My Pots Runneth Over

Last year was my first year growing sweet potatoes. Okay, so it was my first year growing much of anything, but who's keeping track. I read so much about growing sweet potatoes that I was making myself nuts. Some said to trim the vines and others said not to because the vines rooted themselves and then you'd get more potatoes. It seemed very similar to the "do you trim your suckers debate of the tomato world."

Last year I decided not to trim the vines of the sweet potatoes growing in the SFG and the vines grew very well, took over almost the entire 9x3 bed and were very thick and healthy. I got two nice sized sweet potatoes and a lot of finger width scrawny ones. Blech. This year I made the decision to try them in pots and they're doing great! I bought the largest pots I could find and planted them a little hesitantly because sweet potatoes grow mostly at the surface unlike other potatoes that grow along the buried stem of the plant. I made a vow to trim the vines regularly, but completely forgot how fast they grow. It's almost like kudzu!!
Above are how the containered potato plants looked last night after they had been trimmed. The vines of the closest ones had spread from the concrete all of the way through the pine straw bed and onto the grass. The far plant wasn't lagging behind much. I know there are some good sized tubers in there already and I want the energy to go there, so I chopped off the runners and went out there today to find others that had grown since last night. It's almost a competition.

The ones in the SFG have overtaken their bed and the two beds around them. I trimmed what roots and vines I could easily remove and left the others.

I did manage to harvest something, which is great considering the heat has killed most everything out there. Two of these eggplants are too bug scarred to do anything with, but I brought them in the house, so they got photographed. I gave the jalapenos to my team teacher.
Here's the last ribbon for the Keychains for a Cause campaign. I wasn't too thrilled with only the small Autism Awareness Ribbon I had earlier, so I found this one instead. It's bolder and makes more of a statement. As the others, it will come sewn down and in either wristlet or key fob sized.

Remember to search for us on facebook and send the link to anyone you feel may be interested. You can also go directly to our website. We, as a school, are very excited about the amount we have the potential to raise for The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

Thank you for your help getting the word out!