permaculture

[Keith Johnson <keithdj@sonic.net>]

YankeePerm wrote:
> 
> Ok, I was digging sweet potatoes (Ipomea batcas) yesterday and looking at 
> the
> zillions of little roots that never got big in amongst the hand-fillers and
> thinking, there is a use for these.  
> 
> However it occurs to me that I can place the little tubers under mulch in 
> the
> pasture, which is often wet, and grow the leaves as forage for my steer  
> I'm not sure how much
> forage the tubers will stand.  I'm also not sure if I allow them to
> "perennialize" if I will be breeding the little root borers that ruin sweet
> potatoes when grown repeatedly from roots (vs "slips")
>  Does anyone have any experience using sweet potato LEAVES as forage?  How
> about water spinach?  (either I reptans or I aquatica)
> 
> The present sweet potatoes are part of a year long cycle I use here for
> bringing land into cultivation.   
> 
> So, now I want to hear from folks who can tell me about sweet potato as
> forage.  


Dan, 
Since we and the deer both like to eat the leaves of sweet potato, I bet
the steer and H2O buffalo would love it. Likewise the water spinach. How
much browsing they can tolerate, I don't know. Keep us up to date with
your experiment. Thanks.-- 
Keith   
keithdj@sonic.net