August 25, 2010
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Gayla's Gardens

It Came from the Compost Bin

I’m not even sure how a whole sweet potato got in there in the first place, but this one really wanted to grow.

That giant pile of wood chips in the background is the result of a large weed tree that fell down and flattened a portion of our community garden, including our ramshackle compost bin. But Davin, our resident Compost Technician keeps plugging away at it, undeterred. Proof positive that one does not require a proper bin with four sides and a top to turn garden and kitchen waste into compost.

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July 14, 2010
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Published Summer Veggies

Growing Sweet Potatoes in a Bag

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

My most recent Globe and Mail Kitchen Gardening article is on sweet potatoes and chronicles an experiment I took up by chance, growing sweet potatoes in a shopping bag.

While in Dominica I learned that when there is not enough soil fertility to produce tubers, sweet potato leaves are cooked or steamed like spinach. I haven’t tried it yet, but think this would be a good option when starting the plant too late in the growing season. I have some slips on hand right now that I might plant for this reason.

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May 5, 2009
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Daily Botanical Veggies

Sweet Potato Slips

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

I’ve been meaning to write about making sweet potato slips for weeks, but it keeps getting pushed back.

I’ll be growing these out on the roof this year. It wasn’t planned, but when the sweet potatoes I had sitting on top of the fridge started to sprout, I decided to just go with it.

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