Digging Sweet Potatoes

Because of the early torrential rains and all of the washing in the new garden we were not sure there would be any sweet potatoes to harvest. The boys had planted 50 plants but I knew at least half had been swept away. Today we dug and were very surprised (pleasantly so!) with the harvest. About 2 bushels!

The first step in harvesting sweet potatoes is to spread them out in a dry spot for a week or so to allow the cuts and abrasions to heal. After that they can be put in baskets and moved to a basement or storage area to cure for another 6 weeks or so. This allows the potatoes to sweeten. Fresh potatoes can be used but they are not yet sweet and extra sugar would need to be added to any recipe calling for them.