Until last week I only had perhaps three slips for all my work.
Temperatures have come up quite a bit now, though, and Okinawa has decided to wake up.
I took this photo yesterday evening.
I still consider this one very experimental. One should definitely NOT consider this as a mainstay (something to depend upon) for food production, unless, perhaps they live in the South Pacific.
I'll keep experimenting though. Maybe we can get a cross from it which retains some of its good qualities while gaining more vigor.
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Post by macmex on Oct 28, 2022 17:05:54 GMT
This year I planted WAY more Okinawa plants that was prudent, given the pretty uniform reports of unreliable production that I've received from growers all over mainland USA. I had two main sections of row planted with this variety. In one case, I started the row with 8 or 9 Okinawa slips, so all season I knew exactly what I was looking at. Okinawa performed true to the reports I had heard, in that it produced voluminous vines. It looked great all season. When it came time to dig the roots, however, then I started to see a bit of what others, like Glenn Drowns have reported.
The first section of Okinawa produced "okay." Production wasn't enough to be called "good," but it was okay. I noticed that sizable roots were not usually located right below the main stem, but rather two to three feet out from it. This, coupled with the extremely dry soil conditions we had, made digging this one a real challenge. Okinawa did produce enough to be worthwhile, but I have other varieties which would normally outproduce Okinawa by a long shot.
Then I got to the second section of Okinawa...
Interestingly, some of these were clustered under the plants. Production here was quite a bit better. What made the difference? I don't know. I made sure to save seed for next year from the cluster in the photo above, just in case there was something genetic going on.
By the time we had dug all of our Okinawa sweet potatoes I had mixed feelings. I was happy to have so many Okinawa sweet potatoes for the winter larder but, on the other hand, I thought, "If I'd have planted another variety in greater quantity, we'd probably have more to eat.
I communicated some with Glenn Drowns, who had received some of our Okinawa slips. I'm sure he was hoping that perhaps I had a different strain than what he was growing, and that perhaps, it would produce better for him than what he already had. Nope. He reported that this one does especially poorly in their sandy soil. In sandy, light soil, apparently the roots spread out even more, failing to size up very well.
So, here's what I'm thinking:
1. Next year I will plant Okinawa again, using starts from the plants that produced clustered roots.
2. I will continue to watch for seeds on Okinawa, hoping for a fortuitous cross, one which has a similar flavor and texture, but which produces better in our conditions.
3. I will not grow as many Okinawas as this year. Due to health issues I really struggled to keep up on the gardens and I need to cut back a bit, for less frustration and better results. Therefore, I probably won't plant as many sweet potato varieties and focus a bit more on production. (This means I will be looking for volunteers to adopt some varieties.)
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Post by macmex on Mar 22, 2023 15:25:12 GMT
As I get more roots bedded for the 2023 season we start eating more of our reserves. This morning my wife packed me a baked Okinawa for my morning snack. It was way more than I could eat in one sitting but... oh so good!
Tastes just like the ones I tried in Hawaii. I spoke with a friend who grew them about 1/2 hour drive from us and she said they produced well but that she and her husband didn't much care for the flavor. That just shows how "taste" is a subjective thing. I love them. My wife loves them. Still, I would be cautious about planting many of these until I know if they will be dependable enough to count on.
Last year some of my most dependable varieties fizzled almost completely, yet this one didn't. Go figure! Am praying for a good season this year.
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Post by macmex on Aug 22, 2023 14:50:22 GMT
Well, it's August 22, 2023, around 10 months after I harvested sweet potatoes last year. I found a couple Okinawas in our cupboard and cooked one for my snack today.
It was a sweet and moist as if this were Christmas 2022. The skin, however was a little more tough. I ate most of the skin anyway but was tempted to scoop out the flesh and throw the skin away. I didn't. I'm convinced that there is great benefit in eating the skin.
This year I only got one or two slips of this variety planted. The reason being, I bedded them too early and they got chilled, killing most of the roots. Hopefully I recover enough in this year's harvest to continue with this one. I still need to grow in out more to determine if it will be reliable enough to make it worth the space in the garden. At least the eating quality is tops!
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