Things have gotten quite busy around the farm in the last few weeks! We’ve been planting lots of summer crops and trying to keep on top of all the weeds that have been growing like crazy!
One of the most important tasks of the last few weeks was planting all of our sweet potatoes. Last year we had a mediocre crop so it is our goal this year to improve our yields and do a better job. Sweet potatoes are one of the few crops that we do not grow from seed ourselves. We order our slips as cuttings that arrive from North Carolina. This year we switched where we source our plants to Jones Family Farms (no relation to Steph and I but with a name like that we figured they were trustworthy!). Our previous supplier was a secondary supplier, holding the plants too long in the warehouse, resulting in very slow growth after planting. We had heard good things from other local farmers about Jones Farms so we are hoping that the young plants from them get a better start here on our farm.
Once the sweet potatoes arrive via second day air we unpack them quickly from their boxes. We then wait until later in the day when the sun is lower in the sky to plant them. For the first few days it is hard to believe that the ‘sticks’ will ever survive to be full grown plants. That’s why the cardinal rule of planting sweet potatoes is to water them a lot and then don’t look at them for a while! However, despite their unassuming start after a few weeks even the worst looking plants start to grow a very tiny leaf. This always reminds us that growth is happening even when it may be hard to see or believe in.
Soon these leaves will unfold and vine out, eventually covering the field with foliage to harvest the sunlight and grow the bright orange roots beneath the soil. It is still several months until harvest time but we will be weeding, watering, and waiting for what is hopefully a good crop of sweet potatoes!