Farmer reaps 100-pound yellow yam

Three men strained under the weight of a wheelbarrow, struggling to lift what might be the largest yellow yam Jamaica has ever seen.

The 100-pound tuber had been hiding beneath the soil of Woodlyn Witter's farm in Advent Drive, Mandeville, Manchester, growing quietly for more than a year.

"I grew up in a farming community, and the biggest yellow yam I've seen before was about 30 pounds," Witter, 57, said in disbelief. "This one? I have never, ever seen anything like it."

The discovery began innocuously enough. In March, while gathering food for his household, Witter noticed a strange, powerful vine stretching across a section of the hill.

"When I investigated, I realised it was a huge yam bulging out of the soil," he recalled. "I tried to dig it, but it was too big for me. I didn't want to damage it, so I covered it back up and waited."

Weeks later, curiosity got the better of him. Returning with his nephew, the two tried to pry the tuber loose. Even together, they could not move it. Witter described the scene with a mix of humour and awe.

"It was a whole operation. We dug carefully around it, spreading ... almost a metre wide so we wouldn't cut or break it. After an hour and a half, we finally freed it. But even then, we couldn't just roll it away. We had to lift the wheelbarrow with the yam inside. Every muscle in my body ached, and I thought, 'This thing is heavier than me,'" he recalled.

Once they weighed it in the barrow, the scale read 135 pounds. After subtracting the 35-pound barrow, the yam's final weight stood at 100 pounds.

"I remember looking at it and thinking, 'This is unbelievable,'" Witter said. "It was the heaviest thing I have ever tried to lift, and yet, it was still perfectly whole, perfectly golden."

Yams usually take just over a year to mature. Witter estimates this giant grew for about 15 months. While extraordinary yams have been found elsewhere in Jamaica, including a 140-pound tuber in Hanover, Witter's discovery is remarkable because it is a yellow yam, a variety rarely known to grow so large.

"This isn't just any yam," he said. "This is yellow yam, and I've never heard of one this big before."

Witter does not farm commercially. He began cultivating his three-quarter acre plot during the pandemic, aiming to sustain his family and continue a farming tradition taught to him by his mother. His farm thrives without chemical fertilisers or compost. Instead, he relies on a natural methods that have been passed down through generations.

"We take the leaves from the trees around the property, place them in the hale, and cover them. The yam grows on that natural manure. It's God's grace and the soil's blessing," he said.

The process is slow, deliberate, and hands-on. Witter spends hours tending to each plant, ensuring the soil is neither compacted nor dry, layering leaves carefully, and checking for small signs of disease or damage.

"Farming is patience," he said. "You can't rush it. If you do, nature will punish you."

Despite the yam's extraordinary size, Witter has no plans to preserve it as a trophy.

"I must cook it and eat it," he said. "That's the joy of it. Sharing it is part of the tradition. It's a gift from the soil, not something to boast about."

Even now, as he gazes at the mound where the giant once grew, he is already planning his next crop. He intends to plant in the same spot, curious to see whether the unusual growth can be repeated.

"Sometimes the soil just gives you a gift," he said. "And when it does, you have to be ready to work with it, respect it, and appreciate it."