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Post by macmex on Feb 8, 2022 13:31:03 GMT
The other day I called Clif Slade of Slade Farms. We've chatted from time to time for years. Slade Farms has a pretty good selection of sweet potatoes and produces A LOT MORE volume of slips than do I. Anyway, I asked him about "Old Yellow," a variety he lists. I had been asked about it and didn't know, so I went straight to "the horse" and got the info from Clif.
Here's what I learned.
Clif obtained Old Yellow from an older farmer in Virginia. He doesn't know any more about its origins.
Old Yellow produces well and is an early variety, in that it will make really large roots if not harvested a little on the early side. Clif said he starts checking at 100 days from planting, and harvests as soon as he has optimum size roots.
This variety is very sweet. Clif described it as "sugary." It is dry, not very moist.
That's all I got down on it. Anyone out there grown Old Yellow? I'd love to get more observations and a fuller description of this variety.
Here's a photo from Slade Farms listing.
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Post by macmex on Oct 10, 2022 0:00:00 GMT
So far all my sweet potatoes are giving below average yields this year. Old Yellow is a bright spot in the garden in that, though not as high a yield as I would like, it produced really nice size, blocky roots.
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Post by macmex on Dec 4, 2022 1:47:59 GMT
This evening I cooked my first two Old Yellow sweet potatoes. I snitched the smallest of the two, eating before anyone else grabbed any. WOW! That was good! I wouldn't call it dry, but it sure was sweet!
Wish we had a much larger harvest this year, so I could "taste test" a couple more!
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Post by macmex on Dec 7, 2022 19:20:17 GMT
We cooked a couple more of these. I really like this variety.
It's not dry, per se, but rather solid. Excellent flavor!
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Post by macmex on Jan 9, 2023 17:52:41 GMT
My wife cooked up a batch of these the other night, selecting only Old Yellow from my stash. Her conclusion was that this a superb sweet potato. I think she likes it as much as Red Wine Velvet.
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Post by macmex on Mar 20, 2023 12:50:50 GMT
Forgot to take a photo but took this variety from storage and bedded it on Saturday, March 18, 2023. The roots were very solid with no signs fo withering or softening. They had only a few tiny sprouts on them, making me think it may be slow to sprout. We'll see. I'm getting the impression that this is a much under esteemed variety which deserves more attention. I hope to plant a good number of them this year.
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Post by macmex on Jul 11, 2023 14:16:10 GMT
Update July 11, 2023
My bedded roots never sprouted. Instead, they rotted after about 1 1/2 months. They got chilled in the greenhouse and, the chill killed them! I also lost half of my Japanese White at the same time. Apparently these two were in some kind of a draft. I have learned my lesson. I need to WAIT on bedding my sweet potatoes. I need to WAIT to do this until after all danger of frost is past.
I was really bummed over losing Old Yellow. I honestly felt that that this one could be a new favorite. So, I ordered some slips from Sandhill Preservation Center. Why Sandhill instead of Slade Farms, well, just because I'm accustomed to dealing with Sandhill Preservation Center and... last year I sent them slips of Old Yellow.
The slips came in the mail on June 23 and I planted them on the 24th. They're now starting to grow very well. Here's a photo of one of the plants.
Notice that this is a variety which has darker leaves at the growing tip.
I look forward to learning more about this variety and hope to eat more of them in the coming year!
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