If there is a vegetable that reminds me of holidays and family line get - togethers , it ’s the humble yam . Yams have featured in all of our limited vacation fete and I ca n’t guess a festive repast without a lovely pipe bowl of yams in some chassis or another . That ’s why every class you ’ll regain me growing yams – even if it ’s just one plant in the street corner of my curtilage .
Most yams we buy from the stock are grow oversea in tropical and sub - tropic countries around Africa and Asia . yam are often mistaken for sweet white potato , but they are two totally different plant . yam plant are more difficult to acquire and take much longer to be quick for harvest . They have rough skin , which is more difficult to peel than the cutis of sweet murphy .
yam are a vigorous herbaceous vine that will climb on anything – some vines grow up to 8 inches in a day ! The tuber can grow huge – up to 6 feet and 150 lb , but most are more accomplishable in size . The respectable matter about yams , in my opinion , is that they require little tending once you plant them , and you ’ll still be reward with a bighearted and tasty harvest home .
Yam Varieties
Related to African grasses and lilies , there are well over 600 types of yams , but I ’ll cover what is commonly usable and what I ’ve grown in the past tense . Definitely let the cat out of the bag to your local nursery about what produce best in your area .
If you want to grow a true yam , get yourself a yam tuber or talk to your local plant provider to make certain you have yam and not unfermented potatoes . It ’s easy to buy something labeled yams and finish up with a sweet potato or else .
Chinese Yam
Taiwanese yam is the most useable miscellanea in footing of cooking traditional yam plant formula . Treat it like a white potato and roast , bake , casserole or add together it to stews . Its flesh is steadfast and is mild in taste . Chinese yam is a little cold - tolerant but still requires fairly warm temps .
Guinea Yams
Guinea Yams come with both white and yellowed frame variety show . cover them like potatoes or sweet potatoes . These are big yam weigh on middling about 5 pounds .
Ube (Filipino Purple Yam)
Ube has become popular in many farmer ’s market place in the U.S. They can range from purple with white mottles to a deep lavender colored figure . The skin is wooden-headed and brown .
Air Potatoes
aviation potatoes are domesticate in the U.S. and a few other land . Some people consider them pests because of their rapid increment , but air Solanum tuberosum are a true domestic yam plant . The plant produces eatable tubers both above and undercover , but mind – many wild variety are vicious .
Okinawan Yam
Used in both sweet and savory lulu , Okinawan yams are pop in Hawaii . The chassis is cryptical purple and they are various and smack specially scented when roasted .
American Yam
American yams are the ones you ’ll often obtain on the Thanksgiving board , but they ’re actually sweet potato . They could be described as simulated yam , but the two plants are altogether dissimilar . I mention them because you do n’t require to end up with an American yam when you ’re look for a straight yam .
Golden Yam
Originating in South America , this is another mellifluous potato consider a yam by many consumers and supermarket alike . It ’s a favourite in American dwelling .
How to Plant Yams
Zones
Zones 8 to 10 have succeeder with grow yams . True yams ca n’t have any insensate temps for their total growing time of year , which can be as long as 11 months , though some are quick for crop after 5 months .
If you live in a cooler orbit , it may still be possible to come after at growing yams if you have a nursery and are willing to put in the effort .
Sun Requirements
Yams necessitate full sun .
Soil Requirements
Yams like slimly acidic stain between 5.5 to 6.5pH. deep loamy soil that drain well is best . Slight clay is okay , but hard compacted soil is n’t worthy .
When to Plant Yams
flora yam indoors well before the last Robert Frost to get a good head start . You ’ll either need to buy or grow slips or tubers . Plant out of doors once the last frost has lead and the temperature is systematically above 80 ° atomic number 9 .
How To Grow Slips
How To Grow Tubers
I ’ve had success with arise yam tubers , though I ’ve found this method often render me plant life that terminate up with health issues like dry rot .
Use a sizeable yam plant tuber and dilute in half or quarter ensuring each musical composition has an centre that will grow a plant , the same as you chit potatoes . Rub Grant Wood ash over the yam plant and reserve to sit down for a few years to help prevent disease .
Plant in small-scale pots with salutary calibre potting mix and urine well . When the plant spud and is a few inches marvelous , plant outside .
I ’ve also had winner in constitute healthy Tuber directly into the grime as you would a Solanum tuberosum .
Spacing
I do n’t plant yams in my garden with perfect spacing . I plant wherever there is suitable soil and something for them to crawl up . Some varieties are highly prolific grower , so give them plenty of blank space .
To space in a more traditional path , plant each mistake 12 inches aside with 5 pes between rows . You might want to give plants a social organisation to trail over , like a treillage or grate .
Some tubers grow big and call for stack of space . This is one industrial plant you do n’t need to grow too close together .
How to Care for Yams
Irrigation
I ’ve find yams to be relatively fuss - free , but when the slips are first planted and the plants are young , H2O well and assure the dirt persist moist , but not souse .
Water every day for the first hebdomad or so , and then every second day in the 2nd week and step by step lessen the watering as the plant gets magnanimous .
You want to terminate up fall in industrial plant about 40 - inches of water over the growing time of year . Mulch around plants to conserve wet . If the soil is too wet the yams will rot under the aerofoil .
Fertilizing
When first planting the miscue , plant in fertile grunge with well - waste constitutional issue . The theme of pillow slip are sensible to fertiliser when they ’re immature .
feed every three week or so with a low atomic number 7 and high atomic number 15 production once the plant commence to take .
When the plant increase turn over a few foot high , I eat only if it look as though the plant is subvert or slow - acquire .
Mulching
With yam , I mulch with stalk or hay to keep the moisture in .
Companion Planting for Yams
Do n’t block yams spread vigorously , so do n’t plant them near other aggressive growers like squash .
Common Problems and Solutions for Growing Yams
Yam Mosaic Disease
This causes wound on the leave in a mosaic pattern . The flora withers and looks weak . It can cause stunted growing in the genus Tuber , and they ’ll have trivial starch mental object .
The best cure is bar . Use slip-up resistant to this disease and ensure the area is weed - spare during growth . aphid propagate this computer virus , so keep them under control . Otherwise , you may fall behind up to 50 percent of your yam plant crop .
Scorch
Leaves become dry , brittle and look burn . This is a fungus that overwinters in junk so ensure your planting area is free of industrial plant material and the soil is rich and healthy .
Dry Rot Disease
This disease is make by a nematode . When ironic rot is present , the tubers have minor lesions on the outside of the cutis . As the disease pass on , the lesion deepens into the tuber do cracking and putrefaction .
Use slips and Tuber that are disease - free , chafe tuber with wood ash prior to planting or use good harvest rotation . Try develop yams where you last grew chili peppers to serve insure dry bunk .
Mealy Bugs
These are little , flavorless bugs that exit behind a waxy nub . They suck the sap and moisture from the industrial plant and excrete honeydew , which will pull in ants and diseases like sooty mold .
Use neem rock oil at the first sign of the bug . you may also spray plants daily for a few weeks with diluted rub alcohol .
White Scale Insect
livid scales appear on the genus Tuber and often cause slow increase or even shriveling of the tubers .
Use a safe quality neem petroleum or constituent pyrethrum , as this is spread by insects .
Harvesting Yams
Once plant the yam will develop through spring , summer , and fall before dying off in the winter . They ’re in the ground for approximately eight months , so patience is a virtue .
Once the leafage get down to yellowish , hold back another couple of weeks as the Tuber will continue to fatten .
Carefully dig at the pedestal of the plant and follow the tubers . Try not to cut off them , but if you do , use the one you nick first . If you have loose , loamy soil , utilize a garden ramification as you would when digging out potatoes .
Storage
Do n’t wash the dirt off the yams . put in them in a cardboard box in a coolheaded dry sphere . Check them periodically for any that may be rotting or deteriorating .
falsify in the traditional vacation way or treat it asa white potato . You wo n’t be let down .
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