How to Grow Ube Yam in the US (even though it freezes here!)

Want to grow ube yam? It's easy! Today we're putting in 120' of ube yam beds, and you'll see how we plant ube, how we propagate it, and how we keep it through the winter - even in a colder climate.
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[@davidthegood]

Simplify your life and grow more with less! Get my new book Minimalist Gardening here: amzn.to/3J4uRY6

[@carmiezaya9849]

Thank you again! We just purchased cassava and sugarcane from you this previous weekend. My fiancé is Filipino and it seems some of their plants really grow well here. If you have any more plants, you are growing that are native to the Philippines then that video would be a huge blessing to our family. 🎉🎉 always thankful when you share your knowledge.

[@TaLeng2023]

Is your fiance able to grow pandan?

[@americanajooma4457]

Omg. Yam rap. I dig it.

[@elusive323]

I love that purple color,looks so tasty man ! That Dioscorea flow was mean bro.

[@natsumidesu8019]

O yes bro.they’re really tasty combined with milk and sugar somewhat a unique taste.

[@chili.Hawaii]

Stoked on this one, along with the songs.

[@StatmanRN]

Considered invasive in FL. Not that it stops me. I plant near fence lines so they grow up them. A hazard here is air potato mixing in

[@davidthegood]

It's rather unfortunate, as the Ube is quite non-invasive.

[@chanteaparian9346]

Thanks for helping me to score more points with my Filipino mother-in-law :)

[@Raxxyx]

Filipino here. Yeah, Ube is the best!

[@bluecedar7914]

Hello! Apart from halaya, what is the best way to cook it, particularly as a vegetable?

[@ColoniaMurder20]

@@bluecedar7914 not for vegetable.. its for desert.

[@Firevine]

lmao that song. 🤣 I haven't tried to grow any true yam yet. Might give 'er a whirl. I'm giving Murasaki and Okinawan sweet potatoes a try this year. I grabbed those and some taro at my local asian market.

[@AAHomeGardening]

I have yam over 20 feet tall growing in a grow tent waiting to be transplanted outside

[@timothyricaud9796]

Read your new book minimalist gardening, it was so good I read it in one evening.

[@valarmorghulis8139]

Ow I need to plant ube too in Negros Island. The last time I have eaten pure ube that was steamed was when I was 9 years old.

[@Mushroomwizardx]

I heard in a Terrence McKenna lecture that those were used to develop birth control back in the day. They have a beautiful color. Definitely want to give them a try. Thanks David. Always look forward to your videos.

[@davidthegood]

They are easy and fun to grow.

[@mwnemo]

Ube as birth control?

[@Corvus-fw2hr]

It’s nice to hear chimney swifts in your video. Spring is here.

[@melanieallen3655]

Ubey (spelt wrong) is around $8-$12kilo (1000grams) where I live in Australia.great video

[@bluecedar7914]

Nice. Here in north-western suburban Adelaide I bought a tuber at my local greengrocer at $18 per kilo.

[@bluecedar7914]

$9.99 a kilo now.🙂

[@pavlovssheep5548]

could plant a few yams in with the bamboo , and leave them there for annual bulbil production

[@owendavies8227]

I tried growing nagaimo (or chinese mountain yam or whatever you want to call it) in pots like you recommended. It was only kind of helpful. They rooted into the soil below (clay) to the same extent as usual even though the holes in the pot were small.

[@lincwayne3435]

Love those yam sessions brougham! 😜

[@Fil-AmGardening]

Filipino American here Thank you for showing us how you plant ube It really is a cool crop, ube halaya is very good I will buy some from the store I will try to plant in the garden Love listening to your rapping, too❤

[@SouthFloridaSunshine]

This was great! Thanks DTG!

[@leomiranda-castro6908]

Just finished reading your Minimalist Gardening book. Loved it! ❤ I got two copies and one is going to a good friend that is struggling with too much commercial stuff in her garden. The Minimalist approach is how I grew up in Puerto Rico and still applied it in West-central Georgia. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge.

[@davidthegood]

Thank you very much - our time in the Caribbean was quite influential.

[@PilarFrancisco-Saguil]

I peel off the skin and boil like regular potatoes and grate or mash it cook with coconut milk, condensed milk sugar if you want it sweet cook in a sauce pan until thickened top it with shredded cheddar cheese or toasted coconut flakes, yummy

[@TaLeng2023]

You don't add butter to your ube halaya?

[@PilarFrancisco-Saguil]

@@TaLeng2023 you could add butter or margarine if you want but I only used butter to coat the plate

[@markjoseph196]

@@TaLeng2023i don’t add to much butter as this will make the dish greasy ☹️

[@time2see192]

Thank you! Concise and to the point!

[@Corvus-fw2hr]

My bulbils were from a vine and I kept them in pots in the greenhouse and they are still asleep in Gainesville.

[@cherylhenson2200]

Thanks!

[@GrandmomZoo]

Tire sand thing, fabulous!

[@GrandmomZoo]

Yam jamming!!!! I need to try to find some of these for my forrest. 😊 thank you for your wonderful videos and books!

[@stanleywheat1340]

Watching this I keep remembering the machete incident reenactment.

[@rowenadinsmore1]

Do you sell the ube yam? I have not seen any for sale that can be planted.

[@kittymom2]

I bought a plant on Etsy, but it died on me, then I ordered some bulbils last year and I thought I killed it again but it came back this spring and is thriving now ☺️

[@markkristynichols845]

DIDNT know that use for ashes, awesome thanx!

[@yvencia1150]

Thank you for sharing 😊

[@tedpottle3645]

Where can I get some starts in Michigan here want to grow in containers

[@BladeGorilla]

Will try the ashes dusting on my ube tops, never thought that would be a help. Noticed that the two on my kitchen table have started sprouting. Nice video.

[@soilbellefarm3210]

Great video!!

[@AAHomeGardening]

I am grown purple yam and white yam here in the UK

[@bluecedar7914]

Wow. God is good! My local greengrocer had ube for only the second time yesterday, so I had just bought a tuber and was looking to revise storing and preparing D. alata tops for growing the following spring, and you had just posted this! Provided me with an affordable ube and then extra guidance on trying to grow it.Thank you, exactly what I needed.

[@bluecedar7914]

Sprouted two weeks ago, now planted.

[@joy-unhinged]

We put sugar on everything. Ube ice-cream is great.

[@friedabalavage862]

Love the song! Just got some small ube from a friend and would like to plant them come spring. Maybe put a couple in pots in the greenhouse. Saving some bulbils I bought from y'all at the Scrubfest, to plant in spring as well. Does it matter what tree the ashes you are dusting the ube are from?

[@davidthegood]

I don't think it matters.

[@Risenshine260]

I live in Zone 8a and grown some and harvested good amount. Please tell me how to store some of them for next year's growing.

[@davidthegood]

We often leave some in the ground, and others we store in a cool place that is slightly moist.

[@808.ladybugs]

🌺Aloha, after you slice the ube can you let the cut side heal for a day or two?similar to potatoes

[@davidthegood]

Yes

[@808.ladybugs]

@@davidthegood 🌺Sorry, but what was that dust you used on the cuttings? Can you use charcoal or cinnamon?

[@davidthegood]

Ashes

[@ambberv4127]

I live here in LA , Ca. USA, where can I buy the the UBE to propagate?

[@barbaralong8665]

How do you prepare them. I bought one and microwaved The house smelled like burned corn. I had never ate it before. Live in zone 9 a.

[@davidthegood]

Hahaha. Peel and boil until fork-tender.

[@barbaralong8665]

@@davidthegood Thank you for information. Farmers Market has it and if I like it then I can grow a small amount.

[@ColoniaMurder20]

@@davidthegood we usually boil 1st.. after cooked and then peel.. the taste is really nice.

[@kathydudley8849]

What type of knife is he using? I need one. Looks kinda like a bush knife?

[@Gtongi]

Where did you buy the corms? Do you sell them? I’m in 10b and wondering if they will thrive here?

[@paul.1337]

Do they keep their color when you cook them?

[@TaLeng2023]

Yup.

[@mollytrap]

Awesome! Curious why you use the tops for replanting instead of the bulbils? More reliable?

[@davidthegood]

I use both, as I have them. I hate to throw the tops out, though.

[@mrs.billysanders6711]

Thanks for sharing! We just received an ube plant in the mail. The vine snapped in the shipping box and I am wondering if I should transplant it in a pot inside or outside while it recovers and plant it outside in the next growing season or maybe just remove it from its pot, cut the vine, they it dry and store it until the next planting season. What would you recommend?

[@davidthegood]

It depends on the climate. If you are in zone 8b or warmer, just plant it.

[@mrs.billysanders6711]

Thanks for your fast response! I am 8b also! I will take the plunge and plant it

[@adventurebob6898]

Digging the music but maybe not that lyrics. Hilarious David. Hilarious. I don't why I watch your yam videos as I really can't grow them here. Yam has to be your teacher's pet garden crop.

[@cielitagarcia6489]

I am in the San Antonio / Boerne Texas area. I have been looking for Ube yams because we like making Ube treats. So far we have had to use the imitation ube flavoring because we can not find any real yams. My daughter and I have been to many Asian grocers. I thought I finally lucked out yesterday but it was a white yam. Not sure if that works the same for my recipe. Any idea were I might be able purple Ube?

[@mariap.894]

Could I grow it here in SoFlo? (Ft. Lauderdale area)❤

[@davidthegood]

Yes, definitely

[@laniemccann4142]

If I don’t have ashes what I can use?

[@davidthegood]

Just let the cuts dry out a little instead.

[@squarefootgardeningforther2602]

How far north can they be planted and grow

[@davidthegood]

TN is the farthest I know of

[@loquat4440]

Yams can be ordered if you order it early enough for ube and chinese yams. This is for the home gardener. Be too expensive for a commercial operation. For me a few hills of it would be enough for a starting crop. So some ube, some chinese, and what ever other yams that I can find. I would hesitant to try and sell ube at a farmers market in florida since I believe it is illegal. If I had a huge haul of them, I could take them to Alabama to sell.

[@davidthegood]

That may be - it could be different as a crop, not a live plant, as I've seen them in markets.

[@loquat4440]

@@davidthegood I have not really read the law or more importantly as to how it is enforced. It is possible that as a food, they may not be sure of its source. Maybe someone else knows more about it. I just remember some years ago when the State of florida was going through residential neighborhoods and yanking up any citrus they saw then destroyed those trees. People took it to court and stopped the state from doing such things is what I understand.

[@loquat4440]

The big question is enforcement. It really depends on if some state agency decides to make an issue of it. The problem is getting a lawyer to do something about it is a pain. Citrus is a big crop in Florida and of course that state people are trying their best to protect that crop. So they went to neighborhoods to yank up trees with no compensation until challenged in court. In FL while not enforced it is illegal for an individual without a certified nursery to propagate a citrus tree and all of the people that have been planting satsumas are violating the law. But, have never been bothered by the state over it. It is not practical to enforce. The Chinese yam is Florida legal and that is what I would concentrate on I think. I just found out somethings about Kudzu. They are commercially grown in China for their roots that are edible. I knew the leaves are ok for eating but did not know about the roots. kzbin.infou_tnKXiu_OY

[@loquat4440]

On the Satsuma citizens are planting a seed. Citrus often grow true to seed. Some of seed embryos are mitotic and not formed via meiosis. This means they will grow true to the mother tree's phenotype.

[@melanieallen3655]

What powder is it that you are coating the yams in b4 planting?

[@nancylourose]

He said ashes

[@LesstraveledFarmstead]

Hey David, this is Aaron. I planted some yams about a month ago in some planters and they haven’t sprouted yet. Do you think the issue may be soil temperature?

[@davidthegood]

Yes. They will wake up in a month or so.

[@maphehehe]

Hey David! Where do you source your ube? I can't find any online that'll ship to the US!

[@davidthegood]

Oriental market

[@runningwarrior5468]

Best survival crops for zone 6b?

[@davidthegood]

Grain corn, potatoes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, turnips, Chinese yam, chestnuts, pecans and dry beans.

[@Shane_O.5158]

Hi David, do you plant these the same time as chinese yam bulbils ?

[@davidthegood]

Yes

[@kolapyellow7631]

I am in zone 7a. Will it grow here and give me yams?

[@davidthegood]

It is possible. A reader wrote me from outside Nashville and he had grown them there.

[@alannatolentino5513]

Do you sell them?

[@davidthegood]

Sometimes

[@alannatolentino5513]

@@davidthegood do you have any to sell at the moment? I would like to purchase some. TIA

[@davidthegood]

Now, we are sold out for spring.

[@JerzeyGardenZ]

looked for lillians garden found nuthin on you tube

[@davidthegood]

One "l"

[@davidthegood]

www.youtube.com/@LiliansGardens

[@richardrybicki749]

Will it grow in 10 madeira Beach

[@davidthegood]

Yes

[@letsgrowlv]

Hi Mr David Filipino here Can I buy some for planting I live in Las Vegas

[@richonless]

❤❤❤

[@getprobed838]

i'm growing some in woodbridge, virginia. i dont know how it will turn out yet, but its growing like crazy

[@GardeningandMyDailyLife]

Helo bạn yêu quý ❤❤❤🤝.

[@Adshercott]

That's alata potatoes.

[@lindseykay4082]

I absolutely love your books and your youtube channel. You've helped me simplify and get over my analysis paralysis! I recently planted a 20' berm with both purple ube and the white fleshed variety of dioscorea alata bulbils. I planted them 4" below the surface. Is this too deep? Should I scrape the top of the berm down? They are planted in loosened volcanic "clay" soil in zone 10. It is very rainy here. Please and thank you for any information.

[@davidthegood]

They should come up

[@glennfiedler6236]

More plant raps plz

[@shawnmecum9131]

8:03 are you telling me that those yams are waking up...to ash and dust?

[@markkristynichols845]

Did you ever get the chance to check out The Judy’s music?😂😂😂

[@CariMachet]

Are you selling them???

[@davidthegood]

No, not currently

[@americanajooma4457]

Look for your local asian food market. Hmart sometimes has them. The chinese market in my area has them more often. Don't be self-conscious about asking friends and neighbors where to find them. Good luck.

[@CariMachet]

@@davidthegood f*ck

[@CariMachet]

@@americanajooma4457 yes I have looked at my international markets here > no go but I will keep trying > I will look on Etsy also

[@CariMachet]

@@americanajooma4457 thanks for taking the time to give me the data kind of you

[@user-su5du9ln8r]

I don't particularly care for the taste (of what there is). I grew them for my sister-in-law who uses it for baking and another Filipino friend of my wife who makes an overly sugary dessert with it. Aside from the beautiful natural coloring, in my mind, it's just a survival crop. They kept climbing all over my other vegetables and dragged them to the ground, so I had to stop growing them this year. The vines are much thicker, heavier, and harder than sweet potatoes. I did give my sister-in-law a couple of rugby ball-sized roots that will last her a couple of years from last year.

[@tessocampo13]

Yes 👍 love by Filipinos, and I’m one of them 😅

[@mekay235]

[@breaking_bear]

Organic gardening raps are truly the only good rap.