How to Sprout Yams for Planting

Yams, popular during Thanksgiving and Christmas, are used in a variety of dishes. When you cut the yams to prepare a dish, you can use the bottom third of the yam to start a vine plant to grow your own yams at home. It only takes water, toothpicks and a jar to start a yam vine, and then you can transplant it to soil. The yam will begin nes roots in the jar, and a vine will begin emerging from the top of the yam in as little as six weeks.

Yam

Knife

Vegetable brush

Toothpicks

Jar

Water

All-purpose soil

Cut the yam into thirds. Use the bottom third for sprouting.

Scrub the skin of the yam with warm water and a brush. This will help remove any debris that may prevent the yam from growing.

Stick four to six toothpicks into the sides of the yam. These will support the yam so it will not fall into the jar.

Fill the jar with water. You will need enough water to submerge the cut part of the yam once you place it on the jar.

Place the yam onto the top of the jar. Make sure you place the cut end of the yam face-down so the water will make cover that part of the yam.

Place the jar in a window that receives plenty of sunlight. Check the yam every day to see if you need to add water. Whenever the water stops touching the yam, you will need to refill the jar.

Turn the yam every day while it sits in the window. This will ensure that all sides of the yam receive adequate sunlight. The vine will take as long as 6 weeks to grow.

Replace the water completely once it becomes cloudy. Transfer the yam to a larger jar when the vine becomes too large for its current jar.

Plant the yams once the vines reach 6 inches high. Use all-purpose soil mix, and either plant them in a pot or outdoors in your garden once the threat of frost passes.