Post by macmex on Oct 23, 2020 7:10:26 GMT -6
Fall of 2019, Ron Cook and I attended a meeting for small agricultural producers. Micah Anderson, a representative of Langston University was one of the presenters. Micah is always a treat as he both inspires and informs. He also likes to trade...
Before we left I swapped him a few of my sweet potatoes for five or six roots of a variety he recommended, Becca's Purple. I took them home and, in spite of having such a small number of roots, I did cook and eat one. You see, my experience with purple sweet potatoes is that they are generally not as sweet as a standard sweet potato of any other color. Purples have been exceedingly popular in recent years because of the perceived health benefits. They are reputed to be chock full of antioxidants, more specifically anthocyanins, which are very very good for you.
When I tried that one Becca's Purple I was pleasantly surprised. It was sweet and I didn't detect any of the "anthocyanin flavor." The cooked root was also moist, more like a standard type sweet potato, and not as dry as Molokai.
National Library of Medicine Study on Memory and Purple Sweet Potato Consumption
After reading the above article I thought, "I need to be eating more of the purples!"
Because of my positive experience with this one cooked root and because of Micah's recommendation, I put in 13 slips of this variety in the spring. Normally I'd only do 6 of a new variety.
Becca's Purple did not disappoint. The plants grew vigorously. I was impressed that this variety flowered more than any other in my garden. Sweet potato flowers are like small morning glory flowers in appearance. In regard to their decorative value, they're similar to cowpea flowers. They're beautiful, but you kinda have to be right there to appreciate them. They're not showy enough to justify planting for the flowers, yet they do afford pleasure to the gardener.
At harvest, Becca's was the last to get dug. I was grateful for a reprieve from the cold we experienced a few weeks ago. Things warmed up and kept the soil warm until I could harvest. Our animals were crazy happy about getting the vines at meal times.
Becca's Purple produced nice roots. Most were located right under the plant, with a few exceptions running about 20" out. The roots struck me as "blocky." I believe this is an accurate observation, though it helped that the other purple sweet potato I grow is Molokai, which tends to produce distinctively long, crooked roots.
This variety's roots have bright beet red colored skin and bright purple flesh. It will be some weeks before they have cured and I can taste test again.
Before we left I swapped him a few of my sweet potatoes for five or six roots of a variety he recommended, Becca's Purple. I took them home and, in spite of having such a small number of roots, I did cook and eat one. You see, my experience with purple sweet potatoes is that they are generally not as sweet as a standard sweet potato of any other color. Purples have been exceedingly popular in recent years because of the perceived health benefits. They are reputed to be chock full of antioxidants, more specifically anthocyanins, which are very very good for you.
When I tried that one Becca's Purple I was pleasantly surprised. It was sweet and I didn't detect any of the "anthocyanin flavor." The cooked root was also moist, more like a standard type sweet potato, and not as dry as Molokai.
National Library of Medicine Study on Memory and Purple Sweet Potato Consumption
After reading the above article I thought, "I need to be eating more of the purples!"
Because of my positive experience with this one cooked root and because of Micah's recommendation, I put in 13 slips of this variety in the spring. Normally I'd only do 6 of a new variety.
Becca's Purple did not disappoint. The plants grew vigorously. I was impressed that this variety flowered more than any other in my garden. Sweet potato flowers are like small morning glory flowers in appearance. In regard to their decorative value, they're similar to cowpea flowers. They're beautiful, but you kinda have to be right there to appreciate them. They're not showy enough to justify planting for the flowers, yet they do afford pleasure to the gardener.
At harvest, Becca's was the last to get dug. I was grateful for a reprieve from the cold we experienced a few weeks ago. Things warmed up and kept the soil warm until I could harvest. Our animals were crazy happy about getting the vines at meal times.
Becca's Purple produced nice roots. Most were located right under the plant, with a few exceptions running about 20" out. The roots struck me as "blocky." I believe this is an accurate observation, though it helped that the other purple sweet potato I grow is Molokai, which tends to produce distinctively long, crooked roots.
This variety's roots have bright beet red colored skin and bright purple flesh. It will be some weeks before they have cured and I can taste test again.