By any name, a yam is a nutritious food.
The garnet yam, like most yams consumed in the United States, is not a yam at all.
"Yams in the U.S. are actually sweet potatoes with relatively moist texture and orange flesh," according to Aggie Horticulture, a Texas A&M University website. The American sweet potato was termed "yam" by African slaves who recognized the tuber as being similar to the white, starchy edible roots of the plant they called "nyami." The terms have remained interchangeable.
Instructions
1. Plant purchased garnet yam "slips"---the term used for sweet potato plant seedlings---in spring after the risk of frost has passed. Alternatively, start your own slips in a greenhouse or hotbed by burying three or four garnet yams in two inches of sand or lightweight growing medium. Keep the mound evenly moist and layer more sand on top when the spouts first appear. Maintain a regular level of moisture and soil temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Slips will be ready to transplant in about six weeks.
2. Build a raised ridge of soil in the garden approximately 8 inches high and 3 feet wide. Push the soil together with a hoe or your hands.
3. Plant the slips 12 to 18 inches apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart.
4. Water regularly to keep the ridge evenly moist, but not soggy wet. Stop watering the yams three to four weeks before the expected harvest date and allow the ridge to dry out. Drying protects the yams from rot.
5. Keep the rows free of weeds until the vines grow large enough to spread. Once the vines are fully grown they will choke out most weed growth and little cultivating will be needed.
6. Harvest early yams by digging gently on only one side of the ridge while leaving the plant intact. Position a spading fork below the ridge and slowly pull upwards to expose the tubers. Slowly move the spade closer to the plant until you have harvested a few yams. Use shears or the tip of your shovel to cut yams from the thin root that connects them to the plant. The best time for harvest often falls about 100 days after planting.
7. Cure the yams after harvesting them. Leave cut yams in the soil for 2 to 3 hours. The University of Illinois Extension website recommends storing them in a room with an air temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity level of 85 percent for 10 to 14 days. Move the yams to a cool location, around 55 degrees Fahrenheit, for long-term storage.
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