Sweet potatoes harvest

It is the time of harvest of sweet potatoes right now. As already wrtten in a previous post, a kind of Commelina with violent fertility has been growing everywhere in the farm. It bears own "seeds" in roots in the soil. Carefully sorting out it among sweet potatoe plants, I should keep the seeds out of the soil. This is an imported kind of Commelia, they say. Sittin along  the farm ridge, I go on doing that work for a few hours a day. 

Another not very grateful news is that the harvest of sweet potatoes is not what it was expected this year possibly due to the long lasting rain in the end of summer. The harvest is still good enough for us as the savings for a year ahead. Yes, I am half seriously worrying that the possible famine or terrible inflation could strike us in the near future.

Our government plans to grow sweet potatoes for the people in case of a bad famine all around the country or even in the world. The food self sufficiency rate is as low as 36% and, considering of the cost for the agricultural materials mostly dependent on import it will become 10%. Horrible number isn't it? Rice storage could be depleted easily. Sweet potato, as they say, is a good crop to fill the caloric requirement for the people, even compared with rice. It is an advantage sweet potatoes won't require much fertilizer. However, beside that it takes at least several months to grow and harvest it from scratch, it won't grow well in humid soil and high ridge in the farm is necessary. It could be eaten by bugs and its growth depends on the weather etc as well.  I am afraid they reckon it as an easy going project. Whenever growing it in my farm, I feel it is not a very easy task. 　

The sweet potatoes harvested will be stored for 2 or 3 weeks until they get more matured and sweeter. Then they will be served for cooking, mainly as the material of miso soup or of tempura. Steamed sweet potatoes are also good. I will bring some of them to a couple of old friends.

Another farm ridge of sweet potatoes is waiting for me to be harvested soon, at least, before it gets frosty.