Plant the tubers 4-5 inches deep and 2 feet apart. It's recommended to add organic mulch on top to hold in water and prevent weeds. Dioscorea alata can be grown in containers, but you'll have to watch the size. Use at least a 5-gallon container and harvest the yam before it outgrows its home.

Last year I planted my yam pieces into a big pot during the winter, then transplanted them out to my food forest when they sprouted in the spring. You can also just plant them in place anytime from fall through spring. I plant yam roots or bulbils just an inch or two down.

Dioscorea alata has many common names, including purple yam, ube plant, winged yam, white yam, water yam, greater yam and more. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, purple yam plant grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11.

The bulbils weighing a few grams and to over a kilogram come out from the leaf axils three (3) months after planting. The underground tubers weighing one to six kilograms can be harvested six months after planting.. . . . .364011236250!]0000000000000009783314144607!]