Your comments and tips

28 Apr 14, jan (Australia - temperate climate)

i have read on gardenate that sweet potatoes aren't suitable for temperate Australia. A chinese man gave me a sweet potato vine cutting and I've been harvesting the greens off this for several months now. When does the plant die down for harvesting the sweet potatoes underneath? At the moment there seems to be constant growth on top and only an occasional yellow leaf.

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04 May 14, Steve McLeish (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

when do i harvest my sweet potatoes

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29 Apr 14, Jaizi (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi Jan, I'm growing sweet potatoes in Temperate too. They grow really easily here actually, but mine have never died back like it says. You just have to dig around and see if they are a good size. You don't even have to harvest to whole plant, just a couple of tubers at a time and let it keep on growing. They are also really easy to transplant to another area, they're just an all-round hardy food plant. The hard part of transplanting is to make sure you get it all, otherwise you'll have them re-sprout. Jaizi

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22 Mar 14, John (Australia - temperate climate)

I have 2 sweet potatoes that have grown shoots whilst in the cupboard . If i cut them in half can I use half and plant the other half or should I allow the shoots to continue growing and plant those later . Its autumn now.. I have a plot I can use that would be sheltered from frost although we only get a couple each year

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26 Sep 13, Debbie (Australia - temperate climate)

We are ex-pat Kiwis and now live near Port Macquarie NSW. Could you please tell us where we can access some real NZ Kumara plants?

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09 Apr 14, David (Australia - temperate climate)

I believe that it is illegal to import NZ kumara to Australia, so you will only be able to obtain propagating material from someone who has been growing it for years or has obtained it illegally. That said, it is certainly not impossible to find people growing it, but they probably won't be advertising it. Keep putting feelers out in forums like this. (0r you might be able to buy some from a supermarket and sprout that - Liz)

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08 May 14, Glen (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hi David. Not sure if it's kiwi kumera they have but check out The Diggera Club online. They even have NZ yams on there and post plants nationwide from Victoria. Hope this helps

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18 Feb 13, D JAMES (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Can anyone tell me if all sweet potatoe vines leaves are edible I am a bit of a collector and have now about 5 different types of these real streetfighting trifods. They are such a wonderful tasty sustainable easy to grow plant everyone should have some in their garden.

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23 Feb 14, Elisabeth (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hi D James, I just harvested the tips for my vietnamese friend, she just loves them, but made it clear the fresh tips. You can use them in soups as well. She stir fries them with wood ear mushrooms and other yummy flavours. She also eats the fresh tips of the pumpkin vines as well and does something similar. I think that we need to tap into these cultures that still have a lot of their traditional foods. E Rajesh

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13 Apr 14, Pat (Australia - temperate climate)

The leaves are edible. In Asia, people eat mostly the leaves. You can stir fry them with chilli and oyster sauce, or with curry powder.

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