Easy Edible House Plant

Difficulty level: **Easy

Do you know that there is a house plant that you can grow all winter and eat?

When I learned that one could grow sweet potato vines indoors and eat the leaves I was completely blown away.

Why isn’t everyone doing this?

What blew me away even more is that sweet potato vines make an impressive houseplant. In fact I have trouble plucking those beautiful delicious green leaves 🙂 (I figure I just have to grow more plants).

Eating sweet potato vine leaves is very common throughout Asia and Africa. It’s a good source of Vitamin A and C and you can use the leaves and stems in recipes in place of any leafy green.

There are a couple of ways you can start your own sweet potato vines, but I will give you instructions for the very easy easy, ultra lazy way!

Materials:

• One or more organic sweet potatoes (choose one that if firm and free of blemishes)
• A paper bag
• Indoor houseplant soil
• Good quality potting soil

Directions:

1. Take the sweet potato, put it in a paper bag and forget about it. Well forget about it for a couple of weeks until these alien looking sprouts come out of the sweet potato.
   
2. Be patient. It will happen eventually. Check every once in a while for the slips (sprouts/baby vines). If you just see nubs, leave it a bit longer. The slips will be pale, twisted, and weird.Alternatively you can stand the sweet potato in a jar of water so that about a third to a half is submerged in the water. Set it in a sunny windowsill where it will form little shoots and leaves within a few weeks.
3. Prepare your soil in a pot by mixing the soil with a bit of water and then add it to the pot. The soil should be damp, but not soaking wet.
4. Pinch off the slip with your fingers and put it right in the soil.
   
5. Cover the base of the slip with soil and gently pack down. Water it a bit.
   Yup, that’s right and that is it. Feel free to put as many slips as you want into your pot. The vines grow fairly upright. Leave at least 2 inches between each one. Once you have them all planted water gently,  trying not to get water on the leaves (but it’s not a big deal if you do).
6. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy. This plant does not like dry soil and you can tell when it is starting to get too dry because the leaves get a bit droopy. Just water it and it will perk right up.
7. Keep your plant in a warm, sunny place. Near a windowsill is ideal. The more sun you give it, the more leaves it will produce. You can add organic fertilizer or compost tea once a month or so as houseplant soil looses nutrients.

I always keep a sweet potato in the cupboard and let it sprout. As I eat my vines, I fill in the pot with more slips.

Can I plant the slips outdoors?

Yes, but remember they like warmth so if it is cool outside they won’t grow or could die, but here in Ottawa they should be good throughout the summer (plant out in June).

Can I grow actual sweet potatoes from the vine?

Yes!! To grow actual sweet potatoes, you will need to plant the slips outside and give them plenty of space. Sweet potatoes have a long growing season too so just plan accordingly. The trick is to keep the soil moist (not soggy) until the plants are established.

There are plenty of tips and tricks online on how to extend your growing season and specifically on how to grow sweet potatoes.  The world is your oyster and sweet potato fries go great on the side.