• ST. LOUIS, MO.  November 19, 2012 – Today, students at Lyon Academy @ Blow enjoyed the fruits of their labor by creating delicious Thanksgiving dishes with the sweet potatoes grown in their school’s garden as part of Gateway Greening’s Sweet Potato Challenge. 

     

    “Our lesson today will compare/contrast sweet potatoes with regular potatoes, and learning some fun, easy sweet potato recipes for thanksgiving and beyond. We will be looking at both ‘potatoes’ from a nutritional, culinary, and ecological perspective, and the kids will get to decide which one they prefer,” said Joseph Pearl, Middle School Science Teacher and School Site Challenge Coordinator.

     

    Back in May, Gateway Greening began a pilot project which challenged schools to maintain their gardens over the summer by growing sweet potatoes.

     

    “They are drought-resistant and low-maintenance, making them an easy way to keep the garden productive while school’s out for the summer.  Sweet potatoes also work as a cover crop, with its vines protecting the soil and its roots re-nourishing it,” said Jessica Choi, Youth Programs VISTA, who led Gateway Greening’s Sweet Potato Challenge.

     

    Six SLPS schools entered the challenge and began planting a starter kit of 12 Beauregard Sweet Potato slips around the end of May into a designated 4×8 square foot space, and harvesting the crops in October.  To assist teachers, Gateway Greening also provided sample lesson plans for Art, Communication Arts, Science, Math, Social Studies, and Health/Physical Education.

     

    Two schools made notable harvests, earning recognition as Sweet Potato Challenge Winners:

    ·         Biggest Sweet Potato- in weight- went to Lyon Academy at Blow with an impressive eight pound sweet potato. After harvesting, students investigated how certain dependent variables (like the amount fertilizer applied) affected independent variables (like the marketability of the sweet potatoes).  

     

    ·         Greatest Total Yield went to Patrick Henry Downtown Academy.  Ms. Mihline Zahoran’s preschool class harvested a total of about 121 pounds for the given 4×8 square foot space.  They also planted sweet potatoes into several other beds, giving them a grand total of nearly 300 pounds!  Ms. Zahoran and her preschoolers crafted sweet potato stamps and cooked up a simple crock-pot dish using the freshly harvested crop.  The school plans to distribute the sweet potatoes to students and teachers to bring home with recipe cards.

     

    By the way, the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission states that it takes six to eight weeks after harvest for sweet potatoes to reach their peak in sweetness when baked. It also states that the sweet potato is not a potato or even a distant cousin.

     

    For more information regarding this release, please contact the Office of Public Information (314) 345-2367.

     

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