Como fazer MUDAS e plantar BATATA-DOCE

If there were a title for the most "nice-to-have" plant, the one that would probably win unanimously would be the sweet potato. This plant is very easy to grow, even for those without gardening experience. The sweet potato loves our warm, humid climate (it's native!), grows quickly, can be planted as an ornamental plant because it's so beautiful, and produces an abundance of food. Our gardener Carol Costa shares all the secrets of this gentle, sweet, yet vibrant plant! Native to Brazil, the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is cultivated primarily for its nutritious roots. Yes, what we call a sweet potato is its root adapted to store energy and nutrients for the plant, functioning like a piggy bank. If you leave a sweet potato in contact with water in a glass, within a few days, thin roots will appear, and soon one or more sprouts will appear. This is the plant's secret: storing its vitality in this well-developed root so that, if necessary, it can sprout again. It's from this childish play that our plant-loving friend teaches you how to grow multiple sweet potato plants. You can plant the sweet potato in the ground and it will sprout, but the trick is to leave it in water and, from the vines that emerge, take cuttings and plant the seedlings in pots. Each cutting will produce a new sweet potato plant, complete with the succulent roots we love! Growing the plant from the vines is much more advantageous: the plant develops potatoes much faster than if you tried to grow it from the entire root. It's as if that little branch with only a few measly leaves rushes to store as many as possible to have a reserve supply, while the one planted from the entire potato is in no hurry to develop – the plant's "pantry" would already be quite full, without the need to rush. To make the vines, choose a segment with three "nodes," which may or may not have leaves. These nodes are buds, a special part of the plant that can produce new leaves or roots. Take these cuttings and plant them in a small pot that will serve as a nursery for your seedlings. Carol uses toilet paper rolls, a clever and perfect repurpose for growing seedlings. With four small cuts and a few folds, the roll becomes a perfect biodegradable pot. Add soil, stick the seedling in, and leave the nursery in a bright location, keeping the substrate moist. Wait for the plant to begin sprouting roots from the bottom of the roll—this will be the time to place the seedling in a flowerbed or pot. You can place it with paper and all; this prevents you from breaking the roots and the paper from decomposing in the soil. If you can use a large pot, even better; the plant will have more room to develop, and your sweet potato harvest will be a success. Carol uses a Vasart Verona pot, filled with substrate and in the center, a cylinder made of wires filled with sphagnum moss. This cylinder helps the plant grow vertically. In just two months, the pot is covered in leaves and branches. Our Piracicaba gardener didn't choose this stylish pot for nothing: sweet potatoes look so beautiful during their vine growth that they can be used as an ornamental plant, making a great addition to any indoor or outdoor space. Of course, if you want to keep them indoors, choose a sunny spot. It's important to ensure at least four hours of sunlight for the sweet potato to develop well and have potatoes ready to harvest in four to six months. Fun fact: it's not just the sweet potato, the root, that's edible. Its leaves can be sautéed and eaten as is, or in other dishes. Do you know of any great recipes featuring this incredible plant? Leave a comment and share, following the example of sweet potato's generosity.