Ruchira Raychaudhuri Jun 15, 2021:

Just another remark I think the word 'intafelen' is very specifically used for chicory cultivation in Belgium/the Netherlands and for want of a better term they have used this word for sweet potatoes as well. So instead of trying to find a direct translation of 'intafelen', it might be better to go for the term often used in the US (being traditionally one of the largest cultivators of sweet potatoes) for a similiar process, which seems to be 'bedding the roots'/'bedding down'.

Ruchira Raychaudhuri Jun 15, 2021:

some more ref for 'bedding'/'bedding down' https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/62793626.pdf:
Sweet potato slips are generally forced in hotbeds since some bottom heat is desirable to stimulate early growth.
Bedding the Roots
Immediately before bedding a layer of clean sand 3 or 4 inches deep is placed on the bottom of the bed. For electrically-heated beds it may be desirable to insulate the bottom with a 2 or 3 inch layer of sawdust before placing in the heating cables and the bedding sand... The roots are then placed 1 to 1 ~ inches apart in the sand. After bedding, they are covered with sand to a depth of about 1 inch and watered.

Michael Beijer (asker) Jun 14, 2021:

also found this: Van Dale Groot Woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal (14e ed., 2005):
intafelen
in·ta·fe·len
overgank. werkw.; tafelde in; h. ingetafeld

1·(mbt. witlof) op tafels inplanten die in een donkere schuur staan

Michael Beijer (asker) Jun 14, 2021:

see e.g.: http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=76402

"Re: Info needed on planting sweet potatoes
Post by Boss Hog » Wed Feb 06, 2013 2:02 pm

You bed down the sweet taters Rudi, Then they have slips as we call em, you pull the slips and plant them[ roots]
By bedding down, I mean a hot bed, the whole taters are placed in the bottom close to each other and covered with a special blend of dirt and other things :D They are then covered with glass windows. After it warms up we remove the windows and use remake covers , they have to be watered regularly. You really have to be on your ps and qs when the weather warms up or you will fry em. We have ours on wheeled trailers and move them from sun to shade as needed
Oh it takes about 2 hours to plant an acre of taters with the New Holland
Boss"

Michael Beijer (asker) Jun 14, 2021:

Thanks (everyone) for all the great info! After having considered it all, I am leaning towards ‘bedding down’. Still have a bit of time until delivery.

Ruchira Raychaudhuri Jun 14, 2021:

Continued.. 'bedding down' is a term often used in the context of sweet potato cultivation, perhpas related to 'intafelen'?
https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...

Ruchira Raychaudhuri Jun 14, 2021:

Continued.. Sweet potatoes: https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/sweet-pota...
"But the forcing of sweet potato "slips," a specialty practiced by only a few growers, was a secret that no one seemed to wish to share. Eventually, however, a man who was about to retire agreed to teach me his methods.
This grower started his slips in a hotbed. He dug out an area about 1' deep, laid down 2" of straw (sometimes, he said, he used corncobs or even small broken twigs), and covered the coarse layer with 4" of fresh horse manure topped by about 3" of loose and leveled sandy soil.
Sound tubers from the previous year's crop were laid on this bed, topped with another 3" to 4" of very sandy soil, and watered."

Ruchira Raychaudhuri Jun 14, 2021:

'intafelen' as a step in the 'forcing' process As in the case of chicory cultivation, for sweet potatoes too I think 'forcing' refers to the overall process of propagating new plants from the roots/tubers where 'intafelen' (also known as 'inkuilen') is one of the steps in the forcing process.

Chicory:
https://mergenmetz.nl/tuin/groentesoorten/witlof/: intafelen/inkuilen
https://ctgb-prd.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/30f0456c081c0... (Witloof, indoor, directly after filling forcing container ‘intafelen’)

Kitty Brussaard Jun 13, 2021:

Chicory > forced cultivation, root forcing

Sweet potatoes >> propagation from cuttings or tubers

In the case of propagation from tubers, the tubers are made to sprout in a garden/nursery bed (of sand). See, for instance, https://homeguides.sfgate.com/tips-propagating-sweet-potatoe... And see also page 43-44 of http://www.fao.org/3/bp059e/bp059e.pdf.

https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/never-grow-sweet-potato-s...

Michael Beijer (asker) Jun 13, 2021:

+ "Witloof
De witlofteelt is minder ingewikkeld dan je geneigd bent te denken. In het kort komt het er op neer dat je eerst een dikke wortel gaat telen, net zoals je zou doen met winterpeen of pastinaak. Dan oogst je die wortel, snijd het loof tot op enkele cm af, en pot de wortel opnieuw op in een emmer met zand (dit heet in vaktermen 'intafelen'). Je zet de emmer vervolgens op een donkere plek in een matig verwarmde ruimte. De wortels zullen opnieuw gaan uitlopen en vormen de bekende witlofstronkjes. Dit proces heet ook wel 'trekken' van witlof."

(https://www.sites.google.com/view/moestuin-broekwijk/de-tuin... )

Michael Beijer (asker) Jun 13, 2021:

similar meaning: oppotten, of ‘intafelen’ in kwekersjargon. Snijd de kroppen een paar centimeter boven de kop van de wortel af; als u lager snijdt, kan zich geen kropje vormen aan de top, maar spruiten er minikropjes uit de zijkant van de wortel (ook leuk).

Poot de wortels in hoge potten of emmers, met gaatjes in de bodem. Hoe diep ligt aan de soort: ouderwetse soorten moeten ‘gedekt’ worden. Poot ze zo’n 5 centimeter onder de grond, de druk van de aarde zorgt voor een compacte krop. Moderne, zelfdekkende soorten poot u met het afgesneden deel nog net boven de grond. Zet ze op een donkere plaats. Een temperatuur tussen 13 en 18 °C is ideaal: bij lagere temperaturen groeien de kroppen heel traag, bij hogere krijgt u een los, grillig kropje. Een omgekeerde emmer telt ook als donkere plaats.

Houd de grond vochtig. Ik ken ook iemand die succesvol teelt in van die holle bouwstenen; een beetje aarde onderin het gat, wortel erin en wachten.

("Mari plukt de dag" @ https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Mari_plukt_de_dag/1h4... )