Garlic Scapes

 

You can grow sweet potatoes in Vermont!

Sweet potatoes are easy to grow, but with the shorter growing season in Vermont, getting a good harvest can be frustrating.  Since planting doesn’t happen until 2-3 weeks after the last frost and when soil is a consistent 65⁰, slips won’t go in the ground until mid-June earliest.  With a growth time of 90-150 days, and a harvest required before first frost, gardeners may realize a small yield.  Couple this with the presence of voles who love to munch on the growing tubers, sweet potatoes are often overlooked as a part of the home garden.

There are ways to meet these challenges, however.  Here at the community garden we have a small green house, and in that we placed a 250 gallon galvanized stock watering tank into which drainage holes were drilled.  After lining the tank with pebbles and filling it with a mix of soil, perlite and compost,  slips (which were donated by a friend) were planted, a support for the vines was added, and our experiment in growing sweet potatoes was underway.    

      

 

Success!  It wasn’t a big crop, as the container could only accommodate a handful of slips, but by mid-October a harvest was realized.  No vole-eaten tubers, some good-sized sweet potatoes; an experiment worth the effort.

The experiment will continue, as a few of the tubers will be stored over the winter and used to grow slips to plant out next year.  We’ll never get a large harvest, but there will be enough for a few pots of tortilla soup, a delicious way to use this crop. 

Sweet potatoes are a great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals, including Vitamins A, B5, B6, C and niacin, as well as potassium, manganese and copper.  They are also rich in antioxidants that help protect your body from free radicals.  Given their nutritional value, sweet potatoes are a great addition to your diet.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

3 tbs canola oil

Small purple cabbage, cored and shredded

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½” cubes

1 medium red onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

½ cup finely crushed tortilla chips

28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tbs chipotle chili paste

5 cups water

2 15-oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Garnishes: sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, sliced radish, sour cream, tortilla chips

Heat oil in large pot, add cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted.  Add sweet potato, red onion and garlic; continue cooking, stirring frequently, until onion is soft.  Add crushed tortilla chips, crushed tomatoes and chipotle chili paste; stir until well combined, then add water and simmer until sweet potatoes are cooked through (about 20 minutes).  Stir in pinto beans, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until beans are heated through.

 Serve with garnishes on the side so that each person can personalize their bowl of soup.  Serves 4-6