Ipomoea batatas
Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato Vine, Yam

• Related to morning glories, the various cultivated forms of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) are all heat-loving perennials which are usually grown as annuals. One group is grown for ornament, including some with blackish or chartreuse foliage that are often used as color accents in decorative container plantings. But the other three types of Sweet Potato are grown as vegetables -- one type (Sweet Potato Spinach) is grown for its leaves, and the other two types are grown for their edible tubers. Of these, one type has tubers with firm, white flesh; but the most popular type in the USA (particularly in the South) has soft, sugary, orange-fleshed tubers that are often (but erroneously) called \"yams\". It is this type of Sweet Potato that is is a staple of the traditional Thanksgiving menu in the USA. Sweet Potatoes need a long, warm growing season to produce a good crop, with warm, well-drained, sandy soil being ideal. Plant in late spring, when soil temperatures have warmed to 70 degrees F., and harvest before frost. In cool-summer climates, cover rows with plastic tents or other row-cover material to increase heat and promote vigorous growth. To avoid the build-up of disease organisms in the soil, don\'t grow Sweet Potatoes in the same location 2 years in a row.

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