Sweet Potatoes are ideal for the 1st stage of weaning for babies from 6 months old. Babies love them & they are full of vitamins & dietary fibre.
The whole family will enjoy sweet potatoes. They are cooked in the same way as ordinary potatoes – roasted, boiled or baked.
sweet potatoes
The nutritional value sweet potatoes is excellent, they are high in:
- Vitamin A
- beta carotene
- potassium
- Vitamin E
- calcium
- folate
The Nutrition Action Health Letter rated 58 vegetables by adding up the percentages of United States Recommended Daily Allowances for six nutrients (Vitamins A and C, folate, iron, copper, and calcium), plus fiber. Sweet Potatoes came out top with 582 points; raw carrot came next with 434 points.
Click this link to buy some sweet potato slips so that you can grow your own & be ready for weaning your baby!
Baby or mini vegetables are what the modern household requires – small, but perfectly formed vegetables.
Mini veg are produced in several ways:
CherryTomatoes
- harvesting vegetables when young – such as carrots
first-carrots
- planting seed close together – such as Leek King Richard, which can be direct sown closer together, without the need to transplant for mini leeks
leek-plants-trimmed
- special mini cultivars produce baby fruit from compact plants
examples include:
Gone are the days when a cabbage or cauliflower lasts a family a week – sections of the head being cut off and cooked each day. Now a baby or mini veg will provide a mature cabbage or cauliflower which is small enough to be eaten by one or two people in one sitting. If the household is larger, the baby mini veg provide the opportunity to present a selection of fresh vegetables, by using several different mini veg for one meal.
Gone are the days when a cabbage or cauliflower lasts a week – with sections being cut off and cooked each day. Now these vegetables have varieties which will mature quickly and produce a very small specimen, just large enough for one or two people to eat in one meal. Or, their compact size means that they can be mixed with other mini veg to provide a selection of fresh veg for one meal.
Baby or mini vegetables are becoming very popular and there are good reasons for growing them:
- space saving ideal for window box, containers,patios or raised bed
- easily grown – vigorous & quick growing
- fast to mature – encouraging to harvest within a few weeks!
- great introduction to vegetable growing – easy to see results
- grow closer together – more production & less weeds
- provide regular supply – sow little & often every 3 weeks
- early harvesting – mini veg mature early so extending the season
- provide small portions – ideal for contributing to a selection of veg or for small households
- appeal to children – because small & perfectly formed! Good for kids to grow and eat
- pests & diseases reduced – most mini veg grow quickly and have a short growing season
pulled-carrots
The list of baby mini vegetables is growing every year as new mini cultivars are developed. Some examples are:
Have you tried any varieties of mini veg that we could add to this list?
This book from Amazon discusses growing vegetables in pots:
There are many good reasons to grow a few baby mini veg this year.
LadyChrstll-new-potatoes
Thompson and Morgan have got a baby new potato collection on special offer for £10.99.
The baby potato collection comprises:
- Lady Cristl
- Mimi
- Orla
- Rocket
- Swift
- Vivaldi
Click here to buy the Thompson & Morgan baby new potato collection.
This is a great way to start growing your own potatoes. They can be grown in a small patch of garden or in containers on a sunny patio, concrete backyard or balcony.
This baby potato collection will make a great gift or Christmas present for someone keen to grow their own potatoes. Click here to buy the Thompson & Morgan baby new potato collection.
Baby/mini leeks are used for salad, stir-fries, soups and stews. Children like them because they are pretty, mild and different.
To grow baby/mini leeks:
- space close together in the row
- sow in a small garden, an allotment, or in containers on the patio
- liquid feed weekly if grown in a container
- harvest 16–20 weeks after sowing, when still young,tender and full of flavour
- use immediately, as mini veg do not store well
- make successive sowings throughout the growing season for a continual supply.
leek-seedlings
Baby/Mini Leek Varieties
King Richard
- A very early, high yielding, mild flavoured leek with extra long, slim stalks
Swiss Giant Evita
- A fast-growing, high-yielding variety with long straight shanks
Baby Jolant
- A vigorous, very early cropping variety giving high density stems with a mild flavour
