SWEET POTATO
HARVEST
There is so much patience and planning that goes into harvesting sweet potatoes. Here are all the different steps involved in harvesting sweet potatoes!
Sweet potato harvest starts around late August and continues through November, right before rain season.
1. SHRED THE VINE
A sweet potato plant is related to the morning glory flower so it looks a lot like a vine. The vines are thick and can grow up to three feet tall. Fifteen days before harvest, the vine is shred to expose the row and dry out the dirt. The tractor that is used to shred the vine is like a huge lawn mower that makes a lot of noise and dust! If the vine is not shred, the sweet potatoes will not dry out and will be hard for the tractor to dig out from the ground.
GROWN IN CALIFORNIA
Bako Sweet sweet potato fields are located in Bakersfield, CA. Bako Sweet cares for the land on which sweet potatoes are grown. When you put Bako Sweet sweet potatoes in your cart, you can trust that they were grown sustainably, with love!
2. DIG UP THE SWEET POTATOES
After the vines dry out, the harvest begins! There is a digger on each harvester (tractor) that go deep into the ground which slowly bring up the sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes run along a belt right on the harvester.
3. PLACE IN BINS
Each bin is categorized by size. There are multiple bins on each side of the tractor. As the sweet potatoes run along the belt, they are carefully hand sorted into each bin based on size. Hand sorting protects the sweet potatoes and prevents them from being skinned or bruised which results in better quality.
5. TRIPLE WASH + PACKAGE
Right before the sweet potatoes are shipped, they are triple washed to remove the dirt and any pathogens. As a result, there is no need to wash them once you bring them home, Bako Sweet makes it easy to eat right away! Each package of sweet potato is handled with care and makes it convenient to prepare whether you are baking or microwaving, there is a package right for you!
4. STORE
When one of the bins get full, a forklift comes over to take off the full bin and replace the harvester with an empty one. The bins go off to storage where they can stay fresh a whole year until going to the market!
ALEXANDRA RAE MOLUMBY
If you’re like most people, you’re probably curious about where your food comes from but may not know where to find the answers. Enter Alexandra Rae Molumby, owner and creator of Harvest Joy – a space where farming stories, farm fashion, and fresh produce tips take center stage.
Harvest Joy takes you behind the scenes to learn more about how food is grown and the people dedicated to growing it. Follow Harvest Joy on Instagram and TikTok at @harvest.joy.