The ‘sweet potato’

The dramatic story of the well-traveled sweet potato
Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America, but they managed to travel across the Pacific by 1000 AD.

This is a curious fact that scientists have uncovered through plant DNA studies. It seems that Europeans, from Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage onward, were responsible for many of the food transfers between continents. After Columbus, it took just over 50 years for the tomato, a native of Peru, to reach Italy where the sauce-loving Italians were recommending it be fried in oil with salt and pepper, according to Laphams Quarterly. (The British thought tomatoes smelled and were poisonous.)

But, 400 years before Columbus, the sweet potato managed to travel 5,000 miles across the Pacific from South America to Polynesia, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

How did that happen?

The sea-faring Polynesians may have accomplished the daunting voyage, which would have been like traveling to the moon without knowing the moon was there. The voyage would have taken months.

DNA research suggests the Polynesians landed on the west coast of South America and took some sweet potatoes home. They also may have left chickens in South America, possibly explaining why there were chickens in western Peru shortly before the arrival of Columbus.

Critics of this explanation abound, but there is also some linguistic evidence. One Polynesian word for sweet potato — Kuumala — sounds a lot like Kumara, the word for vegetable in the Andean language Quechua.

Sweet potato vines for summer! Grow one with the kids
Lovely sweet potato vines could once be found on sunny kitchen window sills everywhere.

And why not? Sweet potatoes are perfect for a kitchen garden plus they are beautiful and easy to grow. Best of all, everyone has the odd sweet potato now and then. That’s all you need to start your garden or just a lovely plant.

Growing a sweet potato vine is also a great way to introduce kids to plants.

It’s easy to do. Get a small jar you would normally throw out — maybe a pickle jar. Fill the jar halfway with water. Now put your sweet potato in it, making sure the top one-third is exposed. Typically, people insert toothpicks into the side of the potato to hold it out of the water.
In a few weeks, the sprouts begin to grow. If you want, you can plant it outside in a sunny spot.

The sweet potato vine that climbs
Sweet potato vines are often used to spill out of pots of flowers, but now one company has created a sweet potato vine that doesn’t just spill, it climbs.

Ball FloraPlant has created the first self-climbing sweet potato plant, one of the top 2018 plant entries that will be at your local garden store soon.

The SolarTower Black Ipomoea comes in both black- and lime-colored leaves. It quickly grows up to 7-feet tall and doesn’t require any trimming or training to climb. It does well in full sun to light shade, according to PennLive.com.