I know it's too early for Sweet Potatoes, but I've never grown them before and I want to be prepared! So, any of you experienced with them, can you please fill me in and the how & where of Sweet Potato cultivation? Also, what varieties are your favorites, and what are your favorite suppliers? I was looking at Sand Hill Preservation's catalog, and they seem to offer a lot... Any thoughts welcome!

Thanks!
Ada

I started my own slips from a potaro i bought at the store. I used the toothpick and quart jar method. I put 3 toothpicks around the potato and placed it in a jar of water with about a 1.3 of the potato out of the water and let it grow.

I then broke off the vines(slips) and planted them in the garden when it was really warm. and kept them well watered so they would develope roots. Once rooted they can stand some drought conditions.

I was told by a lady that grew them when she was young to harvest them right before the first frost. Once a frost hits the vines it will travel into the potato and have an off flavor and less storage time.

I did have some nice size potatoes with my first crop.

Also theey will spread out pretty far. probably from where they emerged it was a good 6 feet coverage or maybe more.

Sweet potatoes grow best on sandy loam but they will grow in any soil as long as it is well-drained. The quality of the sweet potato crop will vary depending on what kind of soil they grow in. Sweet potatos like slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5, but I get good crops in improved sandy soil with a pH around 7 to 7.4. The nice thing about sweet potatoes is that they do better in poorer soil than in richer soil--they actually don't do that well on rich soil with high levels of organic content in the soil, so put them in an area where you have poorer soil. I did have to improve my small band of sandy soil for them because it was pure sand. And, if all you have is rich, heavy soil, they'll be OK as long as it drains very well. If it doesn't drain well, put them in a raised bed.

Sweet potatoes simply must have warmth so you cannot plant them until all danger of frost has passed. The ideal time to plant them is when your soil temperature reaches 60 degrees about 2" below the soil surface and stays there for at least 3 consecutive days.

You can grow your own slips or you can purchase them from Sandhill Preservation Center or sometimes you see them in nurseries and local feed/seed stores. Many varieties are available and every variety I've ever tried has produced a good crop here. If you purchase them from a region different than our own, be sure they will ship them at the right time. You get a larger crop from an earlier planting than a later one--so planting as soon as the soil is in the 60s will give you a maximum yield. The varieties I usually see in stores here in southern OK and in northern Texas are "Centennial", "Jewel" and "Beauregard".

Although sweet potatoes are somewhat drought-tolerant once established, they will grow best if you keep their soil uniformly moist but not sopping wet. Because they make beautiful, lush foliage, you may see some wilting during the hottest part of the day. If they do not recover from that wilting around sunset, they need to be watered. I get around the wilting issue by planting mine on the edge of the garden where they get morning sun until about noon or 1 p.m., then dappled shade from a pecan tree during the hottest part of the day, and then late, late afternoon sun from about 4 or 5 p.m. to sunset. Under those conditions, they seldom wilt here and the plants still get enough sun to set a good crop.

Sweet potatoes take a long, long time to reach harvestable size With most varieties, you ought to have at least some potatoes at "eating size" about 110-120 days after planting. You can harvest some of those and eat them then if you want (in the same way you take "new potatoes" from an Irish potato plant but leave the rest to mature). Sweet potatoes don't really "ripen"--they just get to a harvestable size so you can leave them in the ground and let them get bigger and bigger as long as you harvest them before your temperatures begin to drop below 50 degrees in the fall.

Harvesting mainly means digging them and letting them dry for a few hours before putting them in a location that will allow them to cure for a couple of weeks before they go into long-term storage.

I've never had pest problems with sweet potatoes, but some people have issues with the sweet potato weevil or with nematodes.

Dawn

There are a number of ways to sprout them. I personally prefer to sink an entire sweet potato about 3/4 of it's depth in a flat of potting mix. I keep this moist, warm and in light, and it sprouts within a couple weeks.

As the slips (little stalks/stems) reach about 5 or 6" I often break them off and transplant them into potting mix on their own. This causes the sweet potato to sprout more vigorously.

DON'T plant your slips outside until nights are consistently warm. You won't gain anything by doing so. In fact, I suspect you'll have a smaller harvest than if you waited until later, even weeks and weeks later, if necessary. Sweet potatoes want HEAT to really grow. Glenn Drowns of Sandhill Preservation Center is probably one of the most dedicated sweet potato growers I know. He has commented to me that on occasion he has received a sweet potato sample (slips) just before a late spring cold spell hit. He got a couple slips out and had to wait a MONTH before he could plant the rest. These later slips went in quite late by conventional standards. Yet they produced better than the ones which had endured the rain and cold.

Last year I put in a row of sweet potatoes (three varieties), really late, on July 18. They produced usable roots by fall. One variety, called Brinkly White actually produced REALLY WELL! But generally I want to get my sweet potatoes in by early June. Last year most were in before June.

I hill up earth, in rows, about a foot high, where I'm going to plant sweet potatoes. I know not everyone does this. But my theory is that this causes the young plants to REACH for moisture when the first heat hits. These first roots are the ones which will develop into the best sweet potatoes.

It is not necessary that a sweet potato slip have roots when planted. One can actually cut up a section of vine and plant the segments, on the top of the hill, and they will root and grow, even if they don't have roots to begin with. I use a tool to make a hole and push the slip in, on an angle, until only the top couple of leaves are above ground. Slips root within about 3-4 days.

I also prefer to flip my sweet potato vines, in order to keep them from rooting and forming small sweet potatoes away from the row. But again, this is my custom. I know some who don't do this and they swear that they get great harvests.

I agree with Dawn about moisture. They are very drought resistant. But it seems that root growth very nearly grinds to a halt during the hottest part of the summer, unless they receive some water.

Sweet potatoes are one of our very favorite crops. They are a staple in our diet. Home grown, and properly handled, they are usually superior to store bought. Plus, these days, one can save a lot of money by growing them.

Be sure to harvest before a really cold spell in the fall. The roots are best if they can be set out in a very warm location, for a couple days before being stored for the winter. Do not store them in a cold environment. They do best above 40 F. We've stored them in the house, at room temperature and only noticed that they start sprouting around February.

George

Let's be remembering Dawn's men, as I bet they are busy with fires right now. Pray for rain!

George

Thanks for all of the information and the starting tips; I know where to head now! And, George, what a great photo! It's helpful to put a visual in back of the starting information. And, they are beautiful. :-)

Ada

Thank You,
Nelda1234

Hi. Welcome to the Oklahoma Forum. We love having guests!

I don't think it makes a difference. Sweet potato slips grow just fine either way.

If you can't find sweet potato slips easily in your part of the country, there are lots of places where you can order them online.

If you want to grow an heirloom type of sweet potato, Sandhill Preservation Center has a great selection. I know George mentioned Sandhill and Glenn Drowns above. I'll link them below. Like George, I've found sweet potatoes produce much better if planted once the soil temps and air temps are really warm and the cold nights are history.

Good luck growing sweet potatoes.

Dawn

On the Indiana forum we are all chicken crazy!! :) We all have chickens and are always talking about our "girls".

I have 95 "girls" and 9 more coming in May! They are raised organically (except licence), I cook for them and bake them organic bread and grow organic wheat grass in the house for them! We on our forum Love our Chickens!! :)

Most Sweet Potatoes produced commercially in the U.S. are grown in the southern states, but this particular variety is more cold-tolerant than most. This gem will grow well in both the northern and southern states. It is recommended that when planting in the northern states, that you plant on a raised ridge of soil and that you cover the ridge with black plastic a week or so prior to planting. This warms the soil in preparation for the young plants and enables you to plant earlier, resulting in less shock and more abundantly fruitful plants.

You may also find that you enjoy the ornamental aspect of Sweet Potato plants. The Georgia Jet has a heart-shaped leaf tinged with a deep burgundy color. A close relative of the Morning Glory, they grow as trailing vines and can quickly become an attractive ground cover. You can just as easily grow them in your kitchen window in a mason jar, though you will not produce Sweet Potatoes in this manner. The Sweet Potato itself is a root rich in Vitamin A with a subtly sweet flavor that is enjoyed as a side dish with just a dollop of butter, as the main ingredient in a tasty casserole or baked into a pie for a scrumptious and wholesome desert.

You pull the sprouts off the potato and plant the sprout, which is referred to as a slip. Some people plant the slips directly into the ground at that point, but I like to stick them in a flat of potting soil and let them develop some roots first. Some people stick the slips in water and root them that way, but when you do that, the continuous moisture can lead to disease if they're left in the water more than a very few days. By rooting them first, the slips are less likely to struggle if it is hot when they're set out. (They adore heat, but not before they have at least some roots).

Dawn

George

The sweet potatos that you gave me at the Spring swap are growing very well! I lost the white one to some sort of varmit. Can't wait to see the prizes soon.

Laura

I planted two areas of SPs this year, some in a raised bed (they were from a fingerling type from a health food store), and some from slips a friend grew (plain 'ole sweet potatoes).

Yesterday I dug the raised bed and one plant of the other SPs. The yield on the fingerlings in the raised bed was very poor (they were planted a couple of weeks after the regular SPs, though). I saw several roots going under the raised bed and I dug outside the bed and found a couple of SPs, so I'm hoping I don't need to go back and dig up my walkways to get more.

When I dug the one plant of the regular SPs I got 4 or 5 large SPs right at the plant. I dug away from the plant and didn't find any more SPs. Is this the way they usually grow? I'm hoping that I don't have to dig up the whole garden for my harvest. . .

On curing, do I just put them in one layer and let them dry a day or two? Should I do this in the sun, or out of the sun? I put what I've harvested so far in my garden cart and can wheel it in and out of the garage if I need to. If I need to dry them out of the sun I'll find a shelf to put them on and not mess with moving the cart in and out.

Thanks!
Tina

Normally, most of the sweet potatoes will be in a fairly tight cluster more or less right beneath the original planting location. Sometimes, you may find a nice potato 12-18" out from the main cluster. To avoid nicking or cutting the sweet potatoes as you dig, start 12-18" away from the main plant and dig towards the plant. You shouldn't miss any of the 'outliers' if you start that far out and dig in towards the plant. If you nick or cut any, place them aside to use first because they won't store for long with nicks or cuts.

To cure your sweet potatoes, let them sit for 2 or 3 hours after they are dug. At this point the skin is very tender and can be rubbed off so handle gently. Do not wash the soil off. After they have sat for a few hours, place them on several layers of newspaper and let them cure for a couple of weeks. I usually put mine on tables on the covered patio where they will get a couple of hours of early morning sun but then have shade the rest of the day. I've never cured them in full sun and think that you probably shouldn't. The BEST curing temps are between 80-85 degrees but you won't find a lot of those temps here this year since we're having a cooler-than-average fall.

To store them long term, do not refrigerate. Store them in a place where the temps can be maintained around 55-60 degrees with pretty high humidity--85% is ideal. At the right temp/humidity, they'll store for several months. They store longest when they are stored at a relatively stable, steady temperature, so inside the house in an unheated closet or pantry would be ideal.

Dawn

Could I store them under my bed in a plastic container? We usually have mice come in the house in the fall looking for places to hide for the winter, and our cats are terrible about getting indoor mice. They'll go outside and bring them in, but ignore the ones inside (do they think we have the mice as pets too?). So, just in case a mouse gets in I want a place to store them that is mouse-proof. I would hesitate to store them in an open container, but I could use an underbed box with newspaper to separate them, or sand, or sawdust, whatever would work, as long as being in a closed container would be OK. In the garage I have a fridge that I tried to raise the temperature to 50 degees, but it usually stays at 45 or just above. I would like to use that, but if 45 is too cold then I'd rather find something else. Wish I had a root cellar (tornado shelter), but I don't.

I don't know if it would work. I'm a little concerned about a lack of air flow. If you want to keep them under the bed in a plastic container, why not just leave the lid off and put some of those mouse glue traps on the floor on each side of the plastic container. Any mouse contemplating getting into the sweet potatoes would likely run across a glue trap and stick to it.

You might try keeping them in a simple Igloo-type container in the garage, but with no ice. Hopefully the cooler's insulation would keep the temperature inside from fluctuating too much. Even with a cooler, though, I am concerned about the lack of air flow.

You also could use pit storage, where you dig a pit in the ground (don't dig unless you're SURE there's no gaslines, powerlines, phone or cable lines, etc. buried in that spot), sink a container into the pit and cover it over. See the link below.

Good luck,

Dawn

I thought about maybe using a large bird cage but I think a mouse could squeeze between the wires.

This appears to have been the worst year ever, for our sweet potatoes. None of them sized up. I attribute this to two factors. In the spring and early summer we had tons of rain, with no heat; then, in the second part of the summer we had lots of heat and no rain. Then, back to rain and no heat. I still need to dig most of ours.

George

It was the same here. If ever there was a year in which the weather's affect on yield were extremely obvious, it was this year. Our sweet potatoes performed even more poorly than our Irish potatoes and onions did back in the spring. I do have higher hopes for the fall Irish potatoes if they can finish sizing up before cold weather arrives here.

I've never had a year like this in which the above-ground production of crops was so good (in our garden, mainly okra, tomatoes, peppers, black-eyed peas, squash, cukes and beans) and the below-ground crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions failed miserably.

Next year, it could be completely different (and likely will be).

Dawn

I try to can, freeze and dehydrate on a two-year cycle too, so we aren't completely at the mercy of the weather.
I do have tons of frozen onions from last year and, having only a couple of this year's smaller crop's fresh onions left, I've been using the frozen ones whenever I can in order to make the fresh ones last longer. I've also still got some of last year's corn to supplement this year's, and I probably have enough peppers frozen for 2 or 3 years.

If next year's onions give me trouble (and they probably won't---rarely do we have bad harvests of the same thing 2 years in a row), then I'll have to buy onions.

Even as I have moaned and groaned over the excessive pepper harvest, it is nice to know that if next year's peppers fail, I have enough canned, dehydrated and frozen to last another year or two. There are times, though, I have felt 'silly' putting up peppers yet again.....how many peppers can one family eat? Well, over time, hopefully the answer is 'a lot' since that is what we have.

I don't devote enough space to potatoes, apparently, because no matter how many we raise, they always run out before the next year. I hope to change that next year by planting a larger potato crop.

The only other things I can't preserve enough of to last is peaches. I might get 2 years worth of peaches put up in a good year, but I rarely have enough for 3 years worth. Since the trees only make a good crop about once every 3 years, I guess the answer is another peach tree or two so in that one good year I then could put up even more of them to get us through the bad years.

A lot of people don't return jars anymore, so about the only jars I give away are the little jelly jars filled with jelly at Christmas time and I just figure the jelly jar is part of the gift.

Dawn

It is hard to say what might have gone wrong because there are many reasons why sweet potatoes don't form tubers, so I'll list a few and let your analyze your growing conditions this year and see if anything I listed sounds like a logical cause for the less-than-fingerling sized potatoes.

LENGTH OF ACTIVE GROWING SEASON: Most sweet potatoes need a minimum of 110 days (a few need less) of warm/hot conditions that encourage active growth in order to size up properly. If your weather stayed too cool too late into June then that would be a problem, or if it cooled off too early in late summer or early fall. They need an abundance of sunlight and heat too and don't do well in a very cloudy, cool summer.

SOIL FERTILITY: Sweet potatoes do not grow as well in rich loamy soil as they do in poorer, sandy soil. Poor sandy soils tend to give you large, well-formed, smooth and high-quality roots. Rich heavy soils give you high yields of rough, small, poor-quality roots although your plants will have lovely, vigorously-growing foliage. If your soil is poorly draining, whether it is high or low in fertility, you'll get misshapen, cracked, rough-skinned roots.

SOIL PH: Sweet potatoes need a soil pH between about 5.5 and 6.5 and soil outside that range will not produce good potatoes, and sometimes won't produce potatoes at all.

TEMPERATURES: Both soil temperatures and air temperatures must be 'just right' for sweet potato growth. The best time to plant your sweet potatoes is when the soil 2" below the surface has been at 60 degrees consistently for several days. If you plant too early while the ground is too cold, or if you have a significant cool spell after you've planted, that can seriously impact their growth.

In the fall, once the soil temperature drops to 50 degrees and pretty much stays there, you might as well dig them up because they will not get any larger and can be damaged by the cold soil.

WHEN TO HARVEST: Sweet potatoes don't really ripen like tomatoes do. Instead, you just dig them when they reach a usable size. If you dig too soon, they may not have sized up yet. However, once your soil temperature drops to 50 degrees, you might as well dig them because they are not going to size up beyond the size they are at that point.

FERTILITY: Since they like low-fertility soil, you will get what we call 'stringy' roots instead of big sweet potatoes if your soil is too rich, if you overfertilize or if your soil stays too wet. If you overfertilize or if your soil is by nature extemely humusy and fertile, your plants tend to give you all foliage and very little potato.

ROOTING OF VINES: As your plant foliage grows, you should use your hand or a garden tool to move the foliage around every few days so that the running vines do not root into the ground. This secondary rooting interferes with potato production.

That's about all I can think of which could affect tuber size. Keep in mind your climate is really different from ours here, and sweet potatoes are likely to like our normally insanely hot, mostly dry weather more than it will appreciate your normally pleasant, mild and generally moister weather. Sweet potatoes really and truly need high amounts of sunlight and heat to produce well. I get my best sweet potato harvests in years when the high temperature exceeds 100 for days and weeks, and when the low temperature at night stays between about 75-80, and when they get just enough moisture to keep them from wilting. I think there is a good chance there in Pennsylvania (my husband grew up in the Pittsburgh area) that your soil is too fertile (lucky you!) and your weather is too nice.

Even okra and black-eyed peas, which are both notorious for loving heat and sunshine, probably would produce better for you than sweet potatoes because even though they need the heat and sunshine, they need it for a shorter period of time.

If you decide your soil is too rich and too humusy, you could 'unimprove' a part of it for sweet potatoes by mixing in a whole lot of sand. I try to plant my sweet potatoes in my worst/least fertile soil.

Finally, if I had to guess, knowing nothing about your soil or its fertility, pH, etc., I'd bet your temperatures were a bit too cool and your skies might have been too cloudy and you may have had too much rain as well. This year, we had significantly higher rainfall and too much cloudiness/coolness here at the wrong time, and my sweet potatoes suffered.

Hope this info helps.

Dawn