Somebody has been digging in my sweet potato patch. I found three places he or she had dug up and partially eaten some of them. Is my culprit likely to be a raccoon? I've got some Critter Ridder left, so I'll spread it around my sweet potato patch tomorrow morning. It's working to keep the dogs out of my flower beds. TPlant, thanks for the tip on that.
Karen
Karen, sorry I can help find your sweet potato poacher, but maybe you can help me. I was just about to start a thread asking when to pick my sweets (first attempt at planting them). I'm in PA, and am surprised to hear yours are still growing in AL. I'd be delighted if I get some that look that pretty .... even with the end chomped off!
I decided I might as well dig those as having been bitten into they would no doubt rot if I left them. I'm going to cook them tomorrow and see how they taste even though I didn't cure them. This variety is Beauregard.
Here's some info from an article written by Melody:
"Harvest sweet potatoes in the early Fall before the first frost. Carefully dig the hills and lay the harvest in the sun for a few hours to dry. This helps cure the skins so they will not be as fragile. Continue curing in a warm place with high humidity for about 10 days. This helps the storage properties of the sweet potato to improve. After that, simply store in a cool, dark area between 50 and 60 degrees. Any cooler than that, and they tend to rot."
I also read on another site that sweet potato vines won't die down like those on Irish potatoes unless the vines are hit by frost. So, the time to dig them is whenever they are big enough to harvest and use. However, if they do get frost, then you need to dig them right away. This other article also said not to wash them, just brush the dirt off. Basically, it gave the same instructions for curing that Melody did.
Karen
If they are being eaten in the ground, most likely voles. They do a number on both sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes here.
They were eaten from the top. Mr. Critter dug the sand away, exposing the top of the tuber, and ate the top exposed part. That's why I was thinking raccoon.
Karen
It is possible, Raccoons do love to eat, but have never had them did into potatoes.
Farmerdill,
Thanks for the reply.
It could be voles, but I've not seen any other indication that we have them here. We do have lots of raccoons, though. The tubers that were dug into and the upper portion chomped on were only about an inch below the surface. I thought maybe that close to the surface the critter could smell that it was there. I'll put out Critter Ridder in the next day or so, as soon as Mr. Weather decides whether it's going to rain or not. It works for raccoons and voles both. Should do the trick.
Karen
Karen,
Thanks for the great info, I hope to post a "success story" in a month or so. In the meantime, I'm going to do some research on Voles . . . I'd never heard of them before. Don't think we have them here in Pittsburgh. (Thanks to Melody too).
SugarSnap,
I've not heard of them being in Alabama, but they might be as I'm a newcomer here. I do know that there are no voles on the west coast.
Good luck,
Karen
Glendale, There are six species of vole in California. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7439.html Alabama has primarily the pine vole, which is the same one that gives me a fit. http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1146/ Pennsyvania has the Pine vole and the Meadow vole. http://tfpg.cas.psu.edu/353.htm There are voles just about everywhere in North America. Even in parts of Alaska. http://www.extension.org/pages/Voles
Farmerdill,
Thanks for the links. Those fellows must hang out in rural areas. Never heard of any of them in Los Angeles or Portland. Did have moles and gophers in Los Angeles, but never even saw any sign of them in Portland. Portland certainly had huge rats, though, about the size of a small cat and cockroaches six inches long.
Karen
glendalekid,
Did you check for deer tracks? Deer love sweet potatoes and, if they smell them, will dig them up to eat.
glendale I have cats and that's how I know I also have voles. They bring them to me for presents.
Just in the last couple weeks I've seen several mole tunnels. I don't know where they've been all summer.
NatureLover1950,
I didn't see any tracks. I thought maybe the deer would not come up there as my sweet potato patch is tucked up right into the corner of my neighbor's electric fence. But, could be.
twiggybuds,
My cats are all indoor cats. But I haven't seen any kind of holes or anything that looks like a tunnel like I've seen mole and gophers dig.
When it stops raining here in a day or two, I'll put the rest of the Critter Ridder out.
Most of the sweet potatoes are pretty good sized, so if I keep having trouble with it I'll just dig them up.
Karen
Karen
