View Full Version : How do you harvest sweet potatos?
ArgonPlasma2000
2007-02-27, 10:33
So the alcohol yield for potatos is 9%, and I suspect the sweet potato to be greater because of greater sugar content. I also found the average yeild per square foot is .2525 lbs. Neat stuff if I ever wanted to make my own fuel ethanol.
However, something I cant figure out. I'm not a farmer, but how the hell do you harvest them without rounding up a bunch of slaves or using a tractor? Am I going to have to use a damn shovel? http://www.totse.com/bbs/frown.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/frown.gif)
Slave of the Beast
2007-02-27, 13:10
Haha, think of it as a great cardio workout.
How big is the plot, maybe hire a plough if it's large enough? I don't know what regulations might apply though, I wouldn't have thought that many, if any - it's a goddamn field of mud.
ArgonPlasma2000
2007-02-27, 19:57
It was just a brainstorm really. To get any good yeild, it would need to be a couple hundred square feet.
I was sort worried that plowing would destroy them though. As for regulations, to be legal I would need a permit and put denatured alcohol in it, that is if I make it for fuel (which is the ultimate goal, silly http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif) )
moonmeister
2007-02-28, 00:10
Why not sorghum or corn?
ArgonPlasma2000
2007-02-28, 00:47
Because sweet potatos grow like wildfire in my state and corn ethanol sucks ass for converting int fuel. The yield is far too low to be ecnomicaly feasible for any time in the near future.
Why politicians continue to push this shit is beyond me.
Sorghum looked interesting in that it grows easilly in my area, but it yeilds just as much as corn, so its a no-go.
Besides, sweet potatoes need little, if any, pesticides. They are afflicted by a relatively small number of fungii and pests. Even if the fungii cause rotting, it doesnt matter since it can still be used as a mash. It might not play nice with the yeast if the boiling doesnt kill it though...
Trousersnake
2007-02-28, 02:59
Maybe the good folk of The Great Outdoors would have further insight?
Anyhow I'll leave this here - Dunno if TGO regulars venture into here or not.
And I think you're stuck harvesting them by hand...or that slaves thing you mentioned http://www.totse.com/bbs/biggrin.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/biggrin.gif)
ArgonPlasma2000
2007-02-28, 05:05
Well, I do live in Mississippi....
Slave of the Beast
2007-02-28, 12:59
quote:Originally posted by ArgonPlasma2000:
I was sort worried that plowing would destroy them though. As for regulations, to be legal I would need a permit and put denatured alcohol in it, that is if I make it for fuel (which is the ultimate goal, silly http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif) )
I was thinking it terms of regulations with regards to driving a tractor, not making moonshine!
Goddamn hick. http://www.totse.com/bbs/biggrin.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/biggrin.gif) http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif)
deus-redux
2007-02-28, 17:39
hahaha.
Well for large plots you can get harversting machines.
Otherwise, I've always dug with a fork (less chance of slicing, you can shake the dirt off).
-deus-
ArgonPlasma2000
2007-03-01, 04:39
quote:Originally posted by deus-redux:
hahaha.
Well for large plots you can get harversting machines.
Otherwise, I've always dug with a fork (less chance of slicing, you can shake the dirt off).
-deus-
Genius!
KwinnieBogan
2007-03-01, 08:14
How does about bumping the reap up immensely while reducing effort sound? (http://www.5rods.co.uk/2006/09/04/potato-tyre-tower/)
Yesterday, some grandma-aged lady found a live grenade mixed in with a sack of potatoes when she took it home.
moonmeister
2007-03-02, 09:22
I've wondered about the rest of the plant from fuel crops... As there is the methane/heat component from their being composted. Every BTU /joule counts.
I don't really know... I have no idea about commercial production, only the talk that it's more smoke & mirrors to reap & keep political points.
Have you the math skills or the software to mess around with I/O cost/product? Offhand I'm more interested in independant farmers & country people fighting off Big Agra. If Bio gets them off the Big Oil Teat to any decent extent... Yaaaaaay!
Here's an article about Bio: Fuel or Food?
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yrkxcc
[This message has been edited by moonmeister (edited 03-03-2007).]
KwinnieBogan
2007-03-04, 01:18
Just watch out for Jitterbugs. O_o o_O O_O x_x