October 22, 2006
International News - All About Sweet Potatoes
Canada - It's Sweet Potato Season!
Several major restaurants chains have been adding and promoting sweet potatoes on their menus. Swiss Chalet and Chicken Chicken are two of them. This is good news for former tobacco farmers, like the Proracki family, who are now growing sweet potatoes. The Proracki Family Farm is located in Waterford, Ontario. Click here to see pictures of sweet potatoes in the field on the Proracki Family Farm.
Source: Toronto Star www.thestar.com, Proracki Family Farm www.ontariosweetpotato.com
USA - Green Roof Tops
A couple of newsletters back, I mentioned that people in Japan's urban cities are growing sweet potatoes on their roofs to help cool down their homes. This past week, I saw a national news item talking about and showing how several commercial buildings in downtown Chicago have "green" roofs. This past summer, vegetation was grown on the roof tops to help lower building temperatures, and to realize savings on cooling bills.
So, if you have a flat roof and want to "think out of the box" for managing next year's cooling bill, consider growing sweet potatoes on your roof. You'll want to start planting in early June so you can harvest about 95 days later in September.
All About Sweet Potatoes Website