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Post by littleminnie on Oct 3, 2013 1:36:38 GMT -5
Will they be ok with only 8 days curing to sell for eating now?
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Post by khoomeizhi on Oct 3, 2013 5:18:10 GMT -5
curing at what temp? 8 days is about what's recommended if it's at 85-90 degrees...they say it should be longer at slightly cooler temperatures...but if they're all going to be eaten relatively quickly it shouldn't matter much.
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 3, 2013 8:52:16 GMT -5
They will be eaten quickly but are the sugars developed enough? Maybe I should eat one quick for lunch.
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Post by davida on Oct 3, 2013 13:47:51 GMT -5
They will be eaten quickly but are the sugars developed enough? Maybe I should eat one quick for lunch. The sugars keep developing for a couple of months but are adequate right from the ground. The curing helps to "toughen" the skin and helps the sugars to develop. Our friends said that they could not tell a difference between eating fresh and curing. So you are perfectly fine to sell them now. But keep a few to try at Christmas and see if you can tell a difference. |
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Post by ottawagardener on Oct 4, 2013 7:11:40 GMT -5
I had a lot of flowers this year on a few varieties. I mostly grow Georgia Jet. P.S., according to Ken Allan's most excellent book, they should be cured at high temperature and high humidity which is often achieved by placing them all together in paper bags - I guess the humidity that they release together is enough. I had grubs bore holes in them one year.
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Post by davida on Oct 4, 2013 10:38:07 GMT -5
I had a lot of flowers this year on a few varieties. I mostly grow Georgia Jet. P.S., according to Ken Allan's most excellent book, they should be cured at high temperature and high humidity which is often achieved by placing them all together in paper bags - I guess the humidity that they release together is enough. I had grubs bore holes in them one year. I think the point that needs to be considered is the growing and harvesting conditions. In hot dry growing and harvesting conditions, as is common in the south, most of the curing occurs in the hot dry soil and very little post harvest curing is needed. This was the conditions for us in 2011 and 2012. But this year, we have had a cool and wet fall, so we will be more diligent in the curing process. Ottawa's advice is excellent for the northern gardeners. Ken Allan's book" complete title is "Sweet Potatoes for the Home Garden, with special techniques for the northern gardener". |
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 4, 2013 22:22:44 GMT -5
I never thought about it that way. I have very hot, dry soil most of the season. It has been raining lately so the tubers are very dirty and come out damp and muddy. I tried drying them in boxes and then washing before market and not only did they not get clean but they were a big mess.
There have been a lot of requests for sweets at market but this week was a poor showing. Next week is supposed to be good weather so hopefully I will sell better. I am selling them for $5 for a 2 quart basket which is over 3#. Same price as potatoes- $1.50 per lb.
I still have 50 feet to dig since the weather was too poor today.
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Post by steev on Oct 4, 2013 22:59:17 GMT -5
'Kay; I still don't know whether I can leave them until the vines are shot, so I'll dig some this week-end, to be safe.
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Post by MikeH on Oct 5, 2013 9:59:03 GMT -5
I had a lot of flowers this year on a few varieties. I mostly grow Georgia Jet. P.S., according to Ken Allan's most excellent book, they should be cured at high temperature and high humidity which is often achieved by placing them all together in paper bags - I guess the humidity that they release together is enough. I had grubs bore holes in them one year. Joyce has pretty well converted entirely to Georgia Jet - big tubers and lots of them. She had a bountiful plenty this year. She cures them by placing them in a plastic garbage bag and then putting the bag in a closet with a small space heater to get the temp up without curing me as well. That's probably just as well since I'm beyond cure. |
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Post by ottawagardener on Oct 6, 2013 15:04:39 GMT -5
Beyond cure  |
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Post by littleminnie on Oct 19, 2013 18:52:01 GMT -5
I brought the sweets home today to keep from getting too cold. 10 boxes are left! I have one more week of CSA and 2 markets in November. Only one customer signed up for a fall share so that means lots of sweets left. I probably need to sort the good ones and wrap in newspaper and lay out in single layers. Or I might put an ad on Craig's list for bulk. I will sell for $1 per pound or cheaper for larger amounts. I did $1.50 per pound at market. I have never had enough to bring to market before. And now this is just too much. I told hub we will be eating them with every meal. Tonight I let them cook under a roasting chicken and they were greasy and he liked them. Anyway, any storage suggestions let me know because I have never had enough to store very long!
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Post by steev on Nov 4, 2013 19:11:02 GMT -5
Cooked and mashed, they make fine jar-bread.
I dug some Sunday, part of supper tonight.
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