On Nov 12, 2008, at 7:05 AM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:
Two other iffy factors in this climate are rainfall, they will not
grow in
the dry, and deer. Deer will detect that you have a patch of sweet
potatoes
from five miles away and come to eat off all the foliage.
Five miles, wow. Hadn't heard that before. Never had a problem of deer
eating sweet potato foliage at Heartwood. I wonder if it might not
have to do with the type of browse available. Higher elevations
usually have less browse, maybe that's why, or maybe it has to do with
moisture. Or the Dax and Benny effect when Dax was alive, although
this last summer it was the same, lush growth, no deer.
Sweet potatoes are one of the no-brainer dependable groceries at
Heartwood. Whether by slips or more often the left-over small ones
that weren't eaten, I just loosen the ground, stick them in, give
water to get them started and then forget about them until the first
frost.
One of the things I like about sweet potatoes in the garden is that
the lush foliage means no weeds.