THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501130089
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Are yams and sweet potatoes the same thing? I have always thought they were two different ``animals,'' and recently I read they are indeed different. The dictionary is no help. They say a ``yam'' is an orange-fleshed sweet potato and a ``sweet potato'' is a tropical vine in the morning glory family ``with tuberous edible roots.'' Please help me find the answer and thank you again.
Sandra Wood-Colonna, Exmore
You're right - they're two different ``animals.'' Virginia Tech experts report the yam is a tropical vine, producing large edible tubers very much like the sweet potato but born above ground in the axils of the leaves. Botanically, it's called Dioscorea, related to Smilax, that pesky vine known as ``greenbriar.''
The sweet potato is in the morning glory family and botanically is Ipomoea batatas. It also is a native of the tropics but can be grown up through Zone 7 (which is the next zone north) for its tuberous, edible roots. Sweet potatoes are usually grown from sprouts or slips rather than tubers.
Some sweet potatoes are incorrectly called yams. Though they're in different plant families, it is hard to tell them apart by appearance in the grocery store. Yams once grew larger and more orangy than sweet potatoes, but now there are varieties of sweet potatoes that look just like the yam.
The element boron (B) apparently is toxic to certain insects, such as ants, cockroaches and crickets. It is available as boric acid (17.5 percent B) and Borax (sodium borate, about 13 percent B).
Recently I have seen boric acid offered for sale at large discount stores for $6 per pound. Borax is available at most grocery stores as a laundry compound.
We have tried both products and found them to be effective as an insect control. For ants in the kitchen, we mixed 1/8 teaspoon boric acid in a tablespoon of honey, placing small amounts in bottle caps and putting them at corners of the cupboards.
We have also used Borax powder around the exterior of our house to keep bugs out. Last fall, many crickets were found dead in the house and garage after we used Borax.
Boron should be handled with caution, because it is toxic if ingested. To my knowledge, no EPA studies have been conducted on using boron as an insecticide. Until such studies are made, the companies packaging these products are not allowed to make any claims on their labels.
Lynn Christian, Virginia Beach
Lynn Christian's experience is a simple way to control household insects.
Thank you very much for the knowledge you share graciously. I didn't know anything about gardening six years ago, but with your help, some volunteer work at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and the zoo, I am able to do some good work now around my house.
The purpose of my letter is to ask if you still know how to contact the reader who said she had plenty of ``clivia babies'' that she would be glad to share with readers. I had one clivia many years ago, which, around Christmas, offered us the most beautiful orange blossoms I have ever seen.
Thank you very much for your help.
Nicole Zimmer, 5404 Wallingford Arch, Virginia Beach, 23464; call 420-8426
The volume of mail is so heavy that as soon as I answer a letter, it is thrown away, so I have no records to check. It is likely, however, that the reader who had clivia to give away may be reading this. If not, there are others with clivia who will share with you. Drop me a line in a month and let me know how generous our readers are.
I purchased clivia bulbs 22 years ago from Park Seed and kept them for two or three years. When they didn't bloom, I threw them out. I did not know then that they have to mature (often up to seven years) before they bloom. Now I see these huge pots of clivia in bloom and agree they are beautiful.
Please send the address and telephone number for the source of bluebird boxes in the Virginia Beach area.
Louise Lee, Chesapeake
Bluebird nesting boxes are sold by the Virginia Beach Audubon Society for $12 apiece. Call Shelby Hunter at 425-7133. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to Robert
Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton
Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. Answers will be published on a space-available
basis. For an earlier reply, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope. by CNB