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| My first-ever sweet potato harvest. |
A few months back Aunty Kan, my neighbour from across the road, gave me several cuttings from her sweet potato plant. I don't recall how she came by her plant, it was either from some cuttings or a sweet potato she planted out of curiosity. I stuck them in a styrofoam box filled with potted soil and sort of ignored it. I only fertilised it once, with blended fish guts. It grew and grew, and soon threatened to take over it's corner of my Jung-Den. It got quite difficult for me to go into the cat enclosure because it's vines were sprawling all over the pathway. So I had some of the leaves cleared. Then AFTER that, I suddenly felt I wanted to try some of the sweet potato shoots in a stir-fry. And oh boy, did it taste so gooodd.. and I regretted not eating the leaves before. Better tasting compared to kangkung actually. I hear sweet potato leaves can also be juiced and taken raw.
Another neighbour came by with her daughter, to visit my cats. She got curious about my styrofoam-dwelling sweet potatoes, and started digging with her bare hands. Imagine my delight when she unearthed this sweet bounty below:
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| Purple sweet potatoes, just the way I like them. |
We left most of the plant as it is, and reburied a few smaller sweet potatoes in the hopes that they will grow bigger. This is harvesting technique is called 'bandicooting' according to Diana of Kebun Malay Kadazan Girls. Bandicoots are rat-like marsupials resident in Australia and New Guinea. I guess there is also something to learn from nature, and I am kind of amused by the word 'bandicoot' because it sounds like bandits. Sweet potato bandits, to be exact.
Then I hopped over to my neighbour's house, and she dug about in her raised bed and bequeathed me with her own yellow sweet potato. I got curious and wrapped them up in tin foil, and baked them in the oven at 170-180 degrees Celcius, alongside my gluten-free quiche, for about 40 minutes. And the result is here:
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| Left: purple sweet potato. Right: yellow sweet potato. |
How do they taste like?
Well, if you are after a creamier and starchier sweet potato, the purple one ought to meet your requirements. If you prefer a sweeter, smoother texture, then the yellow sweet potato is your pal.
As for me, I love them both for what they are: delicious organic food, home-grown with love.
After that food-tasting, I immediately started 2 more boxes of sweet potatoes. ;-)
13 comments:
So best!!! Ppl said if u harvest the leaves, the ubi will not grow. but dunno betul tak
Ahhh jelousnya tengok ur harvest..more jealous looking at the baked sweet potatoes!.now i want to tanam these as well! ;)
Sedap kan harvest ubi keledek dari kebun sendiri....baru dok berangan2 nak tanam jugak nie keledek..namun kat sini kurang lak keledek kuning..purple jer yg ade... do like yg kuning atau prple lebih?
Olive, oohh ye ke? It is true I did not harvest the leaves at all until after I harvested the potatoes. Maybe I should only harvest leaves from one box, and keep the other two boxes untouched and see whether the ubi grows bigger in which box. Thanks for the idea :-)
Aida, don't get jealous, get even :-) hehe. Silakan, mari kita semua bergumbira menanam ubi keledek sendiri. Pokoknya lasak, senang nak jaga, baja pun sekali-sekala.
Ummu Aidan, sedaaaaaappp. Rasa menyesal pulak dulu tak tanam banyak-banyak. Saya lebih gemar yang creamy dan berkanji, iaitu yang purple, sebab enak dimakan begitu sahaja. Daunnya pun cantik.
Kagumnye,tahniah.
berapa kerap mama pongkey baja ubi ni? berapa lama tempoh yang boleh kita harvest dia dan mcm mana nk tau yang keledek sudah ada hasil? Banyak pulak tanya. hehe..... thanks.
best nyer jadi...gemok-gemok pulak tu..sy tanam juga keledek purple dr cameroon..terbeli banyak tak abis makan bercambah2 jadinya..tapi kan tak menjadi..erm maybe i should try in styrofoam..berapa lama tanam untuk dpt berisi mcm ni?
tang daun memang sedap! sy suka celur buat ulam
Ibu Qistina, saya baja sekali dua aje dalam masa 5 bulan. Dahsyat eh. Rasanya kena baja lebih kerap lepas ni, sebab tentu tanah tu dah habis nutrien dia dek diserap ubi sebelum ni.
Nadia, saya dulu mula dengan keratan batang aje. Tanam dari ubinya belum pernah lagi.
Kalau ada ubi, ada setengah orang tu cuba dapatkan sebanyak mana 'slip' atau anak pucuk ubi tu tumbuh dulu sebelum menanamnya. Biasanya orang cucuk dengan cungkil gigi, kemudian rendam separuh ubi tu dalam gelas berisi air. Sampailah dia bertunas, lepas tu tunas tu ceraikan dengan hati-hati dan tanam. Macam ni: http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-plant-and-grow-sweet-potatoes/index.html
Ibu Qistina, kalau nak tau ada hasil ke tak kena korek sikit-sikit ala ala bandicoot. Cari sulur akar yang menebal, hujungnya ada ubi, begitulah kata jiran saya Kak Mai. Diana Kebun Malay Kadazan Girls pernah kata, dalam 2-3 bulan pun dah ada hasil (kalau tak silap ingat la).
Thanks mama pongkey atas ilmu yang di kongsi. Berkobar2 pula rasa nak menanam ubi manis. hehe....
thanks mamaponkey for sharing..nanti boleh buat cara ni..sy benam jer ubi yg dah bertunas tu dlm tanah..tunggu2..daun je lebat..isi takde
salam mama pongkey.
seronoknya tengok hasil. banyak dan manis pula rasanya. pokok keledek tepi rumah dah ditebas dek kerana bersemak. korek2 dapat la sebiji tak sampai separuh tapak tangan. hahaha.
I planted the purple ones recently and dah keluar bunga purplish lah pulak. But Abby not a fan for the purple one she likes the orange sweet potato nak kena propagate yang ni pula. Although the mother like the purple ones.
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