Garbage Gardening - The Sweet Potato Plant

I would like to start a series of educational articles dealing with plants however these articles are what I generally consider to be Garbage Gardening. In the articles which follow you will be able to instruct your children in the fine art of growing plants from cast off waste that would normally end up in the trash. This is what I refer to as garbage gardening. We will begin the series with the Sweet potato plant.

The popular sweet potato is rapidly growing as a vegetable for those who are interested in their health. Years ago the sweet potato was traditionally the thanksgiving or Christmas product and rarely did one find it on the table menu for any other time of the year. This healthy vegetable is at home with a variety of spices and herbs blended skillfully to produce some very interesting and tasty meals. This healthy alternative is comfortable as a main dish, a casserole, made into a salad, excellent as an additive to bread and does just fine as a dessert.

When used as a main dish the sweet potato provides an economical and nutritional food. Just one sweet potato baked will provide over 8800 IU of the vitamin A, 42 percent for vitamin C, approximately 6 percent for calcium as well as 10 percent for iron however it contains merely 141 calories. This makes it a great item for those people who are watching their watch. This vegetable is low in its sodium content and an excellent source of fiber.

When purchasing sweet potatoes you should select only those with firm roots. Be sure to handle the sweet potatoes carefully to prevent them from bruising. When storing them place them in a dry, un-refrigerated location at a constant temperature of 55 to 60 degrees F. An important point here is Do Not Refrigerate as the lower temperatures below the 55 degrees F. tends to chill the vegetable giving it an undesirable taste after it is cooked.

To prepare your sweet potato wash it well and then boil or bake it until it becomes slightly soft. Should you boil it then drain it immediately. Completely cool the boiled or baked sweet potatoes. You can then wrap them individually with freezer foil leaving the skins on them. Next place in suitable plastic freezer bags, seal and label them appropriately.

The majority of prepared foods using sweet potatoes will freeze well; they will save you considerable time and energy. The sweet potato can be boiled, baked, fried, canned, broiled or frozen. In addition they can be cooked conventionally with your stove or oven as well as with a microwave.

Now I would like to tell you about a way to really catch your children's attention and make them appreciate the value of a sweet potato. When I was but a small child we would place a sweet potato into a glass jar with water. We would grow this plant merely for its decorative value. Here are the items you would need.

4 Toothpicks to support the plant

A glass Jar

Tap water

Start out by looking very carefully at your sweet potato that you would like to sprout. Look to see if you can find any small shoots starting to generate at one end. If you do this will be the end of your potato which should be facing up. The other end will be the part which you will be placing into the water.

Measure halfway towards the bottom of the sweet potatoes and stick the four toothpicks into each side. Space them evenly around the potato and make sure to leave about ½ of it out. The purpose of the toothpicks is to prevent your potato from falling into the jar of water.

Fill the jar at least ½ full of water and place your sweet potato into your glass jar. You may need to add additional water to bring the level to within an inch of the top.

Place your completed sweet potato jar near a very sunny window. Within a few days the sweet potato will start to generate roots within the water. After approximately a week leaves should begin to appear on the top.

Your children will quickly gain a new outlook on not only the sweet potato but garbage gardening in general. I will add more plants to the series at a later date.

Copyright @2008 Joseph Parish

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