Diggin' the sweet potatoes

I've been putting it off as long as I possibly can. Every day that the sweet potatoes stay in the ground is another day they can add to the size of their tubers. But I've reached the point where I have to put in my cool crop transplants (broccoli, Brussels sprouts) and the only place left is where the sweet potatoes are.

I've been trimming back the vines the last couple weeks, helping to redirect the photosynthesis efforts into pumping carbohydrates into the tubers rather than letting the vines take over the whole back yard. First step in the process will be trimming those remaining vines back to the ground so it I can find the soaker hoses before I dig.

And I have to dig deep! Some of those tubers are a good ten inches down. I'm trying to systematically go through the bed without accidentally stabbing one of those tasty orange tubers.

Occasionally you find some weird stuff. These were at the base of a main plant. They would have been the first roots set by the slip when it was stuck in the growing media. Some of them I can't tease apart, I'm just going to have to wait until it is time to cook.

Once everything is dug you have to let them "cure." Sweet potatoes have rather delicate skin when they are first dug. Too much handling and you can leave marks. But because I watered a couple days before hand the ground was still moist and there was too much soil still clinging to the tubers.

This time I'm leaving them laying out on the adjacent tank for a day or two. Anything longer and they might start turning green on me.

Fall-ish planting

The lattice over the raised beds can only mean one thing - keeping the cats out of the freshly planted ground!

After reclaiming the beds from the weeds I plotted out where I was going to seed what. The problem with transitional season gardens like this one is there are still warm/hot season veggies (pepper, bush beans, sweet potatoes) that are still going strong. And there are some beds/tanks that will be in shade by the winter solstice so it is pointless to plant anything there.

This is the time of year I love to plant peas, carrots, and parsnips. Peas will last until the first hard freeze, but by then I'll have harvested a few times. Carrots and parsnips, if started early, will mature through the cold months and can be picked occasionally throughout the winter. Carrots and parsnips are going in the tanks. I'm planting two kinds of peas so they are going in two separate areas: snow peas are going in the low beds (notice the t-posts and twine in the photo above) and snap peas are going in a tank.

What's under the lattice? Little stuff that does not take kindly to kitties scratching in the dirt. Lettuce, kohlrabi, radishes, and beets. Yes, I'm trying beets again. Every year I swear I am giving up, and every year hope springs eternal. As the seedlings pop up I lift the lattice by putting soup cans underneath - this way I still have a kitty deterrent but the seedlings have room to sprout.

I've got a good start on this bed.

Topping off the sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are in the home stretch of their growing season. But that also means I need to act fast to max out their productivity. See, every place that a leaf comes out of the vine is a potential spot for root development. More roots means more water and nutrient uptake, and also the potential for more yummy tubers.

See there - lots of nodes not in contact with the ground (thanks in part to the soaker hoses, best irrigation ever!). There are also a few spots where tubers formed near the base of the transplants are partially exposed.

The solution: top dress with top soil. Seeing as I have to top off the raised beds every year with more top soil, garden soil, mulch, or some combination thereof it's not like this will go to waste.

Fingers crossed this will help!