African Potato Mint Plectranthus rotundifolius Kaffir Energy Food for Edible Container Garden or Food Forest Permaculture style, Easy to grow and propagate. This is the perfect plant to grow if you have woodchips, they thrive in the compost breaking down and produce lots of underground little potatoes, you cook and roast these in their skin.
This is the person I purchased my cuttings from, he shows now only live plants, but I have messaged him to get more cuttings up to offer, but you can check this aff. link to check out his ad, Thanks: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_id=114&ipn=icep&toolid=20004&campid=5338267736&mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FPlectranthus-rotundifolius-African-Potato-Mint-3-Cuttings%2F193020893705%3Fhash%3Ditem2cf0f11a09%3Ag%3Ak1YAAOSwa7Rcw7c~%20
32 Comments
I've never heard of this, thank you for broadening my horizons!
Exotic and interesting – thanks! Speaking of which, 🙂 do you have any videos on pruning/caring for pomegranates (trees? bushes?), Robbie? Someone gave me a tiny sapling a few years ago, and other than keeping it alive (moving it indoors in winter, etc.) I haven't done anything with it, and it's turning into a very scraggly-looking bushy thing. Please help…
Haha! Ok, my purple collards are now taking off (pics later) that you got me started with your cuttings project, so I ordered too.
Here you go again, so….mini potatoes sounds super, I will order 3 for my parents. Hopefully they will be eating neat little potatoes soon and maybe garlic and chives (homegrown) mashed (fresh) potatoes too! Here we go, another happy project!
Thanks Robbie & Gary!
How did the purple tree collard cuttings you purchased from eBay do?
Love this review. I’ve never heard of this before so really enjoyed being introduced to something new and different as a possibility for my garden.
Thanks Robbie, these sound like a new tasty easy to grow plant. Going to order some.
Will you harden them before you take them outside? Those are very interesting. I've never heard about them before either.
You have the most interesting stuff! Need to go look that up for sure!
Totally new to me! Plan to order some. And by the way, I’ve been using your little movable compost containers since I saw the video. Brilliant idea!
Robbie, I like plant edible easy plant too:) Potato mint sounds too good to me. Thank you for sharing.
LOVE your channel – always new ideas. After spending the morning puttering around my double and triple layer R & G style container garden – that now looks like a wonderful jungle, then making my favorite summer harvest soup – (steamed vegetables just picked and pureed into a dellicious soup – today was beautiful new leeks, yellow summer squash, potatoes just harvested, green beans and basil) I sat down to find your new video out about Potato Mint. I'm going to have to try this too. Eat what you Grow!
What do you use these for other then the fruits ? Can you use the leaves too ?
I live in Texas in an area where it is notoriously difficult to plant a successful garden. We are considering moving to the north east for work and if we do I will be ecstatic because that area is extremely fertile. I would still love some advice on what plants I could try to grow that are easy even in difficult climes.
Hi Robbie! Thanks for doing this video. I went over to your seller on eBay and just got 3 cuttings! Will be here this week it says. I'll let you all know how they do. So excited to be growing something new!
Hello all! First I want to thank Robbie and Gary for featuring me in one of their videos. That was very cool of you!
Figured I could leave some experience details with this plant here for those whom have bought this plant in response to the video. As you saw they root fast in water but moist soil would be fine too however you may need to provide humidity to use that method. Otherwise the cutting may loose too much water before roots form. This plant does go dormant yearly emerging from the tubers the next year. It is cold hardy to at least zone 8b-9a but I wouldn't leave it out in colder zones. During the dormant period do not allow to be in very soggy soil or tubers may rot. When in active growth the plant can take much more water albeit it can handle pretty dry conditions too. Will make sizeable tubers in pots if one must grow in containers. However they go nuts in the ground and in one season can spread considerably. Tubers do taste much like a real white potato and also have a similar texture. Leaves are edible too and probably have healthful qualities but aren't super tasteful.
My goal is to provide rare unique edible plants to all interested growers. More species in more areas equals greater food security for humankind. Permaculture is the life we want to live and all purchases help us to become more sustainable and move towards our ability to function as a real homestead business. Therefore bringing more plants to more people.
Thanks again! Derek
I’ve never heard of them, I placed a order for some. Can’t wait to grow these.
As always, perfectly marvellous x thank you lovely xx
Very interesting!
African potato mint is a delicious little tuber; the taste is so different from potato or sweet potato. I'll be curious to see if it gives a decent yield, Robbie. In India, it takes approximately six months to get the tubers. Thank you for posting this video.
I have grown this beautiful potatoe and love the flavor and the fact they are not fuzzy to grow!!!
Hi Robbie! Good morning to ya! 😊
I came back to tell you that my African Mint starts arrived yesterday afternoon and are now in a glass of water in my kitchen window. The instructions said bright shade. Thank you so much for posting about these! I'm off on a new adventure! Oh! And your kind seller sent me five! 👍😀
This plant is widely grown here in Kerala, India. It is known as 'Koorka' a.k.a. Chinese Potato. The potatoes are nutritious and delicious as well.
There is also bigger tuber variety known as Sumo Koorka.
How are the plants doing, how do they taste? If any are available do share 😁
So, this was a year ago. How was your harvest? I'm about to cover an entire area with these for ground cover and I would like to know how well they produce potatoes.
I'm planting the actual potatoes right now as I watch this. Some sprouting leaves on these tiny potatoes already.
I'd love to see a cooking video! I can't find one on Youtube.
You can eat the leaves. They don’t have a minty taste to me but I find they have a potato smell. I cook them, eating them raw they don’t have a very good taste. I live in central texas where we have clay and heat. They don’t seem to care for the direct sun here or the clay. I keep them in pots in mostly shade and they do great. It’s a bit of a bummer Bc they can be a good ground cover and was hoping to put in spaces in my garden. But a great food all around
I bought cuttings and planted then directly in soil. They are doing wonderful. I'm excited to get my first harvest.
Robbie could you please do an update on these, thanks!
Does anyone know about the carb content of the tubers?
Hopefully you all can do an update on your potato mint harvest – when to harvest – how to replant – and what they tasted like, etc. Mine are growing very well and hope I have a good harvest.
😁😍❤👍👍👍