Hedge Plants for Nevada: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy
None of the 12 hedge species documented here survives the whole of Nevada. Zero.
Lifting Sweet Potatoes at the Right Moment
Sweet potatoes give no ripeness signal above ground. Harvest is set by the weather, not the plant: lift the roots before the soil turns cold, or promptly…
Hedge Plants for Nebraska: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy
Nine of the twelve hedge plants we track hold across all of Nebraska, one holds in only part of it, and two are not hardy here at all.
Watering Sweet Potatoes: Steady, Then Dry
Water sweet potatoes steadily while the vines establish and the roots bulk up, then pull back for the last few weeks before you dig.
Holes and Tunnels in Sweet Potato Roots
Big, ragged gouges with paired tooth grooves along the edges are voles. Narrow tunnels and pinholes running through the flesh, often with a tiny entry…
Hedge Plants for Montana: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy
Montana’s hedge palette is narrower than most nursery catalogs suggest. Of the twelve hedge species tracked here, six hold across the state’s full USDA…
Sweet Potato Vines: Leave Them or Lift Them
Leave most of them. The vines are the plant’s solar panels, and cutting them back costs the roots underneath.
When to Pull Carrots in Manitoba, and How to Keep Them
Carrots are ready when the shoulders at the soil line have swelled to the width the seed packet promises.
Orange, White and Purple: Which Sweet Potato to Grow
Start with an orange-fleshed type. It is the soft, moist, sweet sweet potato most American cooks expect, and it is the easiest one to judge in the kitchen.
Sweet Potatoes and Yams Are Not the Same Thing
Nearly every “yam” in an American grocery store is a sweet potato. True yams are a separate plant: tropical, rough-skinned, and rare outside specialty…