is often used interchangeably with sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), but the two are not botanically related. Other types of yams grow in tropical areas around the world, but some, such as the air potato, are bitter and toxic. A yam that you would rather not eat can be the beginning of a beautiful indoor houseplant. In some cases, you may also need a licence from the Canada Revenue Agency to sell cannabis. You can make an unlimited number of slips yourself from a single sweet potato purchased from a market or organic food store. This can be a great money saver, both when it comes to starting a new vegetable plot, and when it comes to your existing food growing efforts. We grow great apples that are hardy enough for the prairies. The red mulberry trees , however, are currently at risk of endangerment in Canada , only being found in southern Ontario. Learn how to grow, harvest, and cure sweet potatoes at home. Ryan Porter. They can be eaten raw or cooked and will add flavor to any salad or stir-fry. Yams grow over the Summer, and into early Autumn, but once the tops start to yellow and die off the precious tubers underneath can be dug up. The true yam can be small or can grow to be very large. You can dig up your tubers once the foliage starts to yellow. Growth Cycle for Yams. True yams have rough, dark skin, and their flesh can range from white to reddish color, but it's usually white. Several species exist here, mostly in Florida and other temperate regions as wild plants. Some yams are also invasive plants, often considered a "noxious weed", outside cultivated areas. You can buy bundles of sweet potato slips if you are growing sweet potatoes in a big way, or you can use the bucket of sand method. He has also won a Gemini Award as part of the writing team for This Hour Has 22 Minutes and received a Genie Award nomination for best supporting actor in the film Something About … Start making them in early spring — about a month before the last frost in your area — so you can meet the plants’ long-season demands. Potato Grow Bags. You can often find them in specialty stores. Yams come from the Monocotyledon plant family, are long and cylindrical, have rough, scaly skin and are more dry and starchy than sweet potatoes. Some are for baking, some are for salads, some for French fries. Plus, if you have a gardening question, one of our helpful and friendly gardening experts can help answer it. Canada. Some 870 species of yams are known, and 95% of these crops are grown in Africa. If you have problems with sweet potato weevils you can't grow a permanent sweet potato patch. Whether you are a new gardener or an experienced one, we can help you learn new hings and grow your garden. A monocot related to lilies and grasses, yams are vigorous herbaceous vines providing an edible tuber. If you consider it wasteful to find a shriveled yam in the bottom of your pantry, think again. Happy ardening! And so far there aren't any. Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams. This is also an excellent option if you are worried the temperatures might dip because you can bring them indoors temporarily. It all depends upon how quickly your potato sprouts. Depending on your taste buds, you can grow mild, tender greens like claytonia, chard, and mache, or bitter greens like endive, escarole, and radicchio. You can grow your own pot plants legally, but only from seeds you bought legally. Each tree produces one-half to one full kilogram of cherries or about 2,000-to-4,000 cherries. Be gentle when digging. They can reach up to 150 pounds, but they can also be as small as your average spud. Plant slips or cuttings, that way you don't transfer any weevils. Growing Chinese yams or any of the other true yams requires tropical to subtropical temperatures. As the shoots, or slips, grow to 6 inches (15 cm) long, they can be broken off and transplanted to the garden, or to containers if outdoor conditions are too cold. Legal cannabis products must carry an excise stamp, except those products with less than 0.3% THC or no THC. Looking for fruits you can grow in your own backyard here in Alberta? That’s a very, very big tuber, and needless to say, not the sort of produce you… Follow along with this handy How to Grow Potatoes Guide and grow food.! Easy to grow, highly nutritious and there is a variety for every use in the kitchen. Compared to sweet potatoes, yams can grow very large. These tubers can flourish in even the poorest soil conditions with just a little bit of TLC. Typically when you purchase a can that says yams, you can look at the ingredient list and find that the first ingredient listed is sweet potatoes. By: Kathryn Hatter 21 September, 2017. Similar to carrots, it is the nutrient filled root that we cherish rather than an actual tuber such as a potato. In the United States yams and sweet potatoes are used interchangeably but refer to what are really sweet potatoes. True yams are typically grown only in Africa and are often used as animal fodder.