Fruit is excellent for all kinds of salads, sauces, garnishes, and meals. Makes a great crunchy snack raw or can be cooked and stir-fried. Makes great fries! Plants are annuals and very easy to grow. Long vines can grow up to 15 feet long and produce delicious tubers and has become very popular in the last few years. Very long season; they must be started very early in all areas except the deep South. Makes a good plant to provide shade to an arbor, greenhouse, or porch. Caution: The seeds and pods are poisonous, but the small pods are cooked in the Philippines. Be careful not to eat flowers, seeds, or leaves, as they are poisonous. Few insect pests bother the vine If properly stored freshness of fruit can last up to 2 months.