I have finally given up on my Luffas this year. The vigorous
climbing plants produced a lot of leaves and took over half of the polytunnel
but have now succumbed to mould so there’s no saving them. I had one finger
sized luffa but that’s gone all soft and squidgy too. The earwigs have the
upper hand this year, arrogantly looking at me with their pincers raised and
ready for action. Next year I’ll get one step ahead of them. Every year I like to try something new, sometimes
I get a crop, sometimes I don’t. Next year I will be growing two plants that I
am sure the wiggies won’t find as they are both root crops. My first is ginger.
Growing Ginger
Ginger root is available from a lot of shops and I will be
taking a few pieces that have small growing tips or nodes on them. It’s advisable
to get organic roots that haven’t been sprayed to stop them sprouting so if I
can’t find any I might need to buy root specially produced from a grower as the
results might be better. Whichever I get it’ll just be a case of planting them
in shallow pots (the roots grow sideways) and either having them in the house
on the windowsill or in the tunnel. They like it warm, frost free, away from
strong winds and not too sunny so the
early ones will be fine on my windowsill for now and it’ll be an excuse for me
to tell people to close the back door when they come in.
Sweet pototoes
My next new crop might need a bit more attention put on
it. For years now I have been wanting to
grow sweet potatoes but thought they were too fragile to grow in Ireland. I really
don’t think they are and I am sure I can get a bucket full for next year.
How to grow sweet
potatoes
Sweet potatoes grow in popularity every year. They are a
delicious addition to the kitchen garden and not too difficult to grow. There are actually a lot of varieties to
choose from but the supermarkets tend to give us the same ones. I’m going to be growing mine from shop bought
ones again, carefully choosing ones that have been grown without chemicals and
hopefully without growth inhibitors.
Sweet potatoes are traditionally grown in warmer climates but
I’m not going to let the deter me although if they don’t work I’ll be buying
thet hardier types from the growers.
What are sweet
potatoes?
Despite its name the sweet potato is not a potato at all. This
tasty root vegetable is a member of the Ipomoea family; the same genus as the
popular flowering climber ‘Morning Glory’. You will certainly notice the family
resemblance from their pretty trumpet shaped flowers and vigorous spreading
growth habit. The leaves and tips of young shoots can be cooked as a spinach
substitute so they are pretty versatile.
Sweet potato slips
Sweet potatoes are grown slightly differently to our regular
spuds. Unlike normal potatoes, sweet ones are grown from ‘slips’. These are the
long shoots that have been removed from ‘chitted’ sweet potato tubers. ‘Slips’ either
have no roots or very little ones. The roots will grow once the ‘slip’ has been
planted. When you buy from growers you will get the bare rooted slips wrapped
up in paper. They will be very limp but perk up again after being in water
overnight. You could even start rooting them in the water too, which is what I
am planning to do.
Sweet potato plants are not hardy so I will grow them on in the
windowsill or tunnel for a few weeks until they are established. Warm, humid
conditions will quickly encourage the slips to produce roots so I will be
better to be patient and leave the growing until the frost have gone next
spring. They can be planted out in containers to grow on in the tunnel.
The long stems need plenty of space as they have a vigorous
growth habit. In milder areas or sheltered spots in the garden they are well
worth trying outdoors, planted through a sheet of black polythene to warm the
soil and suppress weed growth. They could be covered with fleece or plastic
cloches - you’ll be amazed the difference that this will make to the
temperature.
The plants prefer an acid or neutral soil so we are ideally
suited here for growing them. They will
go well with my other plants I plan to grow in the future, tea and tobacco.
