Stone cairn containing a yam vine
Placed at the foot of a tree for it to grow up
Another yam cairn in a drier spot
Cairn with advanced growth
Planning a garden of stone yam planters (grid of 9 mounds, 1 m apart)
Mounding up soil
Collecting small flat stones for the mound
Building a retaining wall of stone around the base of the mound
The mound is about 75 cm in total diameter including the rocks
For the second layer, the rocks are laid over the joints in the ones below for stability
This configuration is suprisingly stable and I've built pillars about 1.5 m high with this technique (these will only be about 0.5 m tall though)
In fill with soil
Soil carried in half log
Now for the pole for the vine to grow up
Pole is about 2m tall
Yam bulbil from last years crop (see Yam, cultivate and cook)
An armored mound, safe from pigs and turkeys
Water from the creek
Watering to get the yam started
Second mound
Third mound
Putting poles in before building mounds is easier
Note: in colder climates you can use potatoes without scaffolding, just add layers as the plant grows
Completed mounds
Yam vines
Attaching horizontal poles
Now they have something to grow on
Stone Yam Planters, safe from wild animals