Self Sufficient Me Do you plant Japanese sweet potatoes? It’s very delicious! You should try! I am so envious that you have a big garden because I live in urban area and I even don’t have a balcony to plant anything.
Self Sufficient Me I’m planting one now, I’m in Wollongong. There’s only 3 of us but I want to try growing some. How many sweet potatoes will grow from one new plant?
1:20 in the Philippines we mix the sweet potato leaves with tomatoes and onions with a vinaigrette, a side salad for fried fish or meat (ensaladang talbos ng kamote) 😊
Thank you so much for the tip! I'm on my round of sweet potato gardening and the vines git out of hand the first time. Harvesting the leaves should allow peanuts and for other crops in my raised planters.
First time growing sweet potatoes for food. The Pandemic isn't giving us a break from high prices, and the stores are jacking up our food bill. I see it this way, if anyone can grow sweet potatoes it's this 72 year-old woman. My family needs food, and I'm not going to sit back and wish I could help. I see it this way, at least I'm trying to provide. My huge backyard just became a new Victory Garden. Forget the rules of planting ..just get it in the ground and see what grows. My grandchildren need to learn how to grow food, and granny needs to show them how easy it can be to feed our family. God be with you all...get out there and grow something.
Sweet potato can be a never ending plant. Before we harvest, we take the runners in half metre clippings and put them straight in the ground keeping the dirt moist for several days until it roots.
My grandfather taught me a great trick for picking/harvesting. He taught me to snip each vine, leaving a good foot of vine still in the soil so I can see where the potatoes will be. Then I carefully dig down with a shovel, a few feet away, and pretty soon I'll see where the bunches are. I always save enough potatoes through the winter and start my slips in the spring. I don't think I've bought slips for about 10 years because I just keep growing, getting slips, and so on.
I am in Germany so winters are really cold and quite long. I guess 1 month in pots inside and plant in May for harvest in Sept. How do you store them through the winter?
Sweet potato can also be a natural soil improver. When I was a kid we planted sweet potato and rosella in our dam bank, heavy clay that wouldn't grow anything else. We never harvested the sweet potato. The rosella produced well enough to provide us with delicious rosella jam and over time ( 3-5 years) the unharvested sweet potato created beautiful rich soil we could then use to grow practically anything. The tubers gradually broke downthe clay and rotted tubers made natural compost. It was an accidental discovery as the first 'harvest' really didn't produce anything edible so we just left it. A few years later when we decided to plant a more clay friendly plant, we dug in and found instead of clay there was lovely soil. Set and forget soil improver 😉💕 considering trying it now i have 20acres with a large bare ugly dam bank. Ps. Hi from a fellow Queenslander 😀
Arty Mummy, when you say dam bank, are you meaning the back side of an earthen dam or something different. I'm in an area where i have sort of a muck to plant in. seems sandy, acts like sand, but is a high organic/low clay ground that does not support crops much (working on that) but in rain holds water but the surface dries rapidly i have added a lot of mulch (the organic i spoke of) and so i'm very interested in making the soil better. i might seem like i'm describing great soil, but i am not. i have not added mushroom compost but i need about 500 meters cubed to do justice. it is a small scale area, worked with a tractor
@@dysfunctional_vet seems we have opposite soil types. We have heavy clay with almost no organic matter and a lot of compaction. Easily waterlogged and dries like brick. But to answer your question, the Dam Bank is the pushed up dirt(or in our case clay) that is formed when an earthen dam is dug.
@@dysfunctional_vet Im also having great success with Ruth Stout style mulching to retain surface moisture and reduce the impact temperature fluctuations on the soil. Theres so many benefits to thick mulch
My mum grows sweet potato in a shallow self made raised garden bed and harvests the leaves for stir fry. She doesn't bother harvesting the roots at all. She managed to be completely self sufficient for fruit and vege in her tiny garden that's smaller than most retirement cottage equivalents.
I love the fact you give honest advice. You don't try to structure your video in way that tries to sell us a gardening product. Keep up the good work. Wishing you a bountiful harvest in everything that you do.
Hey, its Mercy from Kenya. I like that you are growing those tubers the same way we do here. I would like to suggest you leave some in the sun for a few days and notice the difference in taste. That is a tip we use to increase both sugar content and durability out here. Pls let me know if u do. Thanx and all the best.
Thank you for the tip Mercy. I've just recently found this channel and have never grown sweet potatoes, so this will be my first year and this man's channel is the most informative. The earth here in Massachusetts is still covered in snow, so I think I'll start some inside and plant when the frost has passed.
The heat causes them to lose a lot of water increasing sweetness and toughing the skins. It also changes some of the plane tasting starches into sweet sugars. I keep mine in a incredibly hot garage for at least 2 weeks.
I am Native American. I suggest you plant Tobacco plants in your garden. It is a natural Pesticide. It became a Holy plant, because it protected crops....a gift or blessing from the Great Spirit. Most gardens have less pests if they have Tobacco plants. I don't know about Australia...but I think it would be worth a try. I liked your video.
It's "spread the love hour" and YOU sir, are the receiver of it today. I just have to say, I am so thankful for the content you provide. You are truly changing my life, the lives of many, and helping mother earth by spreading your knowledge. It is so important we learn to grow our own food because of the destructive environmental Impact big farming has on the planet. Not to mention if shit hits the fan with food shortages, which I foresee happening, we will know how to survive. The practices of mainstream big agriculture are quite literally sucking the earth dry. And I also like that you teach in the most Organic environmentally conscious way. You are so loved and valued. I am honored to have found your videos and am acknowledging all the hard work and effort you have put into becoming a mentor in this field, and I acknowledge the dedication and work it takes to put out the videos as well. On every level, THANK YOU.
Holy crap. I have one sprouting sweet potato and I was gonna plant it tomorrow. Tonight, this comes up on the feed. Bloody rippa. (They’ll grow too - I’m in Townsville).
Hi Mark. After following your instructions almost to the letter, I dug 1sq metre of my potato patch for a return of 17 1/2 kgs. Im stoked so thanks for your help. Youre a legend.👍
Your garden is beyond beautiful! One aspect of it's beauty is the fact that your beds are raised so neat. I have painful back problems and this looks like something I could tolerate! Thank you for this wonderful , informative video.
Just harvested my first sweet potato patch. Grew over a bushel in a 4x8 bed. Followed your directions. Couldn't wait to sunbath them, cooked up a pot right away. So yummy. I also ate the greens all summer. Thank you so much for your videos. I'm in Texas so they grew may till November 1st.
lol my dad planted sweet potatoes (from cutings) but more for the leaves and the tubers are bonus. I love the tubers but I eventually loved ensalada using the leaves. Just blanch the leaves and add diced tomatoes and salted egg (and minced onion if you like that). Sometimes I add diced green mangoes if they're in season. Then sprinkle with lemon or calamansi juice 🤤
tip: what I have learned is that the vines that grow out, can be thrown on top of the patch, I had my first harvest and very very poor, but now learned that it is because of clay ground. So gonna mix sand in there and try again. Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely love your videos! So clear and informative with no loud, annoying background music while you speak! This definitely inspires me to go out and finally start my own veggie garden❤
Great Video Mark! It always feels like Christmas when I harvest my sweet potatoes :) This year I have realized the importance of worms in root vegetables. I have about 2 million worms that i farm in my barn for castings, but as I breed more, I am putting them in my sweet potatoes in the garden. This year I had the most unbelievable harvest! I believe it is due primarily to the worms composting, loosening & aerating the soil. :)
Hello, I enjoyed seeing your different way of growing sweet potatoes. It seems expensive and with a lot of work. Here in Congo we grow them throughout the year. We just raise-up soil beds and plant stems. No watering, no fertilizer, no pesticides. Only the rain and the sun will take care until harvest time. Thanks God for giving us the sun the rain constantly. We enjoy eating sweet potatoes leaves as well.
Papa Guill ... what a very cool thing to learn... I cannot ever visit Africa because my doctor said that I would never be able to handle the vaccines. So what I call my list of “vicarious travels” is expanded when I learn such things. So thank you 😊 💜
@@anmoltiwari2700 at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) under soil surfave both for transplant (root) or whole tuber. that how i grow it at my backyard but selling value is very low at my place (indonesia)
@@zenaidalidummeng5491 use garden fork to loose your soil. you can re-condition your soil by let it buried for 3 or 4 season (years). if you live in cold area with snow, cover your plant with more soil most rooter / tuber plant will loose soil during growth, but not all plant can survive frost season. trial & error is the best thing to do, especially if you have leftover / unused plant tips: you can also plant ginger / turmeric as an alternative. at least at my backyard, it has similar requirement for plant growth condition. sweet potato, ginger & turmeric are tropical plant so it growth very well at my place
It makes sense as the leaves stalks and dodgy tubers are the nutrient in the soil in another form...mulching it puts it back in and reduces the amount of other additives for the next crop.
Thanks Mathew! Great to see such a response to the video - I finished uploading at 2am - spent a lot of time editing before I was happy with the final result so I'm glad others are also! Cheers :)
I love all of your videos Mark! You are the reason im having a garden at all this year. All raised beds as it were. Im actually using kiddie pools to grow my potatoes and sweet potatoes and even other stuff too.
Hello from Ireland 🇮🇪, just discovered you and subscribed , when I was a child my father grow lots of potatoes 🥔 😊 in drills and veg, dad long passed over, living in a town long back garden but gets flooded when it rains, soil is sandy, hubby used to grow some spuds in those large bags, but haven't grown any for awhile, health issues like myself, I have never grown potatoes, but might try the cardboard 📦 method
Having grown them for years and recently read up a lot on them, I didn't really learn anything new, but couldn't fault any of the commentary, and there really isn't anything much else to add except for perhaps the varying nutritional values of the varieties. An excellent video to learn all you need to know about them.
This brings me back to the summer I spent at my granny’s. Picking raspberries for freezing. Digging up potatoes. Being sent out to pick a head of lettuce or broccoli. To pick beans and carrots. Whatever was on the menu or the night
@@michalbarkai3736 Sure the tips of the sweet potato leaves are very tender. I'd steam them and make a dipping sauce made of fresh lemon juice and soy sauce. Of course you can make your favorite dipping sauce:-)
that sounds great i make a weekly pot of dahl soup (Indian spices, yum) so I will throw some leaves in nex time and check it out. My sp are coming up all over the garden from last year, I can never get them all they ramble so much.
I've companion planted Thyme with sweet potato, as I read that it alleviated some insects from eating the tubers. It has worked, over last 12 months evwry sweet potato harvested is clean and no insect damage. Plus, the thyme is good to compliment dishes in cooking, smells great, and is attractive.
I have grown sweet potatoes before but did not get a good yield, probably because the soil was almost all clay. I now have a good bit better soil on my new acreage and plan to grow an entire HUGE bed of them. Not only as good food for me, but also to reduce the feed bill for several of my animals. I have already used them to feed my rabbits and goats and they really love them! The leaves will also be trimmed and used as animal food through out the season. Thank you for an informative and excellent video lesson!!
Great advice. I cure my sweet potatoes for a few weeks in a big plastic storage box in front of the fire as it's chilly here at harvest time (end of October)...I let them sweat a bit and form a second skin then they keep right through the winter...Sorry if I'm repeating other people's comments but I don't have time to read all 400! 😁
My first season of growing sweet potatoes. Thank you for putting this content out there to help folks like me. I look forward to see what I am blessed with in 3-4 months.
I just harvested my sweet potatoes , from the eyes off 1 that i planted this summer.....so cool. Next year i gotta use more loose soil.i got a whole small pot full this is awesome
Thank you so much for this video Mark! I use this in my agriculture class with my 8th graders. We will be planting sweet potatoes this week and this video will help to prepare them to plant their own beds at home as well. We live on Saipan, just a few hours north of Australia. Thanks again so much!
Wow! Just goes to show how other countries are more superior to the US lol. Here in the US they don't teach children anything like that. They used to decades and decades ago but not anymore. Now they just dumb children down.
I harvested my sweet potato today (7/5/20) and I got an awesome crop.., probably as much as you have in the wheelbarrow from 1 raised (birdies 2.4 x 1.3 x 400mm deep) Totally rapped with the result considering I only put this planter in in November last year with freshly made soil.
There is nothing better than a home grown sweet potato (besides a home grown tomato). They are delicious, I've been growing them for years. I also compost my vines. Thanks for the video.
Hey Mark, I was pleased to hear that you could eat and use the sweet potato 🥔 leaves from the vine similar to spinach leaves. What would be a safe way of knowing when to harvest the leaves...maybe by color or by size ? I'd love your input. P.S....We just started a potato set up in a raised bed and in large sacks. Wish us luck !!
He said: 'if in a cold climate,plant it out after the last frost and dont harvest until it has grown for awhile,to get max yield' i will try that,living in north europe we only have about 5 months to grow outside. Love this channel.
Thank you it was a great help. My first year when it comes to getting in a cloth bag. Need a lot to give to kids, friends and neighbors, whomever would like them.
I planted a piece of potato from one that started growing in my kitchen.It grew so fast that I became interested in planting some more and that is why I am here. Thanks for the info. I am going to buy a potato and try to start some new plants.
Hello there! I'm in central Florida, USA, so I imagine we have similar weather with your location in Australia. I've been watching your videos: they're all right, very useful, keep up the good work, guy.
When you mentioned “morning glory in my circle means something completely different”, I knew right then why I liked you. I know I’m a year late buy it needed to be acknowledged.
I talked to my landlord a week ago and he is in on planting food in the garden! So happy I got the chance to move from an apartment with balcony to a house with a big garden! Looking forward to grow more of my own food next year, maybe even enough to share with friends and neighbors 😍 your videos are great!
@@lilaclizard4504 Hi! It’s been going really good! 2020 was so-so, but 2021 was a much better harvest as I am learning 😊 I love trying out different tomatoes and pumpkins!
@@NomNomFairy Awesome :) yeh it is a learning curve. Harvest will get better & better as you keep going, especially if you repeat grow your most successful crops the next year :) If you haven't already found it, Diggers garden club have a really awesome range of tomatoes if you're looking for more variety to try. Tomatoes are one of the harder plants to grow though, be sure to move them around if you have space & add lots of manure at the start of the growing season, cause they're heavy feeders, so they are one of the few plants that can reduce in crop size & increase in pests & diseases year after year. Good fertiliser prevents most issues though :) Just chuck a pile of dynamic lifter in at the start of the season :) & once you've figured out pumpkins, if you want something different, try gourds or luffas. Same family as pumpkins, so exactly the same to grow, just be sure to split planting for different species if you decide to grow multiple, cause otherwise they'll cross pollinate & cause problems Sounds like you have a nice big garden there if you're growing stuff like pumpkins, that's awesome :)))
You're an absolute legend for making these videos and sharing your tips. It's teaching me so much and I've even been inspired to start a container garden on my apartment balcony. THANK YOU!
sweet potatoes are the next item i'll be adding to my food forest. I love how heat tolerant they are. All around great veg to have growing. The tubers are delicious and so are the leaves.
Great information, I loved your tip for “sealing” cut areas after harvesting by leaving in the sun. Hello from California! About to grow some accidental sweet potato slips in a container in my backyard. Left one too long in the kitchen, and it sprouted and when I put them in water, they went crazy with roots and beautiful leaves. Thanks for the video!
I found all the information you shared very useful. Thank you. I am amazed at how much vines have grown from just one sweet potato that I didnt get around to cooking! So left alone it just kept growing on the table where it was. After placing it outside a few months later, there are so much vines that I have cut slips and found other gardeners to share them with. I am looking forward to seeing how they grow in their new environments...also the tip about using the vines as ground cover is something I will also do. Thanks again!
I am so in love of your luscious greenish abundant garden sir! And your perfect details of your plants and works are inspiring and therapeutic! More power!!
I grew mine in dirt mounds around trees not only does it look great but functional, when the slips get long, you can just push a spot in the ground and it will grow more roots and sweet potatoes, no need to cut the slips really, just every 2 ft push a bit of the slips into the ground, that how easy it is and you will get a much bigger yield.
Hey Mark. Have you ever tried wicking beds? I noticed your garden bed was really dry. I built my first 2 wicking bed 10 months ago and they were amazing during the hotter months. My worms love them too. I also am incorporating biochar that I've made and noting its water holding characteristics as well as how well it keeps the soil loose and workable. Still experimenting with it, along with weed teas to cut down on my fertilizer costs.
Sweet Potatoes 🍠 are just one ingredient which we put in our homemade dog 🐕 biscuits THANK YOU for this awesome video - you make it look very easy. We’ll be planting our sweet potatoes in the spring. 🙏
Thank you for this great video! When I started growing them I was very happy to hear the sweet potato greens were edible. I love getting two foods from one source!
So excited I got 7 raised bed planters from epic gardening like yours. Filling in a week or so. G’d day mate From Mid Arizona 🇺🇸 Appreciate your videos
Thank you I live in Florida helped me a lot I just planted a rotten one to see what would happen in the ground and now I have some sweet potatoes growing then I went on TH-cam today to see and learn how to take care of them and this video help me a lot thank you so much blessings from Tampa Florida
Great video! I just caught a glimpse of something you said. You are growing tomatoes on top of the sweet potatoes? That is a awesome idea! Can you touch more on that subject? When do you plant the tomatoes over the sweet potatoes, at what stage of the sweet potato do you let it get before planting tomatoes etc etc? I really love that idea! Three thumbs up on your videos?
Yes that's correct Anthony - in that bed I grew both cherry and large beefsteak tomatoes, kale, basil, and several Asian greens. These plants are planted shortly after or at the same time as the sweet potato roots are buried. It takes awhile for the sweet potato to take over the bed so in the meantime we get a crop of tomatoes etc and by the time they die back and are finished the sweet potato is emerging and growing well to be left take over the garden bed. I have also used this method with other root crops such as Jerusalem artichoke laying the tubers first and planting another quicker crop on top (such as radish) then the radish die off or get harvested and the artichoke grow through once the weather heats up. It double dips the bed and prevents unnecessary refurbishing and makes for less work with more production! Cheers :)
Self Sufficient Me That is very interesting! I may try this , this growing season. I hate wasting space and when you just barley mentioned it, I knew I had to ask more about it. Have you ever had a problem with them both getting the same disease as root rot? That would be my only concern. If it took down one plant it would take down the sweet potato plant as well. I’ve not seen or herd of anyone else doing this around my parts, so I’m definitely going try it on half my raised bed! Thanks for all the tips. I’ll keep watching for more little tips here and there. Happy growing.
Hi! I've heard it's important to burn the sweet potato ivy vines after harvest, rather than composting them. We have a longer growing season (7-7b but mother nature is menopausal at times 😉). I had no idea to stick the vines and roots right back in, fertilize, and cover with mulch. I'm so excited to try this!!
Hi I'm about to plant my first lot of kumara (red with white flesh variety). One tip I was given was to plant in shallow ground like a container, in my case I'm going to use an old paddling pool. The reason given is this plant will keep growing down, using all its energy for that and therefore only produce small kumara. Another tip was to lay cardboard down (as a barrier) the back fill before planting the slips. Anyway, I cannot wait as kumara is a favourite in my household. Thanks for your amazing videos as always.
![Turn ONE Sweet Potato Into 100 LBS Of Sweet Potatoes By Growing SWEET POTATO SLIPS! [Complete Guide]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0igp5IzO21g/mqdefault.jpg)
![Turn ONE Sweet Potato Into 100 LBS Of Sweet Potatoes By Growing SWEET POTATO SLIPS! [Complete Guide]](/img/tr.png)
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
![[TH] 2024 PMGC League | Survival Stage วันที่ 1 | PUBG MOBILE Global Championship](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FVFT-PFwU80/mqdefault.jpg)
Go here to get Birdies Raised Garden bed in the USA: shop.epicgardening.com/ and use SSME2020 for a 5% discount.
Self Sufficient Me
Do you plant Japanese sweet potatoes? It’s very delicious! You should try! I am so envious that you have a big garden because I live in urban area and I even don’t have a balcony to plant anything.
Self Sufficient Me I’m planting one now, I’m in Wollongong. There’s only 3 of us but I want to try growing some. How many sweet potatoes will grow from one new plant?
There is folks who eat the green leaves off of sweet potatos.
@@gregzeigler3850
I saw sweet potatoes leaves selling in market
Love rhe logonlove the video
Anyone else love the word “whipper-snipper? Way better than “weed-whacker”.
i just talked for ten minutes to my buddy about how we no longer have a weed whacker, its a whippersnipper lol!!!! i love it
I love it.
ir sounds very old like someone 200 years old is saying it like you Ole whipper snapper. 😂
1:20 in the Philippines we mix the sweet potato leaves with tomatoes and onions with a vinaigrette, a side salad for fried fish or meat (ensaladang talbos ng kamote) 😊
So cool!
Excellent! Like most tubers I guess they must be loaded with vitamins and minerals too! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds delicious and refreshing.
This is a valuable info. Thank you.
Hi , when can i harvest the leaves? And how much leaves can i harvest without damaging my potatoes growth?
The sweet potato leaves are amazingly sweet. Here in Zambia we eat the leaves all year round. The more you harvest, the more it grows.
Namuya Kabeta how is the soil quality in Zambia? Is the land fertile to handle sustainable large scale agriculture?
@@DC-ie4ne it depends on which part of Zambia.but mostly agriculture friendly.
How do you cook the leave?
@@ashm480 they contain latex so boil or sautee them. Sauteed with butter and garlic is excellent.
Thank you so much for the tip! I'm on my round of sweet potato gardening and the vines git out of hand the first time. Harvesting the leaves should allow peanuts and for other crops in my raised planters.
First time growing sweet potatoes for food. The Pandemic isn't giving us a break from high prices, and the stores are jacking up our food bill.
I see it this way, if anyone can grow sweet potatoes it's this 72 year-old woman. My family needs food, and I'm not going to sit back and wish I could help. I see it this way, at least I'm trying to provide. My huge backyard just became a new Victory Garden. Forget the rules of planting ..just get it in the ground and see what grows. My grandchildren need to learn how to grow food, and granny needs to show them how easy it can be to feed our family. God be with you all...get out there and grow something.
Sweet potato can be a never ending plant. Before we harvest, we take the runners in half metre clippings and put them straight in the ground keeping the dirt moist for several days until it roots.
My grandfather taught me a great trick for picking/harvesting. He taught me to snip each vine, leaving a good foot of vine still in the soil so I can see where the potatoes will be. Then I carefully dig down with a shovel, a few feet away, and pretty soon I'll see where the bunches are.
I always save enough potatoes through the winter and start my slips in the spring. I don't think I've bought slips for about 10 years because I just keep growing, getting slips, and so on.
Awesome wisdom from "ye old gardener"
Perpetual!
How often do they need watered
One of the worst GMO plants. So make sure you get Heirloom, non GMO or Organic ones to start.
I am in Germany so winters are really cold and quite long. I guess 1 month in pots inside and plant in May for harvest in Sept. How do you store them through the winter?
Sweet potato can also be a natural soil improver. When I was a kid we planted sweet potato and rosella in our dam bank, heavy clay that wouldn't grow anything else. We never harvested the sweet potato. The rosella produced well enough to provide us with delicious rosella jam and over time ( 3-5 years) the unharvested sweet potato created beautiful rich soil we could then use to grow practically anything. The tubers gradually broke downthe clay and rotted tubers made natural compost. It was an accidental discovery as the first 'harvest' really didn't produce anything edible so we just left it. A few years later when we decided to plant a more clay friendly plant, we dug in and found instead of clay there was lovely soil. Set and forget soil improver 😉💕 considering trying it now i have 20acres with a large bare ugly dam bank. Ps. Hi from a fellow Queenslander 😀
Good to know about the potatoes breaking down the clay soil. I have to use raised garden beds because our soil has SO MUCH CLAY!
Becky Coffield you don’t happen to live in Townsville do you?
Arty Mummy, when you say dam bank, are you meaning the back side of an earthen dam or something different. I'm in an area where i have sort of a muck to plant in. seems sandy, acts like sand, but is a high organic/low clay ground that does not support crops much (working on that) but in rain holds water but the surface dries rapidly i have added a lot of mulch (the organic i spoke of) and so i'm very interested in making the soil better.
i might seem like i'm describing great soil, but i am not. i have not added mushroom compost but i need about 500 meters cubed to do justice. it is a small scale area, worked with a tractor
@@dysfunctional_vet seems we have opposite soil types. We have heavy clay with almost no organic matter and a lot of compaction. Easily waterlogged and dries like brick. But to answer your question, the Dam Bank is the pushed up dirt(or in our case clay) that is formed when an earthen dam is dug.
@@dysfunctional_vet Im also having great success with Ruth Stout style mulching to retain surface moisture and reduce the impact temperature fluctuations on the soil. Theres so many benefits to thick mulch
My mum grows sweet potato in a shallow self made raised garden bed and harvests the leaves for stir fry. She doesn't bother harvesting the roots at all. She managed to be completely self sufficient for fruit and vege in her tiny garden that's smaller than most retirement cottage equivalents.
Well done to your mom. Good survival instinct!
I love the fact you give honest advice. You don't try to structure your video in way that tries to sell us a gardening product. Keep up the good work. Wishing you a bountiful harvest in everything that you do.
Refreshing to hear a straight forward, no nonsense, practical and informative video in the internet.
Hey, its Mercy from Kenya. I like that you are growing those tubers the same way we do here. I would like to suggest you leave some in the sun for a few days and notice the difference in taste. That is a tip we use to increase both sugar content and durability out here. Pls let me know if u do. Thanx and all the best.
Hi Mercy! Thank you for the sun tip, yes I will try it! Cheers :)
I tried that, man they were very sweet and delicious.
Thank you for the tip Mercy. I've just recently found this channel and have never grown sweet potatoes, so this will be my first year and this man's channel is the most informative. The earth here in Massachusetts is still covered in snow, so I think I'll start some inside and plant when the frost has passed.
The heat causes them to lose a lot of water increasing sweetness and toughing the skins. It also changes some of the plane tasting starches into sweet sugars. I keep mine in a incredibly hot garage for at least 2 weeks.
Thanks for the tip, Mercy. I'll try it next time.
I am Native American. I suggest you plant Tobacco plants in your garden. It is a natural Pesticide. It became a Holy plant, because it protected crops....a gift or blessing from the Great Spirit. Most gardens have less pests if they have Tobacco plants. I don't know about Australia...but I think it would be worth a try. I liked your video.
Illegal down here 😤
Yea tried that and swarms of lil black bugs loved em
Hyperspace Jester it is illegal to grow tobacco? Where and why?
@@mikey3816 Did you have REAL tobacco plants? There are several decorative plants that get called Tobacco but really are not.
They were real and wan next door told how much shit I can get into I got rid of em all
It's "spread the love hour" and YOU sir, are the receiver of it today. I just have to say, I am so thankful for the content you provide. You are truly changing my life, the lives of many, and helping mother earth by spreading your knowledge. It is so important we learn to grow our own food because of the destructive environmental Impact big farming has on the planet. Not to mention if shit hits the fan with food shortages, which I foresee happening, we will know how to survive. The practices of mainstream big agriculture are quite literally sucking the earth dry. And I also like that you teach in the most Organic environmentally conscious way. You are so loved and valued. I am honored to have found your videos and am acknowledging all the hard work and effort you have put into becoming a mentor in this field, and I acknowledge the dedication and work it takes to put out the videos as well. On every level, THANK YOU.
Whipper snipper.
Also, Morning Glory being pervy.
Oh Australia, never change. 😌
So yobbo hey! Lolololol
Holy crap. I have one sprouting sweet potato and I was gonna plant it tomorrow. Tonight, this comes up on the feed. Bloody rippa. (They’ll grow too - I’m in Townsville).
Hi Mark. After following your instructions almost to the letter, I dug 1sq metre of my potato patch for a return of 17 1/2 kgs. Im stoked so thanks for your help. Youre a legend.👍
Your garden is beyond beautiful! One aspect of it's beauty is the fact that your beds are raised so neat. I have painful back problems and this looks like something I could tolerate! Thank you for this wonderful , informative video.
Just harvested my first sweet potato patch. Grew over a bushel in a 4x8 bed. Followed your directions. Couldn't wait to sunbath them, cooked up a pot right away. So yummy. I also ate the greens all summer. Thank you so much for your videos. I'm in Texas so they grew may till November 1st.
I LOVE THIS CHANNEL OMG I JUST FOUND IT
lol my dad planted sweet potatoes (from cutings) but more for the leaves and the tubers are bonus. I love the tubers but I eventually loved ensalada using the leaves. Just blanch the leaves and add diced tomatoes and salted egg (and minced onion if you like that). Sometimes I add diced green mangoes if they're in season. Then sprinkle with lemon or calamansi juice 🤤
"a whipper snipper."
American here enjoying these Australian terms.
What else is it called? :) Don't answer that. Weed whacker?
@@AussieDownUnder 'strimmer' in NZ.
Weed eater
Arvo=Afternoon, Firey=Fire Fighter, Tradie=Tradesman, Ambo=Ambulance, Servo=Petrol Station
I forgot one Smoko=Smoke break or morning tea break on building sites 😃
the Steve Irwin of gardening
Hahaha.yea,i thought the same thing
HoneyedHylian I literally just discovered this awesome guy and said the same thing on another video 😁
Herbal Irwin
I just made a similar comment. 😂
😄😄👍👍
"Look, and see the Earth through her eyes. . . " Just lovely. Thank you.
th-cam.com/video/Wb910vDOwCw/w-d-xo.html SWEET POTATOES
I know. I saw that and just felt at peace. Think I might use that line on a homemade wall plaque.
tip: what I have learned is that the vines that grow out, can be thrown on top of the patch, I had my first harvest and very very poor, but now learned that it is because of clay ground. So gonna mix sand in there and try again. Thanks for sharing.
I wish I had neighbors like him! Fun and very informative in a concise format. Well done!
Hello there👋,How are you feeling today?have a blessed day.God bless you!!❤️
Nicest bloke on TH-cam. Recently discovered your channel mark. Been binge watching lol cheers mate . From England
Thanks for the binge-watching Joey you're the best mate! Cheers :)
Love this guy. Greetings from Dominican Republic brother.
Very much agree. Been watching for years from Sweden. Very helpful.
Thank you for sharing your experience and Greetings from California, getting my sweet potatoes in grow bags today.
joey 8756 yeah he’s great,best veggie gardening advice on TH-cam
I absolutely love your videos! So clear and informative with no loud, annoying background music while you speak! This definitely inspires me to go out and finally start my own veggie garden❤
th-cam.com/video/Wb910vDOwCw/w-d-xo.html in Balkan sweet potato
See doing things in the back yard can be fun. Great site and yes he is a dork. The world needs more, dorks.
Great Video Mark! It always feels like Christmas when I harvest my sweet potatoes :) This year I have realized the importance of worms in root vegetables. I have about 2 million worms that i farm in my barn for castings, but as I breed more, I am putting them in my sweet potatoes in the garden. This year I had the most unbelievable harvest! I believe it is due primarily to the worms composting, loosening & aerating the soil. :)
Any plant where we can eat the leaves are a double blessing--thanks for sharing.
Hello, I enjoyed seeing your different way of growing sweet potatoes. It seems expensive and with a lot of work. Here in Congo we grow them throughout the year. We just raise-up soil beds and plant stems. No watering, no fertilizer, no pesticides. Only the rain and the sun will take care until harvest time. Thanks God for giving us the sun the rain constantly. We enjoy eating sweet potatoes leaves as well.
Papa Guill ... what a very cool thing to learn... I cannot ever visit Africa because my doctor said that I would never be able to handle the vaccines. So what I call my list of “vicarious travels” is expanded when I learn such things. So thank you 😊 💜
How deep do you put them in soil to grow?
@@anmoltiwari2700 at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) under soil surfave both for transplant (root) or whole tuber. that how i grow it at my backyard but selling value is very low at my place (indonesia)
I love to plant sweet potato but the soil in our backyard is clay, what would i do?
@@zenaidalidummeng5491 use garden fork to loose your soil. you can re-condition your soil by let it buried for 3 or 4 season (years). if you live in cold area with snow, cover your plant with more soil
most rooter / tuber plant will loose soil during growth, but not all plant can survive frost season. trial & error is the best thing to do, especially if you have leftover / unused plant
tips: you can also plant ginger / turmeric as an alternative. at least at my backyard, it has similar requirement for plant growth condition. sweet potato, ginger & turmeric are tropical plant so it growth very well at my place
I like your "pile everything back in to let it sprout or rot for the next batch" bed renewal!
th-cam.com/video/Wb910vDOwCw/w-d-xo.html in Balkan sweet potato
It makes sense as the leaves stalks and dodgy tubers are the nutrient in the soil in another form...mulching it puts it back in and reduces the amount of other additives for the next crop.
Uploaded 2 hours ago, already 1500 views at 4 am, Great work Mark!!! You inspire me to learn more to provide for my family.
Top bloke!
Thanks Mathew! Great to see such a response to the video - I finished uploading at 2am - spent a lot of time editing before I was happy with the final result so I'm glad others are also! Cheers :)
Self sufficient men from Australia, i said thanks to from USA, I will attempt to plant by your recommendation.
Love this guy!! I’ve got collards squash and tomatoes to eat out of my yard since I started watching him. I’m going to start a sweet potatoe today.
the fact that he played on the "morning glory" pun, just concretes his legend status!
🤣🤣🤣
I'm a 57 year old man and I have no idea what it means. I can draw some obvious conclusions, but I'm not sure they are accurate.
@@charleswaters455 I think your on the right track.
With a straight face, no less.
@@rhondabrethorst8135 pot?
I don't even have a garden, but the way this guy explains stuff makes me want to keep watching.
I love all of your videos Mark! You are the reason im having a garden at all this year. All raised beds as it were. Im actually using kiddie pools to grow my potatoes and sweet potatoes and even other stuff too.
Wow that’s an awesome idea I never thought of!!! Thank you for sharing
oh wow, Is there a way to prevent rot????
How are the kiddie pools going for you?
I just planted purple sweet potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket. I used 50/50 black Kow manure and poyying mix. Wish me luck it's my first try!
Hello from Ireland 🇮🇪, just discovered you and subscribed , when I was a child my father grow lots of potatoes 🥔 😊 in drills and veg, dad long passed over, living in a town long back garden but gets flooded when it rains, soil is sandy, hubby used to grow some spuds in those large bags, but haven't grown any for awhile, health issues like myself, I have never grown potatoes, but might try the cardboard 📦 method
Having grown them for years and recently read up a lot on them, I didn't really learn anything new, but couldn't fault any of the commentary, and there really isn't anything much else to add except for perhaps the varying nutritional values of the varieties. An excellent video to learn all you need to know about them.
Hello there👋,How are you feeling today?have a blessed day.God bless you!!❤️
This brings me back to the summer I spent at my granny’s. Picking raspberries for freezing. Digging up potatoes. Being sent out to pick a head of lettuce or broccoli. To pick beans and carrots. Whatever was on the menu or the night
Excellent tips and yes the leaves are edible and very nutritious. Sweet potato leaves are among my favorite greens to add to soups.
Could you steam them like spinach?
@@michalbarkai3736 Sure the tips of the sweet potato leaves are very tender. I'd steam them and make a dipping sauce made of fresh lemon juice and soy sauce. Of course you can make your favorite dipping sauce:-)
that sounds great i make a weekly pot of dahl soup (Indian spices, yum) so I will throw some leaves in nex time and check it out. My sp are coming up all over the garden from last year, I can never get them all they ramble so much.
Thanks for nentioming this...love it and gonna try it 😊
I love sweet potato and leaves green
Thanks
I've companion planted Thyme with sweet potato, as I read that it alleviated some insects from eating the tubers. It has worked, over last 12 months evwry sweet potato harvested is clean and no insect damage. Plus, the thyme is good to compliment dishes in cooking, smells great, and is attractive.
I have grown sweet potatoes before but did not get a good yield, probably because the soil was almost all clay. I now have a good bit better soil on my new acreage and plan to grow an entire HUGE bed of them. Not only as good food for me, but also to reduce the feed bill for several of my animals. I have already used them to feed my rabbits and goats and they really love them! The leaves will also be trimmed and used as animal food through out the season.
Thank you for an informative and excellent video lesson!!
Great advice. I cure my sweet potatoes for a few weeks in a big plastic storage box in front of the fire as it's chilly here at harvest time (end of October)...I let them sweat a bit and form a second skin then they keep right through the winter...Sorry if I'm repeating other people's comments but I don't have time to read all 400! 😁
th-cam.com/video/Wb910vDOwCw/w-d-xo.html in Balkan sweet potato
Lol - my sweet potato sprouted in the storage basket for vegetables, so I came here to see if it was possible to refurbish it and create more 🤩
Same here lol
It actually works - I harvested around 7-10 medium size potatoes - you should try it out 😂
Mate, you should be a host on Gardening Australia!
My first season of growing sweet potatoes. Thank you for putting this content out there to help folks like me. I look forward to see what I am blessed with in 3-4 months.
I just harvested my sweet potatoes , from the eyes off 1 that i planted this summer.....so cool. Next year i gotta use more loose soil.i got a whole small pot full this is awesome
Thank you so much for this video Mark! I use this in my agriculture class with my 8th graders. We will be planting sweet potatoes this week and this video will help to prepare them to plant their own beds at home as well. We live on Saipan, just a few hours north of Australia. Thanks again so much!
Wow! Just goes to show how other countries are more superior to the US lol. Here in the US they don't teach children anything like that. They used to decades and decades ago but not anymore. Now they just dumb children down.
I harvested my sweet potato today (7/5/20) and I got an awesome crop.., probably as much as you have in the wheelbarrow from 1 raised (birdies 2.4 x 1.3 x 400mm deep) Totally rapped with the result considering I only put this planter in in November last year with freshly made soil.
Wow! This is Incredible, I actually learned a lot here and can't wait to get started on growing my own sweet potatoes, it's my favorite!!!
The new leaves are tender and delicious. Makes an amazing addition to salad.
Thank you your insight and experience very helpful and your positive attitude is very Motivational I wish you a wonderful day
There is nothing better than a home grown sweet potato (besides a home grown tomato). They are delicious, I've been growing them for years. I also compost my vines. Thanks for the video.
It's hard to beat both homegrown toms and sweet potato so true! Thank you :)
@@Selfsufficientme How do you know when they are ready to be harvested?
@@koosvanzyl2605 6 months of growing time is good for nice tubers : )
Hey Mark
Interested in knowing how your store your sweet potatoes, pumpkin and the like.
Thanks, love your channel!
Kirsty
This seems like a relaxing and satisfying video for us people who don't even have a yard.
From his subtle sexual innuendos of the plants, to his extensive knowledge of the plants in there beneficial value, I love watching this guy!
This is first grew myself this year but mom and dad grew every year before traveling on. I'm happy to say I got almost 50 lbs from 5 slips. Diane
Hey Mark, I was pleased to hear that you could eat and use the sweet potato 🥔 leaves from the vine similar to spinach leaves. What would be a safe way of knowing when to harvest the leaves...maybe by color or by size ? I'd love your input. P.S....We just started a potato set up in a raised bed and in large sacks. Wish us luck !!
you may know by now that the tender leaves are best but I do let them grow a couple feet at least before breaking pulling off any sizeable amount.
He said: 'if in a cold climate,plant it out after the last frost and dont harvest until it has grown for awhile,to get max yield'
i will try that,living in north europe we only have about 5 months to grow outside. Love this channel.
I grow sweet potatoes here in Switzerland in old, double-stacked 4x4 tyres (1 plant per stack).
Thank u for your info very good I will follow your words, thank u
The dog probably doesn't have anything to do with it,but mein look at how healthy the dog looks😯🥰like he be benefit a lot out that garden🥰
Scooter is 14 now... Our vet said the other day that he is very fit for his age and has the heart of a 7 year old dog. Cheers 👍
You have inspired me to di this at home. World needs more people like you whom can teach the next generation
This is my first year with a bumber crop in backyard, I thank you Mark for tonnes of tips and videos. You changed my life.
Thank you it was a great help. My first year when it comes to getting in a cloth bag. Need a lot to give to kids, friends and neighbors, whomever would like them.
So good to hear an Aussie voice! We live in S.France and are going to plant our sweet potatoes for the first time...thanks Nate!
I planted a piece of potato from one that started growing in my kitchen.It grew so fast that I became interested in planting some more and that is why I am here. Thanks for the info.
I am going to buy a potato and try to start some new plants.
Hello there! I'm in central Florida, USA, so I imagine we have similar weather with your location in Australia. I've been watching your videos: they're all right, very useful, keep up the good work, guy.
When you mentioned “morning glory in my circle means something completely different”, I knew right then why I liked you. I know I’m a year late buy it needed to be acknowledged.
Old chunk of coal. That was really stupid. Immature man trying to fit in 😢
I talked to my landlord a week ago and he is in on planting food in the garden! So happy I got the chance to move from an apartment with balcony to a house with a big garden! Looking forward to grow more of my own food next year, maybe even enough to share with friends and neighbors 😍 your videos are great!
Awesome :) & your comment's 2 years old, so how's it going?
@@lilaclizard4504 Hi! It’s been going really good! 2020 was so-so, but 2021 was a much better harvest as I am learning 😊 I love trying out different tomatoes and pumpkins!
@@lilaclizard4504 Also really looking forward for the 2022 harvest and trying out some different veggies in the garden :)
@@NomNomFairy Awesome :) yeh it is a learning curve. Harvest will get better & better as you keep going, especially if you repeat grow your most successful crops the next year :)
If you haven't already found it, Diggers garden club have a really awesome range of tomatoes if you're looking for more variety to try. Tomatoes are one of the harder plants to grow though, be sure to move them around if you have space & add lots of manure at the start of the growing season, cause they're heavy feeders, so they are one of the few plants that can reduce in crop size & increase in pests & diseases year after year. Good fertiliser prevents most issues though :) Just chuck a pile of dynamic lifter in at the start of the season :)
& once you've figured out pumpkins, if you want something different, try gourds or luffas. Same family as pumpkins, so exactly the same to grow, just be sure to split planting for different species if you decide to grow multiple, cause otherwise they'll cross pollinate & cause problems
Sounds like you have a nice big garden there if you're growing stuff like pumpkins, that's awesome :)))
You're an absolute legend for making these videos and sharing your tips. It's teaching me so much and I've even been inspired to start a container garden on my apartment balcony. THANK YOU!
th-cam.com/video/Wb910vDOwCw/w-d-xo.html in Balkan sweet potato
I am just about some fruit to plant on a bitt spsce
Sweet potatoes are so tasty. Pumpkin leaves are another culprit that loves to take over the whole garden. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Just love your videos. My husband and I are new home growers and we always check in with your videos before planting any new veggie :-)
sweet potatoes are the next item i'll be adding to my food forest. I love how heat tolerant they are. All around great veg to have growing. The tubers are delicious and so are the leaves.
Extremely easy to grow! We have one sprouting in our kitchen at the moment it's starting to take over the place lol...
Self Sufficient Me what do I do after I sprout the sweet potato?
I love your videos...rich with fantastic gardening info and always right to the point. I just harvested my first sweet potatoes!😄Thank you so much!
Great information, I loved your tip for “sealing” cut areas after harvesting by leaving in the sun. Hello from California! About to grow some accidental sweet potato slips in a container in my backyard. Left one too long in the kitchen, and it sprouted and when I put them in water, they went crazy with roots and beautiful leaves. Thanks for the video!
Yeah, A garden Steve. I like to hear him say " Gooday". Love your knowledge of gardening. Thanks for sharing.
I found all the information you shared very useful. Thank you. I am amazed at how much vines have grown from just one sweet potato that I didnt get around to cooking! So left alone it just kept growing on the table where it was. After placing it outside a few months later, there are so much vines that I have cut slips and found other gardeners to share them with. I am looking forward to seeing how they grow in their new environments...also the tip about using the vines as ground cover is something I will also do. Thanks again!
I love your channel. Thanks for making gardening less intimidating and more fun
Push this Wheel barrel is HARDDD YAAKAAHHH.. I have no idea what that means but I like it lol
Simply just hard work, tired him out lol... heavy load.
Whipper snipper and veggie patch are two phrases I am totally going to use from now on!
I feed the sweet potato leaves and spoiled tubers to my chickens and it lowers feed costs. Bula from Fiji!
I am so in love of your luscious greenish abundant garden sir! And your perfect details of your plants and works are inspiring and therapeutic!
More power!!
I grew mine in dirt mounds around trees not only does it look great but functional, when the slips get long, you can just push a spot in the ground and it will grow more roots and sweet potatoes, no need to cut the slips really, just every 2 ft push a bit of the slips into the ground, that how easy it is and you will get a much bigger yield.
Hey Mark. Have you ever tried wicking beds? I noticed your garden bed was really dry. I built my first 2 wicking bed 10 months ago and they were amazing during the hotter months. My worms love them too.
I also am incorporating biochar that I've made and noting its water holding characteristics as well as how well it keeps the soil loose and workable. Still experimenting with it, along with weed teas to cut down on my fertilizer costs.
Sweet Potatoes 🍠 are just one ingredient which we put in our homemade dog 🐕 biscuits THANK YOU for this awesome video - you make it look very easy. We’ll be planting our sweet potatoes in the spring. 🙏
Im thankful for the Aussie gardeners, being in the norther hemisphere its great to see all the green!!!
That intro was the most Australian thing I have ever seen, love it!
Americans need to start using the term “whipper snipper” instead of “weed eater” haha I love it
Lol😄
Yes! I thought so too!
weed wacker
Weed eater? Really. Whipper snipper whipper snapper :)))
I’m totally going to do that from now on.
Thank you for this great video! When I started growing them I was very happy to hear the sweet potato greens were edible. I love getting two foods from one source!
So excited
I got 7 raised bed planters from epic gardening like yours.
Filling in a week or so.
G’d day mate
From Mid Arizona 🇺🇸
Appreciate your videos
Thank you I live in Florida helped me a lot I just planted a rotten one to see what would happen in the ground and now I have some sweet potatoes growing then I went on TH-cam today to see and learn how to take care of them and this video help me a lot thank you so much blessings from Tampa Florida
I shrieked out loud early in the morning when I heard him say "Whipper snipper" best term I've ever heard
Is that just an Aussie name? What do you call them?
@@nicolle_2944 we call them either weed eaters or weed whackers...
Great video! I just caught a glimpse of something you said. You are growing tomatoes on top of the sweet potatoes? That is a awesome idea! Can you touch more on that subject? When do you plant the tomatoes over the sweet potatoes, at what stage of the sweet potato do you let it get before planting tomatoes etc etc? I really love that idea! Three thumbs up on your videos?
Yes that's correct Anthony - in that bed I grew both cherry and large beefsteak tomatoes, kale, basil, and several Asian greens. These plants are planted shortly after or at the same time as the sweet potato roots are buried. It takes awhile for the sweet potato to take over the bed so in the meantime we get a crop of tomatoes etc and by the time they die back and are finished the sweet potato is emerging and growing well to be left take over the garden bed. I have also used this method with other root crops such as Jerusalem artichoke laying the tubers first and planting another quicker crop on top (such as radish) then the radish die off or get harvested and the artichoke grow through once the weather heats up. It double dips the bed and prevents unnecessary refurbishing and makes for less work with more production! Cheers :)
@@Selfsufficientme ...newbie here, so I kind of missed that. Would you please do a video on that, including any tips or advice. Thanks!
Self Sufficient Me That is very interesting! I may try this
, this growing season. I hate wasting space and when you just barley mentioned it, I knew I had to ask more about it. Have you ever had a problem with them both getting the same disease as root rot? That would be my only concern. If it took down one plant it would take down the sweet potato plant as well. I’ve not seen or herd of anyone else doing this around my parts, so I’m definitely going try it on half my raised bed! Thanks for all the tips. I’ll keep watching for more little tips here and there. Happy growing.
Hi! I've heard it's important to burn the sweet potato ivy vines after harvest, rather than composting them. We have a longer growing season (7-7b but mother nature is menopausal at times 😉). I had no idea to stick the vines and roots right back in, fertilize, and cover with mulch. I'm so excited to try this!!
I love a morning glory...I need more sweet potatoes for that. Love the sound of the insects or water spinler in the background.
Hi I'm about to plant my first lot of kumara (red with white flesh variety). One tip I was given was to plant in shallow ground like a container, in my case I'm going to use an old paddling pool. The reason given is this plant will keep growing down, using all its energy for that and therefore only produce small kumara. Another tip was to lay cardboard down (as a barrier) the back fill before planting the slips. Anyway, I cannot wait as kumara is a favourite in my household. Thanks for your amazing videos as always.