Steven Alcorn age 6. Tuscon, Arizona 

Which way up do you plant a sweet potato?

A potato sprouts roots and shoots from the little dents called eyes.  A eye can grow a shoot up into the air or a root down into the ground. It doesn’t matter which end up you plant it, The plant will figure out up and down for itself. But once the sprouts have started they do not change. If you turn it upside down  the shoots will not turn into roots. The roots will not turn into shoots, You can grow a beautiful vine from a sweet potato in a dish of water,

Slice off one end and stick in a few tooth picks. It doesn't matter which end prop this end under water but not touching the floor of the dish. It will soon begin to grow little roots. The shoots will begin to sprout from the eyes above water level. They grow very fast and it is a joy to watch the handsome leaves unfurl.