Catching the Purple Wave: How to Grow Ube in Your UK Potting Shed

If you spend enough time online, you’ve probably noticed a brilliantly vibrant, purple ingredient taking over your social media feeds. Search interest in purple yam, or “ube” (pronounced oo-beh), is currently at an all-time high across the US, and this colourful culinary craze is rapidly making its way across the pond to the UK.

Here at ShedBlog.co.uk, we are constantly looking for a new challenge. If you have a potting shed and want to try growing something truly unique this season, ube is the ultimate exotic experiment.

What is Ube?

According to recent data, searches for “what is ube” are hitting all-time highs. Originally from the Philippines, the ube (Dioscorea alata) is a bright purple yam known for its striking colour and sweet profile.

Another massive search trend—one of the top ube queries of all time—is “is ube and taro the same?” The short answer is no! While both can be purple, taro is a starchy corm with a mild, earthy flavour. Ube is a true yam that grows on a climbing vine and boasts a distinctly sweeter taste. In fact, the query “what does ube taste like” has more than doubled over the past week. For the uninitiated, ube tastes like a mellow, sweet mix of vanilla, white chocolate, and pistachio.

The Ube Culinary Craze

Unsurprisingly, ube is gaining immense popularity among foodies. “What is ube cold foam” was the top-trending question regarding “cold foam” over the past month, while “ube with coffee” and “ube with cheese” took the top spots for “ube with…” searches.

Bakers are also participating, as searches for Ube Tres Leches have surged by a staggering +500% in the past month. For hardcore DIYers, “how to make ube extract from scratch” is the most popular “how to make ube…” search. But before you can make the extract, you need the yam!

How to Grow Ube in a UK Potting Shed

Ube thrives in tropical climates, which means the notoriously chilly, unpredictable UK weather isn’t naturally suited for it. However, your potting shed provides the perfect microclimate to cheat the British weather and grow your own purple gold.

1. Sourcing Your Ube
You won’t find ube seeds at your local garden centre. Instead, look for a whole, organic ube tuber at an Asian supermarket.

2. Waking Up the Tuber (Chitting)
Ube needs a long growing season (8-10 months). In early spring, place your ube in a warm, dark spot in your potting shed. A heated propagator or a heat mat is ideal to encourage it to sprout “slips”.

3. Planting in Containers
Because ube yams grow deep, standard garden pots won’t cut it. Use a large potato grow bag or a deep tub. Fill it with a rich, well-draining mix of multi-purpose compost and perlite. Plant your sprouted ube about 2 inches deep.

4. Creating a Tropical Microclimate
Keep your container in the sunniest, warmest spot of your potting shed. Ube is a vigorous climbing vine, so you will need to set up a sturdy trellis or bamboo canes for it to scramble up. Keep the soil consistently moist but never waterlogged. On hot summer days, leave the shed door open for ventilation to prevent scorch, but close it at night to trap the heat.

5. The Harvest
By late autumn, as the UK temperatures drop, the foliage will begin to yellow and die back. This is your cue! Dig into your grow bags and unearth your beautiful, bright purple yams.

Growing ube in the UK requires patience and a bit of potting shed magic, but the reward is immense. Whether you want to bake an Ube Tres Leches cake or craft your own ube cold foam for your morning coffee, growing it from scratch makes it all the sweeter.

Data source: Google Trends (https://www.google.com/trends)

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