Today's Harvest (Wordless Wednesday)

My Sweet (Potato) Love is Purple / Keledek Ungu Idaman Hati

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:

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:

Left: purple sweet potato. Right: yellow sweet potato.

I dug into both sweet potatoes with glee. They were absolutely, fantabulously DELICIOUS!!
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. ;-)

Tremulously Tuberous: Carrots, Radish, Turnip?

Travelling and life got in the way of gardening pursuits. Also I was distracted when Miss Poogey, a cat who hangs around for the free food, brought her kittens to live with us. Yes. There are signs of my pots and styrofoam boxes being dug up by these curious kitties. Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of them because they are extremely unfriendly. One of them bit me when I took hold of her/him/it, and all I see of them are their little tails as they scurry away to hide from scary ole me. 

Yesterday I finally sowed another batch of carrots:

• Topweight
• Mixed Heritage
• Dragon
• Early Scarlett Horn

So today I thought I'd update on the other carrots here in my humble garden.

My BBS009 F1 hybrid carrots from Serbajadi have flowered, and gone to seed. There are about 4 blooms from this single flowering carrot.

Topweight carrots under the shade of a Rangoon creeper. I really think they need the sunshine. 

A potato that started sprouting on my kitchen counter continued its existence sharing a spot with a tomato plant. I did not plan this companion planting buddy but their roots were so closely intwined in their previous pot, that I just moved both of them without disturbing the roots too much.

Sweet potato, of the purple variety, I think. Aunty Kan gave me the cuttings, I stuck them in this styrofoam container, and now they are spilling outwards. Also bloomed a few times, a light purple flower similar to morning glories.

I think these are Paris Market carrots and parsnips.

Purple Dragon carrots in their purplish-coloured pot. I am not sure why this one has its leaves spread out.

To be honest I've forgotten what these are: Snowball Turnips or Watermelon radish? Help! Next to it is a tiny heirloom beetroot.

Heritage mixed carrots in a pot that si perhaps too small. Poor things.

Topweight carrots again, in a pot. Huge pot. The tiny Sergeant from Ali Baba Bujang Lapuk can easily fit in.