So we are still enjoying fresh vegetables from the garden. I can’t decide which one I like better: the first fresh tomatoes in the summer, or having fresh vegetables in the doldrums of winter. They are equally delightful!

Also, just when I think I can’t learn another new thing in the garden for the 2021 season I learn about sweet potatoes. I guess the reason I don’t know a lot about sweet potatoes is that they were my VERY unfavorite food as a kid, until I turned 50. That would coincide with the first time I thought I’d be healthy and order “sweet potato fries” to go with my burger while dining out. They were delicious! And so, when I got my air-fry type baking sheet from Costco I began making crispy, olive oil and chipotle pepper spice covered sweet potatoes at home, in an effort to eat more of “the healthiest vegetable.”

This was the first year I attempted to grow them in my garden. Part of the allure was the beautiful purple flowers that cover the vines that grow up my trellises in the fall, when very little is able to be planted that climbs.

Sweet potatoes are an interesting plant. The tubers grow underground and they just kind of stack on top of one another, extending about 1/2 way down the depth of the container and all the way across. They are ready to harvest when the leaves turn yellow. And then, after you pull them all out they have to cure. So weird! I have never had to do that with anything I’ve grown. I had read they should cure about 30 days, in a warm, humid spot (80 to 85 degrees) but then I also read they can cure 4 to 6 days. Information is all over the place on the internet. I ended up putting mine in a white trash bag, closing the top, and putting them in my guest room for about 5 weeks. The temperature in my guest room is about 67 degrees but it worked out fine. Yesterday was the first day I cooked them, and they were perfect. I guess they have to cure so that their sugars develop.

So, the cabbage and broccoli that we just harvested because we had such a long Autumn, and these sweet potatoes will be the vegetables that bridge me over to seed starting and garden planning season. One big thing that I disliked about moving back East from Northern California 14 years ago was not having the year round gardening options that were available there. But, it’s not that there are no options, they are just different options. And they are ending up being very enjoyable.

Don’t get me wrong. A greenhouse is still very high on my list, and something that I have slated for next season, so that I can grow more things during the cold winters. But sweet potatoes are a great off-season vegetable that brighten up your meal with that “fresh from the garden” taste.

And now, it’s time to start organizing those seed catalogs and putting together an order for Spring!