What makes yams a top survival crop?
Our yams (Dioscorea spp.) have had no pest or disease issues and are easy to grow, making them a very good survival crop, as I cover in these books:
Florida Survival Gardening: https://amzn.to/3NchEil
Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening: https://amzn.to/3Nau2zm
The Huge 2nd edition of Create your Own Florida Food Forest: https://amzn.to/3Rs08ZY
The South Florida Gardening Survival Guide: https://amzn.to/3uNkZOE
And here are some the yam articles posted at The Survival Gardener website: https://www.thesurvivalgardener.com/?s=yams
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David’s gardening blog: http://www.thesurvivalgardener.com
Growing yams is easy once you know a few tricks. Today I talk about why yams are a good survival crop, how yams can replace potatoes, how yams are starchy, not sweet, how yams can be propagated, and yam varieties that grow up north as well as yam varieties for zone 8.
25 Comments
Can you grow them from seeds?
Living just north of Montreal QC. I doubt I could grow yams of any sort BUT Jerusalem Artichoke does very well . I get a harvest in fall and another in spring. Anything i miss will take over with a vengeance. Mashed Sun-chokes is a bit soppy but steamed or even raw they are amazing.
I moved to Kansas from Jamaica 22 years ago. The idea of growing yams in the midwest is very appealing.
Can't wait to give these guys in Canada thanks for the info
Thanks! How can you tell the difference between the 2?
Can you eat the yam leaves?
I’m loving these discussions about yams, add my name to the list of people that would like to see a cooking show about them.
I recently ordered some Chinese yams to try here in coastal Maine. They should be cold hardy from what I've read. The length of winter here seems to cause more problems for marginal perennials than the cold. Never hurts to try!
Do they do ok growing in the same exact spot every year, or should they be moved somewhere new each time they’re replanted?
I’m glad you keep talking about it. Finally kicked in that there are varieties that can handle my climate
Good morning. Will you or your kids sell these yams in your shop?
You've convinced me, I'm ready to try growing yams down here in Lower AL. Thanks for the great info.
Real talk bro. In Trinidad we mainly have 2 types of yam , white and yellow. They are so excellent we haven't really bothered to look for other types. You have encouraged me to seek out more varieties asap. What you keep teaching us in every video seems to be rule No 1. In planting. Grow what likes your climate and soil type. My experience is typical , years of trying to grow what is popular with dismal results. I value my mistakes as learning. My grandma used to tell me " Like who like you ! " 😂😂
Seems like advice for everything in life.
Blessed.
Would you do a video on preparing and cooking yams? We would love to see the variety of ways that your family incorporates yams into your diet/meals. I've watched and read other videos and articles but you always provide the best information. Merry Christmas!
What yam would you suggest for California Sacramento area zone 9B
What do you think of the new growing zones. I am not to sure I was zone 7 now they say I am zone 8 . last year we got down to 3 below and killed a lot of garden plants. where do you find yams to grow.
You should show everybody how to cook them I would like to learn how to cook a yam maybe it'll be yamn good
I bought two Dioscorea rotundata tubers (aka, white yam, Guinea yam, or West African yam) from an Asian grocery store in NW Louisiana in the first week of October. I covered them with half-way moist planting mix in two large pots, figuring to keep them dormant in my attached garage until Spring. It seems the planting mix was moister than needed, since the tubers started sending up shoots in a couple of weeks. I moved them to a couple of much larger pots, maybe 12-15 gallon size and am letting them grow on bamboo poles to see if I can keep them alive until Spring. After looking back on some of David's previous yam videos I figure I had the potting mix too moist so it encouraged the tubers to get growing. So — I bought two more tubers several weeks ago and are keeping them covered in some very barely moist composted bark shreds, which seems to be letting them stay dormant, but it's cooler now in the garage. In one of David's vids he mentioned storing his in barely moist straw or compost in buckets for the winter.
David, Thanks to you I now know what a “true” yam is, and have just harvested my first one two days ago in zone 10 SW Florida! Original came from Publix supermarket under the name of “Name.”😃 Can’t wait to try it!
Can we grow varieties from the grocery store?
I had to know, CC says it’s spelled decoria……..😂
Anybody have a source for northern varieties?? NY?
Hi there- we live in Central FL and are growing yams thanks to you (purple variety) but have no idea how to cook it. I see several dessert recipes online but I am not interested in this as a dessert but more of a survival crop. Any helpful hints would be appreciated. Thanks very much.
I need true yams!!!!!! ❤
Here in SC, sweet potatoes are a huge crop. The sweet potatoes are sold everywhere as sweet potatoes. Yet, lol, the have a yam festival every year celebrating the sweet potatoes. 😂 love some sweet taters!