Sweet potatoes are what you see mostly in the regular store and are grown commercially in the States. Yams are not typically grown in this country but imported from Africa. So unless you are shopping in an international market place you are buying a sweet potato.
copied from http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/sweetpotato.html
Yams
Yams are closely related to lilies and grasses. Native to Africa and Asia, yams vary in size from that of a small potato to a record 130 pounds (as of 1999). There are over 600 varieties of yams and 95% of these crops are grown in Africa. Compared to sweet potatoes, yams are starchier and drier.
Sweet Potatoes
The many varieties of sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are members of the morning glory family, Convolvulacea. The skin color can range from white to yellow, red, purple or brown. The flesh also ranges in color from white to yellow, orange, or orange-red. Sweet potato varieties are classified as either ‘firm’ or ‘soft’. When cooked, those in the ‘firm’ category remain firm, while ‘soft’ varieties become soft and moist. It is the ‘soft’ varieties that are often labeled as yams in the United States.
The many varieties of sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are members of the morning glory family, Convolvulacea. The skin color can range from white to yellow, red, purple or brown. The flesh also ranges in color from white to yellow, orange, or orange-red. Sweet potato varieties are classified as either ‘firm’ or ‘soft’. When cooked, those in the ‘firm’ category remain firm, while ‘soft’ varieties become soft and moist. It is the ‘soft’ varieties that are often labeled as yams in the United States.
Why the confusion?
In the United States, firm varieties of sweet potatoes were produced before soft varieties. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate between the two. African slaves had already been calling the ‘soft’ sweet potatoes ‘yams’ because they resembled the yams in Africa. Thus, ‘soft’ sweet potatoes were referred to as ‘yams’ to distinguish them from the ‘firm’ varieties.
In the United States, firm varieties of sweet potatoes were produced before soft varieties. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate between the two. African slaves had already been calling the ‘soft’ sweet potatoes ‘yams’ because they resembled the yams in Africa. Thus, ‘soft’ sweet potatoes were referred to as ‘yams’ to distinguish them from the ‘firm’ varieties.
There you go.
So I started some Sweet potato slips yesterday. All you need to do (as I understand it) is place a sweet potato in a container of water and wait. It will sprout slips that you can cut off and stick in water to root. I've read suggestion that willow water will help get the roots to start but just plain water should work too. Once the roots are good and started you handle the plant like a tomato plant. Botanically they are similar plants. Keep in mind that sweet potatoes are not frost tolerant at all and need to be kept safe from cold weather.
Sweet potatoes get harvested like regular potatoes but are a bit more delicate so care must be taken not to bruise them. I haven't read too much on storage for them yet. I'll touch on that later.
-dale
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