{"product_id":"purple-passion-sweet-potato","title":"Purple Passion Sweet Potato","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003ePurple Passion Sweet Potato\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eIpomoea Batatas\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003edays to maturity: 110 days\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eplant spacing: 2 plant per square foot \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003esunlight requirements: 6-14 hours\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003elook out for: whitefly hiding on the underside of the leaves, plus the plant spreads like a vine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eharvest notes: h\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003earvest tubers and cure them indoors to produce more sugars\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003eannual\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv title=\"Page 1\" class=\"page\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"layoutArea\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"column\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv title=\"Page 1\" class=\"page\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"section\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"layoutArea\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"column\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePurple Passion is a rare purple fleshed and purple skinned sweet potato variety. Purple sweet potatoes are super cool to cook and bake with... purple pie, purple mash, purple everything! Last year was our first growing this variety and the test patch we planted in our exhibition garden did very well and produced lots of beautiful tubers. Make sure you take advantage of the easy propagation of sweet potatoes and make yourself lots of copies of this hard to find variety to plant throughout your garden and share with friends.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eSweet potatoes are great summer crops for your raised bed or your food forest since they love love love the heat, humidity and rain. It’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003enative to the New World, although the site of origin and the manner in which it originated are still unknown. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003ePlants were di\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003estributed as far as New Guinea and New Zealand before the time of Columbus, the sweet potato was an important crop related to colonization and now it’s range has extended around the world, to both temperate and tropical zones. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eThis crop thrives in nutrient poor well draining soil, which we have plenty of here in South Florida. A great way to encourage the plant to produce more tubers for you is to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s4\"\u003eregularly prune the vines and bonus: the leaves are edible! The greens are only edible when cooked (not raw) and contain Omega 3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s5\"\u003ecalcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, Vitamins A, C, K, and important B vitamins like B1, B2, B3, and B9. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eThe sweet potato itself is a highly nutritious, calorie- filled root crop that packs less of a glycemic hit than grains, cassava or potatoes, and stores excellently.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eCommercial growers cure their sweet potatoes in special rooms at 85 degrees Farenheit and 80% to 90% relative humidity for 5 to 10 days. Curing causes the conversion of starch to sugar and helps to heal cuts that could lead to rots. The roots are then stored for 6-8 weeks at 55 to 60 degrees  to further increase the sugar content. Duplicating this process would be very difficult for home gardeners, but you can at least partially cure the roots by leaving them in a garage or sunroom for a week or so (keeping them outdoors would be too humid in the fall). Spreading the roots out on a screen in a single layer is best. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eSweet potato weevils are the main issue with growing this crop in south florida, as they eat small holes in your potatoes without you knowing. Whitefly on the underside of leaves are also an issue so make sure to check your plant throughout its growing season. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p6\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eSweet potato is a vining plant that will sprawl throughout your garden creating a beautiful dense ground cover, which is one reason why we love growing it in the summer instead of the fall, since it can be quite competitive in a small space where you are trying to grow other annuals. If you don’t have plans for your veggie bed in the summer consider planting a few sweet potatoes and using them as a cover crop, to protect your soil from erosion and weeds. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s7\"\u003eOnce you buy one sweet potato plant from us you can use it to make yourself a whole farms worth of new plants if you want to, as the growing tips of the vines can be cut to 6 inch lengths, popped into a jar of water and in 6 days you'll have a fully rooted new plant.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Little River Cooperative","offers":[{"title":"4\" potted plant","offer_id":42665016885330,"sku":null,"price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1 gal potted plant","offer_id":42665016918098,"sku":null,"price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"3 gal potted plant","offer_id":42665016950866,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0535\/4461\/products\/IMG_6447.heic?v=1681317314","url":"https:\/\/littlerivernursery.co\/products\/purple-passion-sweet-potato","provider":"Little River Nursery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}